Following the closure of the British Consulate in Florence at the end of last year (see TF 140), the British Ambassador to Italy, Christopher Prentice, recently announced that the consulate in Naples will also be shutting down.
As of June 2012 only two British Consulates will remain in Italy: those in Rome and Milan.
These changes are the result of both severe budget cuts to the United Kingdom Foreign Office and an overall re-organisation of the UK consular network. As in Florence, an Honorary Consul will be appointed to represent the British government in Naples, but the consulate in Rome will deal with most issues related to British residents in the south, whereas the consulate in Milan manages issues regarding British residents in Tuscany and other northern regions.
The United Kingdom is also re-organising the system for issuing and renewing passports, and British citizens living in Italy will not be able to renew their passports from within the country. At present, they must apply to the Regional Passport Processing Centre in Paris. Eventually, when the system is centralised, passports will be renewed from within Britain only.
For more information from the British Embassy in Italy, visit http://ukinitaly.fco.gov.uk or call 064/2200001.
