With the recent change in Italian legislation, parents have until May 2026 to apply for Italian citizenship for their minor children under the benefit provided for in the new regulation. However, Italian consulates delayed the start of operations by about three months and, even after resuming, still do not offer enough appointment slots in the Prenotami scheduling system.
The Italian Consulate in São Paulo, for example, states that all cases will be handled within the deadline, but families report difficulty finding available appointment times, which has led lawyers to recommend preparing evidence and, in some cases, future legal action.
The lawyer Riccardo De Simone advises parents to record each failed attempt. "Take a screenshot of your own computer to confirm that consulates are not allowing appointments to register and transcribe your minor child."
According to him, this evidence can support future lawsuits: "In the future, we can use all these printouts to prove this inefficiency and sue the consulate to register our minor child."
Already the lawyer Antonio Cattaneo highlights the possibility of sending, to the Italian municipality, a diffida ad adempiere — formal notification. This measure is especially relevant for children born before March 28, 2025.
"It is recommended to send a notification based on Article 328, paragraph 2, of the Italian Penal Code, which deals with the failure to perform an official act. After sending it, you should contact the mayor, who is responsible for the municipality's Civil Registry, to attempt to obtain a transcription of the certificate amicably. If there is no solution, the next step is to file a lawsuit with the Regional Administrative Court (TAR)," he stated.
The lawyer Andrew Montone reinforces that the omission may justify legal action: “If there is an omission on the part of the public administration, consular evidence would substantiate the interest in taking action and seeking legal action.”
For him, preventing registration also affects a fundamental right: “It can be stated that such circumstances that prevent the registration of the minor translate into a denial of recognition of the right claimed by the applicants, directly affecting the principle of best interest of the child (best interest of the child) provided for in international regulations”.
How to gather evidence of consular omission in registering minor children
Lawyers advise that, given the lack of spaces in the Prenotami system, it is essential that parents document their attempts to register their minor children. This evidence can be crucial in future lawsuits.
See below for the recommended step-by-step guide to preparing and organizing this evidence.
1. Visit the Prenotami website regularly
Log in frequently Bookings and try to view the available positions at the consulate responsible for your place of residence. Do this on different days and times.
2. Capture screenshots of attempts
Whenever you try to schedule the “minor child registration” service and cannot find any vacancies:
- Be screenshots with visible date and time.
- Show the name of the service, the lack of vacancies and the consulate accessed.
- Also record any messages displayed by the system, such as “All appointments for this service are currently booked” or “all spaces are sold out.”
3. Organize captures by date
Create a folder on your computer or phone with the name and date of the attempts. Example:
/Prenotami_Tentativas/2025-08-07_print1.png
4. Send emails to the consulate
If possible, send formal emails to the consulate requesting openings or clarification on the procedure. Keep copies of the emails sent and any responses received.
5. Record the submission of the official request (diffida ad adempiere)
If you choose to send the diffida ad adempiere — formal notification requiring compliance with the registration duty:
- Do it for traceable medium, as a registered letter with return receipt requested (AR),(registered mail with return receipt) or PEC (certified email in Italy).
- Keep proof of sending and the full content of the notification.
6. Gather all the minor's documents
Have on hand:
- Original and translated birth certificate (with apostille, if necessary)
- Minor's document
- Parents' documents
- Proof of residence
7. Keep everything backed up
Store files in the cloud (Google Drive, OneDrive, or similar) and on a physical device, such as a flash drive or external hard drive.
Decide now or wait for the court decision?
To Daniel Taddone, advisor to the General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE), answering this question is not simple.
According to him, the most conservative alternative is to formalize the request immediately at the consulate, within the legal deadline — which runs until May 2026 — to ensure the right.
"Obviously, the safest part, the most conservative part, would be to say: take advantage of the legal benefit, do it at the consulate, register your minor child, move forward, and then we'll see. That's the most conservative way of looking at it. Personally, I'm almost certain that everything will be declared unconstitutional and that all of this will be in vain, but that's just a guess," says Taddone.
O The Constitutional Court is expected to review the new law in early 2026.On July 25, the Turin Court accepted a new request to verify the constitutionality of Law 74.
A possible declaration of unconstitutionality could reinstate the previous rules for the registration of minors.
“I believe that everything will go back to the way it was before. (in the case of minor children) because I believe this will be declared unconstitutional. I trust the Constitutional Court, I trust the Court of Cassation,” Taddone adds.
This situation requires each family to evaluate their case, weighing timelines, risks, and expectations. Meanwhile, experts unanimously recommend documenting all scheduling attempts and retaining evidence of consulate failures, which could be decisive in future legal action.
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