As the saying goes, “caution and chicken soup never hurt anyone” — especially in Italian courts.
Recent reorganizations in the Citizenship Courts (or Immigration Section) brought new requirements for citizenship processes, which now demand even more patience and attention to detail from applicants and lawyers.
If the intention was to make things easier, the direction taken was exactly the opposite, with additional bureaucracy and rules that have surprised many.
The way? Take precautions and exercise extra caution.
Milan: digital signature? No way here!
At the Court of Milan, the instruction is clear: all powers of attorney must be signed manually and authenticated (for authenticity) at a notary's office, eliminating the use of digital signatures.
In times of technology and digital conveniences, Milan goes against the grain, insisting on “traditional” processes that are reminiscent of the bureaucracy of other decades.
This directly affects those who live outside Italy. Even those who are in another country need to sign the document by hand and have it notarized, revealing the bureaucratic rigidity of the system.
As if that were not enough, the Court requires that the address of residence of the applicant is stated in the power of attorney, instead of the tax domicile.
This change especially affects Brazilians who live outside Italy, but are trying to speed up the citizenship process in the Italian courts, facing consular queues in Brazil.
In cases such as a Brazilian resident in the US for work, for example, but with tax domicile in Brazil, the process now requires the indication of the address of his/her real residence.
Therefore, the “trick” of declaring tax domicile as a fixed residence to comply with consular jurisdiction in Brazil will no longer work, risking rejection of the process if the address does not correspond to reality.
Venice: limit on applicants
Already in Venice, the exotic Memorandum of Understanding (or Memorandum of Understanding) signed between the Court and associations — which claim to represent Italian-Brazilians — is already in force, with guidelines published in the Court website.
Among the most criticized measures, the protocol imposes a limit of up to 10 applicants per processThis generated a negative reaction among lawyers and legal professionals involved in the issue of Italian citizenship.
Reggio Calabria: Undocumented scheduling attempts? Case rejected
In Reggio Calabria, the bureaucracy takes a different form. Recently, Judge Flavio Tovani denied a citizenship application on the grounds that the applicant had not demonstrated sufficient attempts to schedule an appointment on the infamous Prenot@mi platform.
Simply trying to access the website several times is not enough. Now, it is necessary to materialize these attempts: formally document them in a notary's office, record each step, and include submissions with acknowledgment of receipt to prove that the accesses were real — and continuous until the date of the hearing.
To avoid setbacks, the advice is straightforward: record each attempt and make this task an obligation.
In Reggio Calabria, persistence is not enough; each unsuccessful access must be documented, making clear the applicant's commitment to accessing the service — however precarious it may be.
Brescia: good news with new payment system
But it's not all bad news. In Brescia, Lombardy, a new measure has been introduced to facilitate the progress of the processes.
An agreement between the Court and the Tax Agency (Inland Revenue) established that the fees for registering sentences will now be issued through payment slips, sent directly to the responsible lawyer.
The measure offers a more practical alternative to resolving financial issues.
Court of Rome: reorganization and rescheduling of hearings
Finally, the Court of Rome is undergoing a complete reorganization, and citizenship cases will be assigned directly to judges of law, no longer being assigned to auxiliary judges. as Italianism has already anticipated.
New scheduling should resume in December of this year. In addition, all (fictitious) hearings scheduled for December 31, 2024 will be automatically rescheduled for next year – or later.
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