Is your child eligible for an Italian passport?
Your child must have Italian nationality to be eligible for an Italian passport.
Your child must be resident in Scotland or Northern Ireland and be registered with the Italian Consulate in Edinburgh and in Italy in the Comune where one of the parents is AIRE registered. For information on how to register in A.I.R.E click HERE.
PLEASE NOTE:
If your child
- was born outside of Italy
- obtained Italian citizenship in Italy or from an Italian Consulate/Embassy outside of Scotland
you are strongly advised to check that their birth certificate has been registered at your town hall (comune) of reference in Italy, even if they have been issued with an Italian passport in the past.
For more information about registering birth certificates, please see the Registry Office section HERE.
Passport validity:
A biometric passport is a travel document that contains an electronic microchip. The microchip holds your child’s personal details, their photograph and their fingerprints. We don’t need to collect fingerprints if you’re applying for a child under the age of 12.
Passport validity: 5 years
HOW TO APPLY FOR YOUR CHILD’S PASSPORT (12 – 17 yrs):
IN PERSON by prior appointment only (click HERE) – the passport office receives by appointment only
On the day of your appointment, you shall bring with you the following:
- a child’s passport application form MOD2 (see HERE)
- copies of valid identity documents of both parents
- Act of Consent (see HERE)
- a valid form of photographic ID
- 2 recent and identical passport photographs, which must meet ICAO rules. Please see photograph guidelines
- payment (see HERE)
- the child’s current, expired or damaged Italian passport (if applicable)
- the child’s passport issued by another country (if applicable)
- If the child’s passport has been lost or stolen, you must also submit a Lost/Stolen Report Form (see HERE), a copy of the police report and another form of identity. If possible, please provide a photocopy of the lost or stolen passport.
Please read the checklist carefully before submitting your passport application. You can find the checklist and the passport application form (MOD2) in the “Forms” section of this website (see HERE).
Please be advised that if you fail to submit the items listed in the checklist, your passport application will be rejected.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Your child’s passport application form (MOD2) must be signed by both parents. This is mandatory even if you are single, married, separated or divorced from the mother or father of your child. If the application is submitted by one parent the other parent may sign the application at home (or sign a separate Act of Consent – (see HERE), as long as he/she is an EU citizen. Don’t forget to provide a photocopy of their passport or Identity card (clearly showing their photograph and signature) so that we can verify that the signatures match.
- If one of the parents is not an EU citizen, they must complete and sign MOD2 in person at this Consulate or at any Honorary Consulate (Aberdeen, Belfast, Glasgow) and must submit their passport or other photographic ID. The service is available by appointment only to be booked sending an e-mail to the Honorary Consul, or without appointment only at the General Consulate in Edinburgh, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm.
- If one of the parents is not an EU citizen and doesn’t live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must ask them to sign an Act of Consent form, in person, at their nearest Italian Consulate/Embassy or Questura (police station) in Italy.
- If the other parent refuses to sign the passport application form MOD2, you can apply for a Consular Decree which will allow the Consul General to authorise the issue of your child’s passport. The Consul General in Edinburgh can only serve as Guardianship Judge for children that live in Scotland and Northern Ireland. If your child lives in Italy, you should get in touch with the Tribunale dei Minori.
- If the other parent is deceased, you must provide a death certificate with your child’s passport application form ((see HERE). If the death certificate is not written in Italian or English, you must provide a multilingual certificate or a legalized Italian translation.
Fees and how to pay:
The cost of a passport is subject to quarterly fluctuations in the exchange rate between EUR/GBP.
To find out how much a passport costs, please see HERE.
You can pay:
- in cash at the office
- by debit card – It is mandatory to use a british plastic card (no phone apps)
- by Postal Order made payable to the “Italian Consulate General”. Don’t forget to write your name on the back. You can buy a postal order from any local Post Office.
Processing time:
If your child is registered with the Italian Consulate in Edinburgh (A.I.R.E or Anagrafe Italiani Residenti all’Estero), if the application is complete and his/her residence and birth registration is up to date, the passport can normally be issued on the same day. It can take longer if more information is needed, if the application hasn’t been filled out correctly or if we need to complete the registration of your child’s birth certificate. In some cases we may have to carry out routine security checks which could delay your application.
If they are not registered with the Italian Consulate in Edinburgh, you can still apply, but their passport will only be issued if other Italian authorities authorise us to do so. Your child’s passport will not be issued on the day of your appointment.