CIVIL STATUS
The Civil Registry of an Embassy or Consulate handles, just as an Italian municipality does, the registration, updating and maintenance of the Civil Registry. There are four Civil Registries: citizenship, births, marriages, and deaths. For each of these matters, the Civil Registry is authorised to issue certified copies of documents filed with it attesting to the civil status of each individual.
In particular, the consulates receive acts emitted by foreign authorities and transmit them to Italian municipalities for registration.
The Civil Status department of a Consulate, in addition to handling the four registries, helps citizens residing in its jurisdiction to complete the following procedures:
· writing of marriage bans and posting them at the consulate;
· celebration of consulate weddings, as long as there is no local law preventing it;
· transmission of requests addressed to the authorised Prefecture to change a name (considered ridiculous or embarrassing);
· reception and transmission of separation and divorce rulings for registration in the authorised municipalities.
PREREQUISITES FOR CLAIMING THE RIGHT TO REQUEST THE REGISTRATION OF CIVIL ACTS AND/OR OBTAIN RELATED CERTIFICATES FROM THE CIVIL REGRISTRY
In order for Italian citizens who have established their residence abroad to register births, marriages and/or deaths (and to obtain related certificates), they must first be registered in the Registry of Citizens Residing Abroad (AIRE)
CHANGES IN CIVIL STATUS
BIRTH
Registration of the birth of the child of an Italian citizen abroad:
children of parents of whom at least one is an Italian citizen, even if they are born abroad and have citizenship in another country, are Italian citizens and, consequently, their births must be registered in Italy. In order to register a birth it is necessary to bring the following documents to the Consulate:
Birth certificate issued by the Civil Registry of the country of residence, translated into Italian by an official translator and authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of residence (for all signatories of the Hague Convention of 1961);
Documentation proving the Italian citizenship of at least one of the parents (identity card, Italian passport, certificate of Italian citizenship).
MARRIAGE
Registration in Italy of the marriage abroad of Italian citizens:
In order to have legal value in Italy a marriage celebrated abroad must be transcribed in Italian at the authorised municipality.
The persons concerned are required to bring the marriage certificate issued by the local authorities, with translation into Italian and authentication by the competent Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Consular Office in order to be forwarded to the Italian municipality for registration.
DIVORCE
Registration in Italy of a divorce ruling pronounced abroad: first and foremost, it is necessary to realise that a divorce ruling pronounced abroad is not automatically considered valid in Italy.
The documentation required for transcription are:
the final ruling (original or authenticated photocopy)
official translation of the ruling
self-certifying affidavit
photocopies of all the documentation presented
These documents need to be in certified copy bearing the authentic stamp of the court.
If the documents are valid according to the law of the country of issue, the Consulate sends the documents to the Italian municipality for the registration of the court’s verdict.
DEATH
Registering the death of an Italian resident abroad in Italy:
the death of an Italian citizen abroad has to be registered in Italy.
Documents necessary for registering deaths are:
death certificate issued by the competent registry office of the country of residence, duly translated and authenticated (in cases where this is necessary);
documentation of the deceased’s citizenship: identity card, Italian passport or certificate of Italian citizenship.
All certificates denoting civil status issued by the local authorities have to be presented in original and, where necessary, authenticated and translated into Italian in order for the consulates to send them to the competent municipality.