Italian Consulate (Embassy) in London

We provide assistance on :

Request for transcription of civil status documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate);
Application for declaration of value for titles obtained abroad;
Visas for the United Kingdom;
Contracting marriage in Italy;
Legalization services;
British or Italian driver’s licenses and conversion after brexit;

Consular and Embassy Assistance

Request for transcription of civil status deeds (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate);

What is application for transcription of deeds?

Any citizen who has a civil status act formed abroad can directly request its transcription at any time. In this case, a special application must be submitted to the office, which will verify the validity of the act. Acts formed abroad cannot be transcribed if they are contrary to public policy.

The deed whose transcription is sought must be:

in original: the deed in a foreign language must be accompanied by an official translation into the language of the country where transcription is requested (with specific declaration attesting to the authenticity of the document) affixed by the consular or diplomatic authority present on foreign territory or by “apostille” in countries adhering to the Hague Convention of 05/10/1961, if the state that formed the deed does not adhere to specific international agreements providing for its exemption; – drawn up on a multilingual model for countries adhering to the Vienna Convention of 08/09/1976.

– Application for declaration of value for securities obtained abroad;

The purpose of the declaration of value in situ of the degree obtained abroad is to describe the value of the degree in the country of origin for the purpose of recognition of degrees, their equivalence or to boast the degrees in dealings with public administrations or with a view to the exercise of regulated professions. In fact, educational or professional degrees earned abroad are not automatically recognized in every country and therefore have no legal value.

What is a request for a declaration of value for titles?

The declaration of value is the document that certifies the validity of a degree earned abroad, in an educational system different from that of the country in which the degree is intended to be validated. Application for the declaration of value can be made at embassies and consulates.

It may happen that you have earned a degree abroad and find yourself in Italy with the need to apply for a declaration of value.

In order to apply for the declaration of value or equivalent declaration, it may be useful to prepare a sworn translation of the degrees earned abroad.

What is the declaration of value for and what elements should it contain?

The declaration of value can be requested for the following purposes:

Continuation of school and university studies;
Enrollment at universities;
Approval of a university degree for the continuation of postgraduate studies (master’s, doctoral, glottodidactic certifications, bachelor’s degrees);
Equivalency.

The declaration of value includes the following data:

Formal header of the document (in most cases), which must bear the designation “Declaration of Value”
Surname, first name, date and place of birth of the holder
Institution under whose authority the title was issued
Date of issue of the title
Registration number
Educational institution at which the courses were completed or attended
Field, specialization, address
Length of the course of study
Overall final examination average
Grade system in effect
Qualifying profession following completion of studies
Brief descriptions of the national educational system.

To whom should the declaration of value be submitted and when is it not required?

The declaration of value, when required, must be submitted to the competent authorities, namely:

Educational institutions (in cases where compulsory school studies have yet to be completed);
Universities, for requests for the prevaluation of degrees and for the recognition of the equivalence of foreign degrees, including for the purpose of admission to undergraduate and postgraduate paths;
Ministries of reference regarding professional recognitions required for the practice of regulated professions.

Apostille

“Apostille” is a stamp that certifies the authenticity of the signature present in a public act, as well as the quality with which the signing official acts. The “Apostilling” of a document, depending on the type, can be done at the Prosecutor’s Office, at the Court, or at the Prefecture.

Apostille supersedes legalization only between countries that are parties to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961. Each adhering country indicates which authorities are competent to issue the Apostille. An apostille is not required when the country from which the foreign document originates has acceded to an international, bi/plural side convention that excludes it.

There is a list of adhering states and authorities competent to issue the Apostille.

Contract marriage in the UK;

ILC & ASSOCIATES can assist you with the entire bureaucratic process required to contract marriage in Italy.

If you’re a British national getting a marriage or civil partnership abroad, you might need certain documents from the UK government, for example a certificate of no impediment (CNI).

Use this tool to find out how to get the documents you’ll need.

You’ll need to contact the local authorities where you want to get married to find out what you need to do.

Your marriage or civil partnership will be recognized in the UK if both of the following apply:

you followed the correct process in the country where you got married it would be allowed under UK law.

