An Italian

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

is issued upon request to an

Italian citizen Italian nationality law is the law of Italy governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of Italian citizenship. Like many continental European countries it is largely based on '' jus sanguinis''. It also incorporates many elements that ar ...

for the purpose of international travel. It is valid for 10, 5 or 3 years, depending on the applicant's age. Its biometric version has been available since 2006. It is ranked as one of the most powerful passports in the world. Every Italian citizen is also a

citizen of the European Union European Union citizenship is afforded to all citizens of member states of the European Union (EU). It was formally created with the adoption of the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, at the same time as the creation of the EU. EU citizenship is additio ...

. The passport, along with the

national identity card National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, allows for free movement and residence in any EU member state, in the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...

and in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Physical appearance

Italian passports share the common design of EU Passports: they are burgundy-coloured, with the

Emblem of Italy The emblem of the Italian Republic ( it, emblema della Repubblica Italiana) was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms (or in Italian), it is an emblem as it was designe ...

emblazoned in the center of the front cover. The word "Passaporto", meaning

, is inscribed below the coat of arms and "Unione Europea" ( en, European Union), "Repubblica Italiana" ( en, Italian Republic) above. The biometry symbol appears right below "Passaporto" in the centre. The current version of the passport contains 48 pages.

Identity information page

The biodata are on page 2 of the passport, and include the following: * Photo of Passport Holder * Type * Code of Issuing State (ITA) * Passport No. * Surname (1) * Given Names (2) * Nationality (3) * Date of Birth (4) * Sex (5) * Place of Birth (6) * Date of Issue (7) * Date of Expiration (8) * Authority (9) * Holder's signature (10) The information page ends with the Machine Readable Zone.

Languages

The data page is printed in Italian, English and French. Further translation is provided on page 6, in all 23 official

languages of the European Union The European Union (EU) has 24 official languages, of which threeEnglish, French and Germanhave the higher status of "procedural" languages of the European Commission (whereas the European Parliament accepts all official languages as working l ...

Visa free travel

Visa requirements for

s are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. As of 21 September 2022, Italian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the Italian passport 4th in terms of travel freedom (tied with Luxembourg and Finland) according to the

Henley Passport Index The Henley Passport Index ( abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restricti ...

Issuing

The Italian passport is issued by the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

, through * Questure (State Police provincial offices) in Italy * Italian

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth co ...

s and

embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

abroad However, Italian citizens can also apply through

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...

(''Stazioni dei Carabinieri'') and

Police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

(''Commissariati'') offices. Since the introduction of biometric passports in 2006, applicants should appear in person at the Police offices to have fingerprints collected; children under 12 are exempt, but should appear in person nonetheless. The current fee for a standard 10-year

biometric passport A biometric passport (also known as an e-passport or a digital passport) is a traditional passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip which contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of the pa ...

is €116. The requirement to attach an annual

revenue stamp A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration ...

inside the passport was canceled in 2014.

Multiple passports

Italians are allowed to have two passports if they have a valid reason, such as having a stamp from a country like

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, which may cause trouble with other countries (some countries do not accept passports that contain stamps issued by Israeli authorities). One passport will have to be stored in a Questura (provincial headquarters of the State Police) or consulate.

Gallery of historic images

File:Passaportoitaliano1901.jpg, Cover of passport issued in 1901 File:Passaportoitaliano1938.jpg, Cover of passport issued in 1938 File:1938 Italian regular passport changed during the war to a SERVICE passport.jpg, 1938 Italian regular passport changed during the war to a SERVICE passport File:1947 Italian Diplomatic passport used for Moscow.jpg, 1947 Italian Diplomatic passport used for Moscow File:Passaportoitaliano1953.jpg, Cover of passport issued in 1953 File:Passaportoitaliano1973.jpg, Cover of passport issued in 1966 File:Passaportoitaliano1966.jpg, Cover of passport issued in 1973 File:Passaportoitaliano1990.jpg, Cover of passport as issued from 1985 to 1998 File:Passaportoitaliano2004.jpg, Cover of passport as issued from 1998 to 2006 File:Passaportoitaliano2006.jpg, Cover of passport as issued from 2010 onwards

References

External links

Italian Police official sitePassport process site
{{Passports

Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

European Union passports