Law No. 74 of May 23, 2025, which amended and converted Decree-Law No. 36 of 28/03/2025, introduced significant restrictions on the transmission of Italian citizenship and, consequently, on the procedure for registering the birth certificates of minors born abroad.
The new citizenship law establishes that individuals born abroad—even prior to the effective date of Law No. 74 of 23/05/2025—who hold another citizenship or even just the right to acquire one, are considered to have never acquired Italian citizenship, unless the legal conditions are met.
For all the relevant information and the documentation required to request birth registration, please consult the Citizenship section of our website.
Where the legal requirements are met, the birth certificate (or a duplicate) issued by the Government of Hong Kong—or, if the birth occurred in Macao, by the Conservatoria do Registro Civil—must be legalized with an Apostille by the High Court in Hong Kong or by the Department of Justice in Macao before being submitted to this Consulate General.
The duly completed birth certificate must be submitted to the Consulate General along with the Application form to register a birth, photocopies of both parents’ passports, and any additional documentation required for the specific case, as indicated on the Citizenship page.
The Consulate General will translate the document and forward it to the competent Italian municipality for registration.
Furthermore, in the case of unmarried parents, the Birth Certificate must be accompanied by a declaration of acknowledgment of a child outside marriage, to be signed at our Notarial Office in the presence of two witnesses.
For information and to book an appointment, please send an email to the following address: notarile.hongkong@esteri.it
IMPORTANT!
Please be reminded that Italian law provides for the maximum number of three first names, and the surname of one of the parents cannot be used as part of the first name.
Parents wishing to give their children Chinese names also are advised to contact the Consulate General in advance for advice.