Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

BUREAUCRACY

EXPLAINED: How Italy just made it easier to access essential paperwork online

Italy’s government has launched a new national platform allowing residents to download official records, including residency and marriage certificates, for free online instead of queuing up at the comune. Here's how to use it.

Published: 15 November 2021 15:24 CET
Updated: 8 December 2021 10:16 CET
Trieste's comune town hall. A new national platform provided by Italy’s government will allow residents to access official records online without go to the comune in person.
A new national platform provided by Italy’s government will allow residents to access official records online without go to the town hall in person. Photo: MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP

The ANPR (Anagrafe Nazionale Popolazione Residente, or National Population Register) platform, launched on November 15th, for the first time aggregates information from comuni (town halls) across Italy and brings it together in one national database.

Residents can use any of their SPID (Sistema Pubblico di Identità Digitale or ‘Public Digital Identity System’), CIE (Carta d’Identità Elettronica or Electronic Identity Card), or CNS (National Services Card) details to log into the site and view and download pdf copies of their official certificates (and those of their family members) free of charge.

READ ALSO: How to use your Italian ID card to access official services online

The move is the latest in a series of steps taken by the Italian authorities to try to move administrative processes online to reduce bureaucratic hurdles.

Recent developments include the ability to access health records, register a change of address, and apply for Italian citizenship online.

The option of downloading official certificates was already available to some Italian residents via their own comune’s website; but whether you had access to this service depended entirely on your local authority, with many smaller comuni lacking the resources to provide such services online.

This means that many Italian residents have until now been required to visit their comune and fork out for a tax stamp every time they need a copy of their residency or marriage certificate.

READ ALSO: Beat the queues: 19 bits of Italian bureaucracy you can do online

As official copies of such documents expire after six months, and must usually be requested in person at the relevant comune (not necessarily the one covering the area you live in), getting hold of these documents can take up significant amounts of time and money.

The launch of the new nationwide website on Monday means that changes, as every resident can access and download their official records online through the ANPR portal for free.

Some 8,000 Italian municipalities have signed up to use the portal, which lists the 63 remaining towns yet to get on board.

Where do I go?

The site can be found at: www.anagrafenazionale.interno.it

Residents wanting to use the service should scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on ‘accedi ai servizi‘ to be taken to the login page here.

Once logged in, to access a certificate you should click on the Certificati tab near the top of the page.

You will be given the option to request a certificate for yourself or for a family member; if you choose the latter, you’ll be given a list of names of relatives you’re allowed to request records for.

The home page of the ANPR web portal.

What do I need to log in to the site?

As mentioned above, you any of need your SPID, CIE, or CNS details to log in.

Bear in mind that with a Carta d’Identità Elettronica, you need not just your CIE number but must also to be logged into the CIE ID app.

READ ALSO: Italian bureaucracy: What is a SPID and how do you get one?

To first register with the app, you need the two four-digit PINs you received on applying for and on first receiving the card.

If you’re not sure what those are, you’ll need to go in person to your comune to request them; so if you haven’t already, you may find it easier to sign up for a SPID.

What can I get?

The interior ministry states that you can use the platform to access all-important documents including birth, marriage, residency and citizenship certificates.

You can also use it to download the following:

  • AIRE (Anagrafe Italiani Residenti all’Estero, or Register of Italians Resident Abroad) residency certificates
  • Civil status certificates
  • Family status certificates
  • Cohabitation certificates and contracts
  • ‘Existence of life’ certificate
  • AIRE family status certificates
  • Family status with relationships certificates
  • Unmarried status certificates
  • Civil union registry certificates

What does it cost?

As of November 2021, it costs nothing for a resident to download an official certificate from the ANPR website.

The site does say that all users are exempted from the requirement to pay for a tax stamp until December 31, 2021, so it’s possible that from the start of 2022, a fee may be applied.

There is a (currently redundant) option to tick a box saying that you fall into a category that exempts you from the requirement to pay for a tax stamp, again implying that such a requirement could be introduced further down the line.

Until at least the end of 2021, though, the service is free to all.

Can I use the platform for anything else?

You can’t currently use the portal to make any changes to your current status; e.g., to change your address to update your residency information or to update your civil status, etc.

However, you can make a ‘rectification request’ by clicking on the Rettifica dati tab.

This is specifically to correct factual information that, for whatever reason, is recorded incorrectly on the platform. It includes things like the spelling of your name, your date of birth, and the details of your identity documents.

Member comments

  1. Is there a way for Italians living abroad to get access if at the moment they don’t have a SPID, CIE, or CNS? Which of these (SPID, CIE, or CNS) can be from abroad? Thanks

    1. Hi,

      It doesn’t look like that’s possible at the moment unfortunately as this platform is intended for residents, but we’ll update the article if this changes.

