The Latin America Continental Commission of the General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE) advocated for an urgent review of the consular appointment system. Prenot@miThe digital system has been described as one of the main barriers to equal access for Italian citizens to services at consulates in the region.
According to the note approved and released this Tuesday (09), it is necessary to “make it more intuitive, transparent and secure, with the introduction of double authentication mechanisms that combat illicit intermediation and guarantee effectively equal access to services”.
The Commission, which met in Curitiba between November 27 and 29, 2025, also denounced that "the increasingly common practice of requesting documents from users that are already in the possession of the Administration" contradicts the provisions of Presidential Decree 445/2000. Therefore, it requested clear action to standardize criteria among consulates of the same country, valuing existing good practices and reducing the bureaucratic burden on citizens.
Staff shortages and overload
Even while acknowledging progress, especially in passport issuance, the Commission stated that "the new hires have not translated into a real strengthening of the teams." The growing demand at consulates, driven by the increase in registered in AIREIt was not accompanied by an adequate human resources structure.
The Commission identified a "systemic disability" to fill the available vacancies and proposed the creation of an incentive plan, capable of making "service positions in Latin America truly attractive to career personnel" and allowing for "stable resource allocation".
Citizenship: exclusion and inequality
Also central to the discussions was the reform of Italian citizenship, with a strong impact on the community in Latin America. The Commission warned that "the new rules have tightened the conditions for access to the recognition and transmission of citizenship, mainly affecting descendants of Italians who, although they have maintained their identity, are now excluded from the world of Italian culture."
Among the examples cited are the descendants of Italians who came from the former territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Trentino people, whose parents are Italian citizens by legal right but cannot transmit citizenship, and the minor children of Italian citizens born abroad, whose right to recognition is limited by legal time limits.
According to the Commission, these points "contradict the principle of equality established in Article 3 of the Constitution and call into question the right to transmit one's own identity to children, based, in fact, on the place of birth or on historical events not attributable to individuals."
The document further emphasizes that, given the signals from the President of the Republic and Minister Tajani's openness to potential corrections to the law, the expectation is that "parliamentarians elected abroad will work towards a unified regulatory solution that takes into account the principles and proposals approved by the CGIE Plenary Assembly."
Promoting the Italian language: obstacles and proposals.
Another prominent theme was the promotion of the Italian language and culture. The Commission expressed concern about the effects of Ministerial Circular No. 4, which has hindered the functioning of managing entities. According to the text, "many institutions that have been operating for years have stopped submitting projects or are avoiding consular registration due to the complexity of the procedures; others are considering leaving the system precisely at a time when the demand for Italian is growing, especially among descendants."
It was highlighted that most descendants of Italians in Latin America did not have contact with the Italian language at school and today depend on specific initiatives organized by local communities. In this context, the education of adults of Italian descent was identified as a strategic priority for the new phase of language policy.
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