As announced, the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto has undertaken a complex process of reorganization of the Citizenship by descent application service.
According to the latest Canadian census, a little less than a million people claim to be of Italian descent in the Ontario Province only, thus making it potentially home to one of the largest communities of Italian origin in the world.
Of around 75.500 Italian residents throughout the jurisdiction of the Consulate General – Manitoba, North West Territories and Ontario (with some territorial exceptions managed by the Embassy in Ottawa) – we already count a very significant number of Italian-Canadians, but this number could therefore increase further.
By July 2022 the online booking calendar for Citizenship by descent applications, opened in 2021, was already fully booked until December 2024. Hence, it was impossible to accommodate any new requests for appointments, as it would have meant allocating slots in 2025 and 2026 causing additional stress both on potential applicants and the Consulate itself (understaffed).
After several months of hard work, in September 2023 we began screening all appointments that had been booked until December 31, 2024.
Around half of those applicants were happy to attend an earlier appointment at the Consulate, rescheduled between September 2023 and January 2024.
A quarter, however, asked to retain their original appointment. Another quarter simply did not respond to our emails or had wrongly booked this calendar (this procedure does not apply to: applications for citizenship by marriage; newborns, for whom Italian parents just have to send the Consulate the birth certificates, translated and apostilled).
After engaging in this tremendous effort by the end of 2023 we were able to work on a new booking calendar.
Therefore, keeping our pledge, we are glad to announce that, while we will continue to receive the remaining applicants who have already booked an appointment on the old calendar (and who asked to retain it), a new booking calendar for Citizenship by descent applicants will be available as of February 1, 2024.
In light of the feedbacks received while screening one by one the hundreds of appointments taken for 2024, we invite you all to read carefully the information available on our website, where you will also find the link to the Prenot@mi system, which will allow you to book an appointment.
Please, follow carefully the instructions provided. Your application process will be smoother and we will be able to offer you a more efficient service.
With your help, we can serve you better.
Do not book an appointment unless you have all the documents needed.
Make sure to have all the certificates listed on our Checklist. If you book an appointment and you fail to submit all the documents, your application will not be processed but you still have to pay the administrative fee (non refundable, by Italian Law) due to examine your application. Before booking, therefore, please double-check that you are indeed ready to apply.
If you book an appointment but then you think you will not be able to attend on that day, please remember to cancel it on the Prenot@mi system.
Be kind to other applicants and let them have a chance by freeing a time slot which you will not use.
Please, remember: you cannot have an Italian passport without being first recognized as Italian citizen. A passport is an identity document confirming your status as citizen of a Country. To apply for an Italian passport, you must be an Italian citizen.
Hence, if you apply for the recognition of citizenship by descent, no Italian passport will be issued on the day you apply for your citizenship.
You will be able to apply for an Italian passport only if and when you receive confirmation from the Consulate that you have been recognized Italian citizen by descent.
We hope that you will be able to acknowledge the vast efforts carried out by this Consulate, in spite of a very small – although extremely committed – pool of human resources compared to the huge community served.
We invite you to be also realistic: appointments available are proportionate to the available staff (at present only 1 person) to manage this service, and remember: we will continue also to receive the remaining applications booked in the previous calendar.
This new booking for 2024 will be however flexible in order to avoid the problems of the past (details in the cards below and on Prenot@mi web portal).
It will be also closely monitored.
At the end of the year we will take stock of this experience and of the feedbacks of applicants, with a view to constantly improving our services in future.
