With summer demand for travel documents at a record high, the Questura of Agrigento rolled out a dedicated digital calendar on 25 June that lets residents secure same-week appointments for urgent-need passports. Applicants download a self-certification form explaining the emergency—typically business travel, medical care or proven vacation bookings—and upload it together with supporting evidence. Appointment slots outside normal office hours have been created to process the surge. The move mirrors similar fast-track pilots in Milan and Florence and aims to cut the black market for appointment ‘brokers’. For international employers who often scramble to obtain last-minute passports for secondees’ family members, the initiative could remove a major bottleneck. HR teams should note that falsifying urgency claims can trigger criminal penalties, so documentary proof (e.g., airline e-tickets or medical letters) is essential. The Interior Ministry says it will evaluate data from Agrigento for a potential national roll-out by December. Mobility managers should monitor whether other Questure adopt the system, which could normalise a two-week passport-issuance cycle across Italy.
Source: La Sicilia