      All best,
      – Clare

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

RESIDENCY PERMITS

Can you travel abroad while waiting for an Italian residency permit renewal?

If your Italian residency permit has expired and you face a long wait for a new one, you may have heard contradictory things about whether or not you can travel abroad. We look at what exactly the rules say.

Published: 5 December 2023 13:40 CET
Updated: 7 December 2023 14:49 CET
Can you travel abroad while waiting for an Italian residency permit renewal?

This is a question many people in Italy have at the moment as waiting times for appointments to renew residency permits are getting longer, with many applicants now reporting a wait of up to 10 or 11 months.

After this appointment, the new permit usually arrives within a couple of months, or just a couple of weeks in some cases – but this plus the long wait for appointments leaves many of Italy’s international residents without a valid permit for long stretches of time.

So, during that waiting period, are there any restrictions on travel abroad within the Schengen zone, or back to your (non-Schengen) home country?

As with so many other things in Italy, the answer you get seems to depend on who you ask.

Several of The Local’s readers have recently reported that immigration officials told them in no uncertain terms that they cannot travel until they get their new permesso di soggiorno.

READ ALSO: ‘I feel trapped’: How long waits for residency permits are affecting people in Italy

Mike from the US applied to renew his elective residency permit (permesso di soggiorno per residenza elettiva) earlier this year and faced another long wait, after initial delays with his first permesso.

“We were told we should not travel outside Italy without the permit, that the application and receipt would not be sufficient,” he said.

As we reported on The Local last week, this is not such an unusual situation for international residents to find themselves in.

We heard from several students from the US who told us they were unable to travel home for Christmas as they had not yet received their Italian residency permits and had been told not to travel without them.

However, many other readers got in touch in response to that article to say that it should be fine to travel without the permit if you have your ricevuta (the receipt you got from the Italian post office when you applied for your permit renewal) and that this has not been a problem for them.

“Just avoid Schengen countries as you’re not allowed to travel through them,” said one reader. “I’ve travelled back to the UK with just the receipt, no problem.”

So what exactly are the rules on leaving and re-entering Italy from a Schengen country or from a non-Schengen country without a valid permesso di soggiorno?

Unfortunately, they’re more complicated than they might initially seem.

First permesso or renewal?

One thing that causes confusion is the fact that the rules differ slightly for people who are waiting for their first residency permit than for those awaiting a renewal.

The rules also vary depending on the type of residency permit you have, at least when you’re waiting for the first one.

The Italian Polizia di stato (State Police) website says that you can leave and re-enter Italy while awaiting your first residence permit for the reasons of employment, self-employment, or family reunification if:

  • You show your passport or equivalent travel document, along with the entry visa specifying the reasons for your stay (employment, self-employment, or family reunification) and your ricevuta;
  • You do not transit through other countries in the Schengen zone;
  • You “leave and re-enter Italy through any Italian external border crossing point.”

The website does not specify what the rules are for those waiting for other types of permits, such as those issued based on elective residency or study visas.

Meanwhile, people waiting for renewal of their residency permit (no reasons are specified here), or for an EC residency permit for long-term residents, can leave and re-enter Italy if they have the following documents:

  • the ricevuta certifying the submission of the application for renewal; 
  • the expired residency permit;
  • their passport or other equivalent travel document.

In the case of renewals, there is no mention of not being allowed to transit through or travel within the Schengen zone.

So can I travel without my residency permit?

If you’re sure that you meet all of the stated requirements, and you have not been advised otherwise, you should in theory be able to exit and re-enter Italy without any problems.

But if you have a type of permit that’s not mentioned here, such as a permit issued for study, then the rules are less clear.

If you’re in any doubt, or have been warned that you can’t travel abroad by an immigration official, then you should seek further advice before attempting to travel. Your country’s consulate in Italy should be able to advise on how the rules may apply in your circumstances.

READ ALSO: How the rules on renewing Italian residency permits have changed

Further confusion arises from the fact that, in Italy, the written rules are often left a little vague and open to interpretation, and they don’t always seem to match the way things work in reality.

Italian border guards and other immigration officials have a lot of individual discretion when it comes to interpreting these rules, which means that they may not be applied consistently – and that each official may tell you something different.

If you’re sure you meet the requirements to travel, our advice is to bring as many documents with you as possible to prove your residency status, and be prepared to answer the border guards’ questions politely.

Please note that The Local is unable to advise on individual cases. For more information on how the Italian immigration rules may apply in your situation, consult your local Questura (provincial police headquarters) or your country’s consulate in Italy. See further details on the Italian State Police website.

SHOW COMMENTS