Legalization services

It is possible to have some official UK documents “legalized” by submitting them to the Legalization Office.

This may be necessary if an official from another country has asked you to provide a UK document and told you that it needs to be legalized.

The Legalization Office will check the document to see if the signatures, stamps or seals match their records. If they match, they will legalize the document by attaching an “apostille” (official stamped certificate).

Verify that documents can be legalized.

Documents can be legalized if they have been issued by a:

court and sealed with a court seal in wet ink
from a public register, such as a birth, marriage or death certificate, or a company certificate issued by Companies House, a government department and signed by an official, such as a tax registration confirmation letter, medical certificate, such as a medical certificate signed by a physician.
It is also possible to have other documents legalized, as long as they have been certified by a British “public official,” such as a notary public or a lawyer in the United Kingdom. For example.
documents such as a power of attorney, contract or certificate of qualification
copies of documents such as a passport or driver’s license.
This is not an exhaustive list of all documents that you can have legalized.
Check the requirements of the documents, contact the person requesting the legalization of the documents. Check whether they must be
original documents or certified copies signed by a specific person, such as a notary public or a solicitor.

British or Italian driver’s licenses and conversion after Brexit

ILC & ASSOCIATES can assist you in the process of obtaining a British or Italian driver’s license, or convert one or the other depending on your need.

As of January 1, 2020, with the entry into force of Brexit, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland have become non-European countries, with all the political and economic consequences that this entails.

In the automotive world in particular, things have changed significantly. All European citizens can move freely from one state to another without worry, keeping the same insurance and driver’s license. One can use the driving document not only for short periods of time but also when moving residence to another European state, and then convert it with that of the new country when the driving document expires.

Now that the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland have left, this no longer applies. Insurance companies are adjusting to meet the new rules. The important thing is to have the Green Card (or International Insurance Card) with you at all times to show that the car is covered by auto liability.

For the driving document, however, things are different. Now that they have become non-European countries, the validity of the British driver’s license on European soil is totally different. As of Jan. 1, 2021, these licenses are to be considered non-EU, so they are subject to Article 135 of the S.C.C. concerns driving with licenses issued by states not belonging to the European Union or the European Economic Area.”

In addition, “without prejudice to what is provided for in international conventions, holders of driving licenses issued by a non-EU/EEA state may drive on Italian territory vehicles to the driving of which the license they hold entitles them, provided that they have not been resident in Italy for more than a year and that, together with the same license, they have an international permit or an official translation in Italian of the aforementioned license.” So even British license holders will be able to drive with the same license in European territory for short periods, up to one year from residence.

The Ministry of the Interior clarified in Circular No. 300/A/3855/21/111/84/2/7 dated April 23, 2021 that while it is true that as of January 1, 2021, British driving licenses have acquired the status of non-EU and must therefore be subject to the obligations of the aforementioned Art. 135 CdS, nevertheless until December 31, 2020, they were to be considered to all intents and purposes issued by a European Union country. This means, given that the rule of the Highway Code cannot have retroactive effect (also so as not to affect already recognized rights), that the 1-year period within which UK license holders who have acquired residency in Italy must apply for the issuance of an Italian license in order to continue driving in our country, must run not from the date of acquisition of residency but from January 1, 2021.

At the same time, UK driving licenses derived in turn from conversion of Italian driving license must be considered convertible. It means that if an Italian citizen moved to the UK some time ago by converting his Italian driver’s license to a British one, if he comes back to live in our country he can freely obtain the conversion of his license from British to Italian.

Therefore, all holders of British licenses who have been resident in Italy for more than one year, i.e., before Jan. 1, 2021, must get their licenses issued? by Dec. 31, 2021 in order not to incur the penalty of Art. 135 of the CoS.

NEW UPDATE OF DECEMBER 30, 2021

With the Ministry of Interior Circular No. 300/STRAD/1/0000014450.U/2021, it is considered that individuals with English licenses residing in Italy can circulate in the national territory until December 31, 2022, in the absence of a bilateral agreement between the parties and to the particularity and exceptionality of the condition in which English licenses are in the wake of Brexit.