Everything you need to know — documents, real costs, real waiting times, the mistakes that get appointments rejected at the counter, and how to find a slot when the portal shows none for months.
If you are an Italian citizen living in the Consulate General of Italy in London's jurisdiction and need to renew your passport, you are in the right place. What follows is what we wished we had known before starting: the correct order of operations, the documents the consulate actually accepts, and the points where people lose months without realising.
Since 18 July 2022 there is a separate Consulate of Manchester. This changes a lot from how it used to be. Today the Italian consular network in the UK is split into three offices, and booking at the wrong consulate means rejection at the counter.
The Consulate General of London today covers: Southern England, Wales, Isle of Wight, Channel Islands, Gibraltar, and the Territories of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands. Specific Southern English ceremonial counties under London include: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, City of London, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire, Worcestershire.
If you live in: Cheshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Durham, East Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, or on the Isle of Man — your consulate is Manchester, not London. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland — it is Edinburgh.
The London Consulate accepts passport applications only from Italian citizens registered with AIRE in its jurisdiction. If you moved recently or never sorted your AIRE registration, you must do it first. You cannot apply for a passport from London if you still appear as resident in Italy or in another consular district (for example Manchester or Milano).
To check your status: log in to Fast It and verify your AIRE registration is in the correct comune, and that your UK address is up to date. This check takes 30 seconds and can save you months.
If you moved house after your initial AIRE registration, the address must be updated on Fast It before booking an appointment. The consulate checks the match at the counter, and if it does not match, the application is rejected.
The official list is on the consulate site, but in practice what they will ask for at the counter includes:
The London Consulate accepts only British debit cards with chip and PIN. Not accepted: contactless payments, credit cards, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay. A postal order works as an alternative. People have been turned away at the counter with a flight already booked, simply because they brought the wrong card.
The official cost of an Italian passport is €116.00 for the 48-page booklet (€42.50 booklet + €73.50 administrative fees). Payment at the London consulate is in pounds at the official daily exchange rate — typically around £99–105 depending on the rate.
Add the indirect costs people forget:
Booking goes through Prenot@Mi, the official MAECI portal (prenotami.esteri.it). To use it you need an account with your AIRE details.
Here the real problem begins. Available slots are few compared to demand. The London Consulate releases new slots on this official schedule (UK time):
If you are not at the screen at that exact time, there may be nothing to book for weeks. Slots often disappear within minutes.
Don't want to sit in front of your screen at 7 PM every evening? There is a free service that does the check for you 24/7 — SlotPrenotami — and writes you via email when a slot opens. I mention it because I run it myself, but it is also literally the point where the current system hurts people most. More on that below.
Other official channels exist beyond Prenot@Mi:
The number 020 3327 6290 is active Monday to Friday from 8:15 to 12:30. You still need a Prenot@Mi account before calling (just registered, no need to have booked). Practical advice: call as soon as lines open and use the callback option if available.
The London jurisdiction has several honorary offices around the territory (Bedford, Bristol, Cardiff, Peterborough, Oxford, Wallington area, and others), which can cover some services with often faster times than central London. Check the consulate site for the one covering your residential area.
The consulate provides routes without Prenot@Mi for some categories. The current official hours are:
Walk-in hours can change: always verify on the consulate site before turning up. If you fall into one of these categories, you have a significant advantage over the ordinary system.
Last-minute cancellations are often more frequent than the scheduled 7 PM releases. Someone books 8 months out, then changes their mind, and the slot becomes available again for minutes. Whoever is at the screen then takes it; whoever is not, never sees it. This is exactly what SlotPrenotami solves for free — the system watches the portal 24 hours a day and alerts you via email or Telegram the moment something opens.
At the counter the application is checked before anything starts. If something is missing, you get sent home and have to book another appointment — meaning more months of waiting. The most common mistakes:
When you get a slot notification, every second counts. Open Prenot@Mi on your computer, but keep the email app open on your phone. When the OTP arrives, you type it from phone to computer without switching tabs — saving 15-30 seconds that can be the difference between booking and losing the slot.
Prenot@Mi is officially compatible with Google Chrome (version 88+) and Microsoft Edge. Use a PC or laptop, not smartphone or tablet. If you get errors, try incognito mode: it disables extensions that may interfere. Do not use the browser's automatic translator — change the portal language from the top-right corner.
When the slot appears, that is not the time to think "what service do I need?" or "which month?". Know in advance: the first available slot, whatever it is, take it. Change date later if needed (though rarely possible).
At the counter you submit all documentation and sign. The passport may be issued the same day (morning appointment) or sent home by post within about 4 weeks (afternoon appointment). Don't book flights before having it physically in hand — the consulate says so explicitly on its site.
If timing is critical (a booked flight, a sick family member in Italy), you can try the "documented emergency" route, but concrete proof of urgency is required. A holiday does not count.
Our system watches it for you, 24 hours a day, and writes an email or Telegram message the moment a slot opens at the London Consulate. Free, in beta. No Prenot@Mi password required, no documents, no card.
Sign up free →This guide is a summary based on personal experience and public sources from the Consulate General of Italy in London as of May 2026. Consular procedures may change without notice — always verify the latest information on the official consulate site before acting.