Italian consular bureaucracy has its own vocabulary, and almost none of the official pages explains it. Below: the words you will see most often, in rough order of how much they matter.
The booking system of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The official portal (prenotami.esteri.it) through which appointments at any Italian consulate abroad are booked. Using it requires an account, and creating the account requires being AIRE-registered in the catchment area of the consulate where you want to book.
The real problem is not the site itself: it is that available slots are very few compared to demand. In London, for instance, new slots are released Sunday through Thursday at 7:00 PM (UK time), and often disappear within minutes. That is where SlotPrenotami comes in.
Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all'Estero — the register of Italians living abroad
The official registry of all Italian citizens living permanently outside Italy. Registration is mandatory for anyone moving their residence abroad for more than 12 months, and must be completed within 90 days of arrival in the new country.
Without AIRE registration you cannot book anything on Prenot@Mi: it is the precondition for any consular service. If you have moved recently and have not yet registered, you must do that first.
One-Time Password — the disposable code sent by email
When you confirm a booking on Prenot@Mi, the system sends a numerical code to the email registered to the account. You must enter that code to finalise the appointment. If you do not enter it within a few minutes, the slot becomes available to someone else.
This is the reason SlotPrenotami notifies you but does not book on your behalf: the OTP arrives at your email, and no one else can see it. Practical tip: keep your email app open on your phone while you book from a computer — you save the seconds it takes to switch tabs.
Carta d'Identità Elettronica — the electronic ID card
The Italian identity card in electronic format, with an integrated chip. Since 2018 it has gradually replaced the older paper card. It is valid as a travel document within the European Union and in some non-EU countries.
To request one through the consulate you need a Prenot@Mi appointment in the "Carta d'identità" category. From 1 June 2026 AIRE-registered citizens will also be able to request it directly from their Italian municipality of origin, bypassing the consulate.
The portal for AIRE administrative services
A separate system from Prenot@Mi (serviziconsolari.esteri.it), also run by MAECI, used to manage your AIRE registration: updating your address, registering changes in civil status, requesting certificates online.
Important: your address must be updated on Fast It before booking any Prenot@Mi appointment. If the two records do not match, the consulate may refuse your application at the counter.
Citizenship by descent — literally "by right of blood"
The principle by which Italian citizenship is transmitted from parent to child, regardless of where the child is born. For many decades this principle allowed descendants of Italian emigrants in Argentina, Brazil, the United States, Australia, to claim Italian citizenship even tracing back to great-grandparents or earlier.
Since Law 74/2025 the principle has been heavily restricted (see below).
The reform that changed citizenship by descent
In force from May 2025 and confirmed by the Constitutional Court in March 2026, it limits jure sanguinis citizenship to two generations from the Italian-born ancestor: in practice, only from parent or grandparent. Great-grandparents are no longer enough.
Applications already started before the law came into force are governed by transitional rules. Anyone who believes they have an open case should consult a specialised lawyer: this is not a service we offer.
An available appointment time window
In Prenot@Mi parlance, a "slot" is a single bookable appointment position — a specific date and time. The consulate opens new slots periodically and releases them in precise time windows (London typically on Sunday through Thursday at 7:00 PM).
Slots also free up when someone cancels an existing appointment — these are "last-minute cancellations", often more frequent than scheduled releases.
The geographic area covered by a consulate
Each consulate covers a specific geographic area, and you can only apply to the consulate of your residence jurisdiction. You cannot choose London if you are AIRE-registered in Manchester — the system blocks it automatically.
Examples: London covers Southern England and Wales; Manchester covers Northern England; Edinburgh covers Scotland and Northern Ireland; Sydney covers New South Wales, Queensland and ACT.
The passport application forms
MOD1 is the passport request form for adults and minors aged 12 and over. MOD2 is for children aged 0 to 11. Both must be downloaded from the consulate website, completed in block capitals, signed, and brought to the appointment along with the required documentation.
If the form is filled in incorrectly or a signature is missing, the appointment may fall through. A careful check the night before saves months of waiting.
The asseverated translation of a foreign document
A foreign document (an English marriage certificate, an American birth certificate) submitted to the Italian consulate must be translated into Italian by a sworn translator registered on the CTU list of an Italian court, or asseverated abroad through specific procedures.
A translation done by a bilingual friend, however perfect, is not accepted. This is one of the most common reasons applications are rejected at the counter.
The stamp that makes a document valid abroad
A special certification (governed by the 1961 Hague Convention) attesting the authenticity of a foreign public document for use in another signatory country. In the UK it is issued by the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office).
For documents destined for the Italian consulate, the order matters: apostille before translation, not after. Reversing this order is one of the most expensive mistakes possible (it means redoing everything from scratch).
Short-stay visa for the Schengen area
Visa valid for stays up to 90 days within a 180-day period inside the Schengen area. Required for non-EU citizens residing in non-EU countries who want to visit Italy for tourism, business, study, or short-term work.
In Sydney the Schengen visa is handled directly by the consulate. SlotPrenotami monitors this category too because slots are notoriously scarce in the months leading up to European summer holidays.
Marriage, birth, and divorce procedures
The consulate's civil registry office handles the registration of civil events that occur abroad: marriages, births of children, divorces, deaths. These registrations are required for them to be transcribed in the Italian registers of the municipality of origin.
A birth of a child abroad to an Italian parent should be reported to the consulate as soon as possible — many benefits (the Italian assegno unico, for example) depend on the timely AIRE registration of the child.