The Electronic Identity Card (Carta di identità elettronica – CIE) is a multifunctional document: it certifies a citizen’s identity, is a travel document, carries the tax code and can be used to request an identity on the SPID system (Sistema Pubblico di Identità Digitale – Public Digital Identity System) which allows users to access services provided by Italian public administrations.
The CIE is a personal identification document valid for identifying oneself and circulating in the European Union, in some Schengen Agreement states (e.g. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) and in other states with which bilateral agreements have been reached (see the individual ‘country sheets’ on the website www.viaggiaresicuri.it)
The CIE is issued by authorised consular offices (European Union countries, Great Britain, Switzerland, Norway, Principality of Monaco, San Marino and the Holy See – Vatican City) and on an experimental basis in some consular offices in non-European countries, including from 15/05/2024 also the Italian Embassy in Addis Ababa.
The CIE can only be issued to Italian citizens legally resident in their consular district, who are already registered in the consular register and whose personal data are already present in the A.I.R.E. (Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all’Estero) database of the Ministry of the Interior (and in the future in ANPR).
In order for the CIE to be issued, it is also necessary to have a validated Italian Tax Code (Codice Fiscale). Failing this, the tax code itself will be attributed or validated by the Revenue Agency through the Consular Office prior to the issuance of the CIE – please visit the relevant web page on the Codice Fiscale.
Temporal validity
The validity of the identity card depends on the age of the holder:
- 3 years for minors under 3 years of age;
- 5 years for minors between 3 and 18 years of age;
- 10 years for adults.
Application procedure
The electronic identity card request must be submitted using the Prenot@Mi platform or by writing to the following email address: consolato.addisabeba@esteri.it.
At least 15 days must elapse from the moment the request is made to the date set for the appointment, which is necessary to allow the consular office to check the personal data, resolve any misalignments and verify that there are no causes that prevent the document from being issued.
Please note that enrolment in A.I.R.E. is mandatory in order to submit the CIE application. It is also necessary, in the case of Italian citizens born abroad, that the relevant birth certificate is already transcribed in the Civil Status Registers of the relevant Commune.
Documentation to submit
Upon appointment, citizens must submit the following documents:
- Identification document in accordance with Italian Presidential Decree 445/2000. If not available, the applicant must be accompanied by two witnesses;
- affidavit of consent from both parents, if the applicant is a minor under 18 years of age;
- for minors under 5 years of age only: 1 passport photo, in accordance with ICAO regulations.
At the time of the appointment, the consular officer will take the photo and, except for minors under 12 years of age, the fingerprints and signature, which will be securely recorded inside the microchip in the CIE and not stored anywhere else.
Fees
The fees for the issuance of the CIE is:
- € 21.95, in case of first issue or renewal;
- € 27.11 in case of a duplicate due to theft or loss.
The fee must be paid in cash in Birr local currency, or by Ethiopian credit/debit card (Please note: the consular exchange rate applied varies quarterly, you can consult the most recent consular exchange rate in the ‘Consular Decrees’ section of the ‘Consular Register’ page, only available in Italian language);
Delivery of the CIE
The CIE is printed in Italy by the ”Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato” and then mailed to the Embassy of Italy in Addis Ababa, within 15 days from the date of production, with delivery times that may vary depending on the country of destination. Once the CIE has been delivered to the Embassy, the applicant will be given an appointment for the collection.
Retrieval of stolen or lost CIE abroad
CIE that are stolen or lost abroad, if found, are normally returned to the consular offices in whose district the theft or loss occurred.
Those who have recently suffered a theft/loss abroad and wish to check whether their identity card has been found, are therefore invited to contact the relevant consular office for further information.
Any such documents may be collected at the consular office where they were found.
With reference to CIE issued by the consular network that are stolen or lost abroad, it will be the responsibility of the consular offices to notify the holder of their retrieval, pointing out that CIE will be destroyed if their return has not been requested within one year from the date of retrieval.