British beware: new passport rules in Italy

From June 3^rd this year, British nationals living in Italy and San Marino will have to submit their passport applications to Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK.

Processing times, however, will remain unchanged.

Prior to that date, British nationals in Italy must send applications to a regional processing hub in Paris, France.

According to the British Embassy in Italy, the change is a result of reviews by the National Audit Office “designed to achieve economies of scale, greater security and consistency in decision making”.  

“As overseas volumes are much less than UK volumes it is harder to gain efficiencies overseas,” the Embassy said. “That is why the decision to repatriate the issuing of passports to British nationals overseas to the UK has been taken.”

Information about passport renewal from abroad can be found on the UK Government website.