For Italian citizens residing outside of Belgium – Emergency Travel Document – ETD
The provisional travel document (also called E.T.D. – Emergency Travel Document) is a document valid only for the return journey to Italy (or the country of permanent residence). It is issued to Italian citizens who are in Belgium occasionally (not residents), or to other EU citiens who are not represented by an Embassy/Consulate of their country of nationality.
If an Italian citizen is in a situation of emergency (e.g. a tourist who loses their travel document or has it stolen) and there is not enough time to issue a new passport, the Consulate General may issue a provisional travel document (ETD) valid only for the time strictly necessary for returning to Italy or the country of residence.
In order to obtain the ETD, the citizen party may come in person, even without an appointment, to the Consulate General during opening hours to the public, with the following documents:
- Police report of theft or loss of the travel document;
- One passport photo in colour with a white background;
- Copy of the flight/train ticket, or similar travel document, with the confirmed date of departure;
- If possible, a copy of the lost/stolen document. Only if the person is not in possession of a copy of their identity document, or similar identification document with photo (e.g. driver’s licence), they will have to come accompanied by a witness.
Upon arrival to destination, the bearer of an ETD is obliged to turn it in to a police station in Italy or to the Italian consular office that has jurisdiction over the destination so that the document can be destroyed.