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Italian citizens
who transfer their residence abroad are never "eliminated"
from their municipality. Of course, they cannot remain listed
with the Registry office of the Resident Population (A.P.R.),
but rather are listed in a special section called the Register
of Italians Resident Abroad (A.I.R.E.), which is also an
integral part of the Italian Registry Office. In this way, the
emigrant remains connected to the city or town of birth and
retains all the rights recognised by law and held by all
resident Italian citizens.
The Register of
Italian Citizens Abroad is filed and kept by all Italian City
Councils.
Registration with
the A.I.R.E. list is done:
- For transfer of residence from
an Italian municipality to a foreign country;
- For transfer from the A.I.R.E.
of another municipality (this is done on express request when
an applicant has members of his household already registered
with the A.I.R.E. or in the Registry Offices of the population
resident in the municipality where he is applying for
registration);
- After registering the birth
certificate of Italian citizens born abroad with the local
Italian consulate;
- In order to acquire Italian
citizenship by an individual resident abroad.
The following
individuals may not be registered with the A.I.R.E. :
- Citizens who live abroad for
specific reasons and whose stay lasts no more than 12 months;
- Citizens who live abroad to take
on seasonal jobs;
- Tenured state employees in
service abroad and spouses or family members living in the
same household.
Individuals are
removed from the A.I.R.E. list :
- On repatriation to Italy;
- If they cannot be traced (in
this case, citizens removed from the list may submit another
application to the municipality for re-registration with the
A.I.R.E. and the electoral lists. To obtain this
re-registration, applicants must provide their personal
information and place of residence).
- on loss of Italian citizenship.
A.I.R.E. and
registration records at Italian consulates
The Register of
Italians Resident Abroad is linked to records and files, as
required by law and in place at every consulate, for citizens
resident within the consulate's jurisdiction. In
order to take advantage of the services offered by the local
Italian consulate, the Italian citizen living abroad must be
registered in these lists.
Italian Law 470
of 27 October 1988, amended by law 104 of 27 May 2002 states
that :
- Citizens who change their
residence from an Italian municipality to a foreign country
must submit a written statement to that effect to the
Italian consulate having jurisdiction, no later than ninety
days after immigration in the foreign country;
- Italian citizens residing
abroad who change their residence or domicile must submit a
written statement to that effect to the Italian consulate in
whose jurisdiction the new residence or domicile lies, no
later than ninety days after the relocation.
- The foregoing statements must
also specify the members of the household who live with the
applicant;
- The consulate must send a copy
of the statement to the competent Italian City Council,
which will provide for registration with the A.I.R.E.
N.B. Italian
citizens who emigrate abroad can also sign up directly with the
A.I.R.E. of their Italian municipality at the time of relocation
abroad, notifying of the new address.
Registration with
the A.I.R.E. is a right and responsibility of all Italian
citizens residing permanently abroad. It is up to the citizen to
keep the information up to date.
Therefore, we
suggest that the citizen:
- take it upon him or herself to
verify at the local consulate that his or her name and all
family members are registered in the consulate's files,
- report any and all changes to
the legal standing in his or her household (births,
marriages, divorces, deaths) to the consulate, bringing the
respective certificates;
- report any change of address
to the consulate in the event of transfer of residence or
domicile.
Only in this way
can the citizen be sure that his or her personal registration
and that of his or her family is unambiguous and up to date at
the consulate and at the city council offices in his hometown.
We are aware that
emigrants may be concerned that registration with the A.I.R.E.
might lead to problems, obligations, and duties. This is not
true. A.I.R.E. registration offers only advantages. For example:
- it guarantees registration in
the electoral lists and allows the citizen to exercise
political rights (the right to vote in local and regional
elections, and vote and candidature for representational
organizations of Italians abroad);
- the citizen abroad can obtain
any certificate or document required from the city hall for
any number of reasons, in the same way as resident citizens.
These documents may include the ID card, declaration of family
status, certificate of citizenship **, declaration of
residence, etc.
( ** Please
remember that Italian citizenship can be proven by the mayor
of the municipality where A.I.R.E. registration was made only
until the last date when the applicant was listed in the
register of the resident population. After this date, only
diplomatic authorities or the consulate having jurisdiction in
the area can certify this condition).
- Declaration of registration
with the A.I.R.E. is essential in order to make use of the
benefits strictly available to emigrants under state-,
regional or provincial laws. For example, the emigrant who
returns to Italy temporary can request issue of a card
guaranteeing him or her access to the National Health
Service; in the Autonomous Province of Trento, citizens
registered with the A.I.R.E. may participate in competitions
for assigning public housing and hold the same rights as
resident citizens with regard to payment of city taxes.
During regional council elections (held every 5 years), the
citizen resident abroad may be eligible to receive a
substantial allowance to cover travel expenses.
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