The Consulate General of Italy in Zurich published a notice on 19 June listing the next release dates for Prenot@MI appointments to obtain passports and Carta d’Identità Elettronica (CIE). Slots will open every second Monday at noon, with the first tranche scheduled for 29 June covering appointments through 31 July. For the 600,000-strong Italian community in Switzerland, the announcement is more than a bureaucratic footnote. A backlog caused by soaring demand for biometric documents—needed to use EU e-Gates under the Entry/Exit System—has left many dual-country commuters travelling on soon-to-expire passports. The consulate now handles over 1,200 passport requests per month, up 35 % year-on-year. Employers with cross-border staff should remind Italian nationals to secure bookings promptly and to use desktop browsers rather than mobile devices, as suggested by consular tech support. Missing or expired passports can invalidate Swiss work-permits (L and B types) during police checks. Meanwhile, Rome has extended the validity of CIEs held by citizens aged 70 + to lifetime status, reducing renewal pressure, but younger professionals remain subject to the standard ten-year cycle. HR teams should update mobility checklists to incorporate the Zurich booking cadence and cushion project timelines accordingly.
