For general information on the applicable legislation please visit the page on Registry on our Foreign Ministry website.
The Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (A.I.R.E.) was established by Law no. 470/1988 and contains all the personal data of Italians resident abroad for a period of more than 12 months. It is administered by Italian municipalities on the basis of the data and information supplied by the foreign missions.
A.I.R.E. enrolment is a citizen’s right/duty (art. 6 Law no. 470/1988) and provides access to a series of services from foreign missions.
A.I.R.E. enrolment is mandatory for:
- citizens who take up residence in a foreign country for more than 12 months;
- citizens residing abroad either as a result of being born there or having obtained Italian citizenship for any reason whatsoever.
Not required to enrol in the A.I.R.E.:
- citizens who go abroad for a period of less than 12 months;
- seasonal workers;
- government employees posted abroad, who are notified in pursuance of the Vienna Conventions on diplomatic relations and consular relations respectively of 1961 and 1963;
- Italian military staff working for NATO abroad.
Enrolment in the A.I.R.E. is done by means of a declaration made to the locally competent consular office within 90 days of transfer abroad.
This involves the simultaneous cancellation from the Civil Registry (A.P.R.) of the municipality of residence in Italy.
The application must be submitted through the Fast.it portal to which documents proving the actual residence in the consular district and a copy of the applicant’s identity document shall be attached.
Enrolment can also take place on the basis of information of which consular office is made aware.
A.I.R.E. enrolment is FREE OF CHARGE.
Updating of the A.I.R.E. is the citizen’s responsibility.
The person concerned shall communicate the following information to the Consular office in a timely manner:
- change of address;
- change in civil status, also for any registration of foreign deeds in Italy (marriage, birth, divorce, death, etc.);
- loss of Italian citizenship.
The citizens registered with the A.I.R.E., who return definitively to Italy, shall appear before the Italian Municipality where they have decided to settle so as to inform it of their new address. On the same date, the Municipality shall proceed with the cancellation from the A.I.R.E and the simultaneous registration with the A.P.R. (Anagrafe Popolazione Residente). The Municipality shall officially communicate the actual date of repatriation to the Consulate of origin, which shall register the repatriation in its Consular files.
Failure to update information, particularly in regard to changes of address, impedes contact with citizens and their receipt of voting materials.
It is important that all Italian nationals communicate their addresses correctly and completely in pursuance of the postal laws of their countries of residence.
Cancellation from A.I.R.E. takes place in the following cases:
- enrolment in the Civil Registry (A.P.R.) of an Italian municipality following transfer or repatriation from abroad;
- death, including legally declared presumed death;
- presumed inability to contact, barring proof to the contrary, at 100 years from date of birth or after two successive attempts, or once the address reported abroad no longer results valid and a new one is not available;
- loss of Italian citizenship.