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Passports and identity cards

PASSPORTS AND IDENTITY CARDS

The Consular Office of the Italian Embassy in Beirut can issue passports and electronic identity cards. If needed, it is possible to issue temporary travel documents (Emergency Travel Document-ETD) as well.


PASSPORTS

A passport is both a travel and identification document issued:

  • in Italy by the Police Headquarters (Questure);
  • abroad by diplomatic-consular representations.

It is essential to have a passport to enter Lebanon and reside in the country. The passport should have at least six months validity (i.e. from the day of departure to Lebanon, the passport must have at least 6 months of validity).

An ordinary passport is an electronic passport consisting of a booklet of 48 pages in a unified model.

The passport validity varies based on the holder’s age:

  • for children under 3 years, passports are valid for 3 years;
  • for minors aged between 3 and 18 years old, passports are valid for 5 years;
  • for adults, passports are valid for 10 years.

Upon passport validity expiry, set inside the document, you must request the issuance of a new passport. It is possible to apply for a passport six months before the date of expiry. In particular conditions, such as the renewal of the Lebanese residence permit, it is possible to submit a passport application even prior to six months.

Italian citizens residing in Lebanon, registered in the Register of Italians living abroad – A.I.R.E. consular district of Beirut, can request the issuance of a passport by scheduling an appointment via the online platform prenot@mi.

Even Italian citizens not residing in Lebanon can exceptionally request the issuance of a passport, for justified and documented reasons. In this case, the Consular Section must request the necessary authorizations for issuing the document (proxy and authorization) from the territorially competent office (Police Headquarters or Italian Embassy/Consulate in the country of residence of the interested party) which makes the issuing time longer.

For biometric passports, the applicant must always show up for the collection of biometric data (photo, signature and fingerprints). It is therefore necessary to schedule an appointment via the prenot@mi online platform and appear in person.


Passports for adults 

Required Documents

  • Application form (to be filled in at the Consular Office);
  • Previous Italian passport or, if it is the first passport, an Italian identity document (ID) or foreign passport, bearing the holder’s photo and signature. In case of lost/stolen passports, Italian nationals are invited to file a report before the Lebanese police authorities in the presumed place of theft/loss of the document;
  • One (1) recent (maximum 6 months) passport-sized colour photo (35 x 40 mm), on a white background with front view, full face and eyes open, making sure that the frame of the glasses does not cover the main features of the face.


Passports for minors

Check ‘Minors‘ section

 

Electronic Identity Cards (CIE)

Characteristics and validity

The Electronic Identity Card is a document of identification.

The electronic identity card also allows you to travel within the European Union, to go to States that are not part of the EU but are members of the Schengen agreement (such as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and to other States that have bilateral agreements with Italy (see the individual “country sheets” on the website https://www.viaggiaresicuri.it/).

The electronic identity card also allows access to the online services of Italian Public Administrations, through a code released during the issuing phase.

As for the passport, the validity of the electronic identity card varies according to the age of its holder:

  • for children under 3 years, electronic identity cards are valid for 3 years;
  • for minors aged between 3 and 18 years old, electronic identity cards are valid for 5 years;
  • for adults, electronic identity cards are valid for 10 years.

For more information, you can also write to: beirut.cie@esteri.it

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC IDENTITY CARD APPLICATION

It is possible to issue the electronic identity card only and exclusively to citizens registered in the Register of Italians living abroad (A.I.R.E) at the Embassy.

Citizens not registered in the Register of Italians Living Abroad (A.I.R.E.) will first have to regularize their situation and register, via the FAST-IT portal, and then wait for registration confirmation from the Italian municipality of last residence.

IMPORTANT: NATIONALS NEED TO HAVE THEIR CONSULAR DOSSIER UPDATED BEFORE REQUESTING AN ELECTRONIC IDENTITY CARD (address, marital status, minor children regularly registered in the consular registry). Requests for an electronic identity card cannot actually be processed if the applicant’s consular file is not up to date. Failure to register any minor children or to communicate the change of address via Fast-IT prevents from issuing the electronic identity card.

For minors, parents will be able to request the electronic identity card only once the procedure for birth certificate transcription and A.I.R.E. registration of their children by the competent Italian municipality is completed. (for information on registration, please refer to the pages of this site dedicated to Civil Status and A.I.R.E.).

 

PROCEDURE

The request for electronic identity cards can only be submitted upon appointment, which the applicant must schedule using the PRENOT@MI platform.

If no appointments are available (in green) for the requested service, it will be necessary to wait until the following day: appointments availability in the calendar is actually updated automatically on a daily basis.

Unless otherwise communicated by the competent consular office, you must appear in person at the designated counter on the day of the appointment, at the set time, with the following documentation:

  • copy of the Italian passport;
  • copy of the Lebanese identity document (residence document only for Italian citizens);
  • passport-sized colour photo (recent, on a plain background with a neutral expression);
  • application form duly filled in and signed.

For minors, the presence of both parents is required.

On the day of the appointment, the consular operator takes the documentation above, checks the applicant ID by verifying his photo as well, and then proceeds with collecting the applicant’s fingerprints and signature (this collection is not required for minors under 12 years). The consular operator also provides the first part of the codes to the applicant in order to access the digital services of the Public Administration.

The electronic identity card is sent for production by the consular office, once the application is correctly submitted and all necessary authorizations are received.

The electronic identity card is issued directly by the Ministry of Interior, through the services of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), which takes care of delivering it to the Embassy within approximately 5 weeks as of application submission to the consular office, together with the second part of the codes to access the digital services of the Public Administration.

It will then be the responsibility of the consular office to contact the applicants and communicate that the electronic identity card is ready. Subsequently, always through the PRENOT@MI platform https://prenotami.esteri.it/, applicants will be able to schedule an appointment for collection on the electronic identity card slot.

APPLICATIONS

Application for minors      Application for adults