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Consular Assistance

ASSISTANCE TO CITIZENS ABROAD

The Consulate of Italy in Manchester provides consular assistance to Italian citizens within its jurisdiction who find themselves in difficult situations. Such situations include:

  • Protection of minors
  • Disputed minors and child abduction
  • Issuance of documents for minors without the consent of the other parent
  • Authorizations for acts on behalf of minors
  • Filing complaints, accusations, or withdrawing complaints
  • Assistance to detainees
  • Assistance in locating fellow citizens
  • Financial assistance

 

The activities of the Consulate comply with current regulations on personal data protection. This includes the inability to share sensitive information or personal data without the consent of the person involved, even with their relatives.

On this page, you will find information on the most common types of consular assistance. For further services (repatriations, introduction of medications in Italy, introduction of firearms in Italy, introduction of pets in Italy, etc.), please write to manchester.sociale@esteri.it.

 

IMPORTANT: The Consular Assistance Office does not handle urgent requests regarding other consular services, such as passports, electronic identity cards, AIRE registrations, or notarial services. For these matters, please direct your inquiries to the email addresses of the respective departments.

 

ALL communications sent to the Consular Assistance Office must include the personal details of the sender and the individuals for whom assistance is requested (surname, first name, date of birth, place of birth, etc.).

 

Disputed Minors

The term “international child abduction” (also known as “disputed minors”) refers to the situation in which a minor is unlawfully taken abroad by someone who does not have exclusive custody without proper authorization, or is not returned to their country of habitual residence following a stay abroad.

 

The primary legal instrument available to a parent for the recovery of the child is the Hague Convention of 25.10.1980, which, among other things, establishes rules to ensure parental visitation rights or the immediate return of the child to their habitual residence. The Convention specifically identifies a Central Authority in each country that, through established channels, assists in locating the abducted minor and initiates procedures for their return. For more information, please visit the appropriate section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Consular authorities do not have direct intervention powers to resolve these cases. However, they can follow cases upon notification from authorities or provide assistance to parents and the minors involved.

 

If a minor habitually residing in the Manchester consular district is the subject of international abduction, please immediately contact the UK Central Authority.

If you are aware of or suspect that a minor habitually residing in Italy is in the Manchester consular district, please contact the Juvenile Justice Department at the Ministry of Justice.

 

For further information, please write to: manchester.sociale@esteri.it.

 

Guardianship Decree

The Consul, in their capacity as a guardian judge, can intervene in matters or disputes concerning individuals who are incapable or not entirely capable of taking care of their own interests, to protect them. Every decision is made in the best interest of the person (minor, incapacitated, underage, etc.) for whom the intervention was requested, such as:

Authorization for the issuance of a travel document for a minor when consent is missing from the parent with parental authority, to the page Passports-Consulate of Italy in Manchester, authorization for extraordinary management acts concerning a minor’s assets, appointment of a special curator, appointment of a support administrator, adoption of urgent measures for the minor or incapacitated person, appointment of a guardian or co-guardian

For further details, visit the Guardianship and Support Administration section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

 

To request a guardianship decree aimed at obtaining a passport or other travel document, please read the specific paragraph on the Passport page of the Consulate of Italy in Manchester. For all other cases, please write to manchester.sociale@esteri.it, specifying the reason for your request.

 

Assistance to Detainees

If an Italian citizen is detained, arrested, or imprisoned within the district, the Consulate can offer assistance to the individual and/or their family members. It is important to note that the Consulate CANNOT:

 

  • Provide legal assistance
  • Act in court on behalf of the detainee
  • Cover the detainee’s legal expenses

 

IMPORTANT: Some procedures can be carried out directly by the individuals involved. For instance:

 

 

For other types of assistance, please write to: manchester.sociale@esteri.it.

 

Assistance for Financial Hardship

In particularly severe cases of financial hardship, it is possible to contact this Consulate for specific assistance. This assistance may take the form of a one-time support, either financial or otherwise, to help overcome the difficult moment. The requirements to obtain assistance are:

 

  • Italian citizenship;
  • Residence within the consular district;
  • Proven state of financial distress.

 

To access the service, please fill out the appropriate form, which can be found on the Forms page of the Consulate of Italy in Manchester’s website. The completed form, along with a copy of your identity document and any supporting documentation proving the state of hardship, must be sent to the email address: manchester.sociale@esteri.it.

 

Assistance in Locating Fellow Citizens

The Consular Offices conduct searches for individuals when the requester has demonstrated a legitimate interest, within the limits allowed by local legislation. Requests should be sent directly via email to the Consular Assistance Office (manchester.sociale@esteri.it) through a signed application (on plain paper), attaching a copy of a valid identity document of the requester and providing the personal data of the missing person, as well as any other useful information for the search.

 

In the case of missing persons, a report must be filed with the competent local police authorities. We recommend reviewing the instructions available on the Report or Find a Missing Person page. A copy of this report (preferably in PDF format) must be sent to the Consular Assistance Office (manchester.sociale@esteri.it) and, for information, to the Unit for the Protection of Italians Abroad and International Judicial Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (dgit.tutela@esteri.it).

 

Repatriation

The Consulate can provide assistance, in collaboration with the competent local authorities (Prefectures, Police Headquarters, Municipalities, Local Health Authorities, Social Services), for the repatriation of Italian citizens who find themselves in situations of severe difficulty, including: economic or health reasons, abandoned minors, individuals with mental health issues, or expulsion from the UK.

Any requests must be sent to manchester.sociale@esteri.it.

 

Filing Reports, Complaints, and Withdrawal of Complaints

Through this Consulate, it is possible to file or withdraw reports, complaints, and statements with the competent Italian Authorities for incidents or events that occurred in Italy or that are relevant under Italian law. For incidents that occurred in the UK, please contact the relevant local police authority through the Home | Police.uk website. Before proceeding, we advise consulting with a legal professional. A non-exhaustive list of professionals known to this Consulate is available on the Professionals page.

 

Interested individuals must request an appointment by writing to manchester.sociale@esteri.it. The email request must include:

 

  • A scanned copy of a valid identity document;
  • A completed form with a description of the facts to be reported to the Italian Authorities, drafted in editable format (e.g., Word) and in Italian, unsigned.

 

Once the request is received, the office will schedule an appointment at the Consulate to formalize the request. At the appointment, the individual must present a valid identity document and sign the report/complaint/statement in the presence of Consular staff, who will then forward it to the Authorities indicated by the applicant.