We share with our fellow citizens the news that the Foreign Affairs and Community Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies has approved two resolutions on strengthening consular services abroad. These are resolution 8-00100, signed by Billi, Porta, Toni Ricciardi, Carè, Di Sanzo and Quartapelle Procopio, and resolution 8-00101, signed by Onori. The texts ask the Government to activate a mobile operational task force and to implement temporary strengthening measures for the consular offices under the greatest pressure, as well as completing and strengthening staffing levels where vacancies persist. Among the offices expressly mentioned in the texts is Manchester, whose difficulties have been represented by Comites through institutional acts and discussions over recent years, including an official hearing on the matter before the same Committee. We thank all political forces for the joint work between majority and opposition that enabled the unanimous approval of the acts. We will share all updates on further developments with fellow citizens as soon as we are informed. The texts of the resolutions can be consulted below, translated by us. (8-00100) “Billi, Porta, Riccardo Ricciardi, Carè, Di Sanzo, Quartapelle Procopio”. The Foreign Affairs Committee, whereas: from 3 August 2026 paper identity cards will cease to be valid and the consular network is already under strong pressure for the issuing of CIE identity cards and passports; the first signatory of this act of guidance has repeatedly represented the urgency of taking action to resolve the critical situation; among the consular offices requiring strengthening for user services are Barcelona, Basel, Frankfurt, Geneva, Lugano, Manchester, Stuttgart, Zurich, as well as the main non-European consular offices, commits the Government to assess, compatibly with available financial resources, the activation of an operational task force composed of personnel sent on short-term assignment, to support the already ongoing strengthening process of the consular network, including for the issuing of CIE identity cards and passports, reducing waiting times. (8-00101) “Onori”. The Foreign Affairs Committee, whereas: according to consular register data, the district of the Consulate of Italy in Manchester has 124,427 Italian citizens, making it the second highest-density area of Italian citizens in the United Kingdom after the capital, the 20th largest Italian community in the world, and one that is constantly growing; as highlighted by a study conducted by the Consulate itself and by the Comites of Manchester, the district has specific characteristics, linked both to the practical need for Italian citizens to hold a passport after Brexit and to the significant presence of secondary migration, which creates specific and often complex administrative needs; in 2024 Manchester had one staff member for every 6,848 citizens, with an average of 804 passports per staff member, a significantly more critical figure than offices such as London, with one staff member for every 4,995 citizens, or Cologne, with one staff member for every 4,571; despite the commitment of the personnel in service, the very high overall numbers recorded for the main services result in serious difficulties for users, with waiting times of over seven months for the issuing of passports by postal application and chronic saturation of appointments at the Consulate for passports, electronic identity cards and citizenship; telephone lines are open only two hours per week; as communicated by the Government in response to question no. 5-04279, first signed by the mover, the Executive, while recognising increasing demand for services at the Manchester office, indicated a staffing increase that should have reached 9 career staff and 10 contract staff by the end of 2025; however, despite the strengthening measures mentioned, the administrative pressure resulting from the constant growth of the Italian community in the North of England requires structural and local solutions that can no longer be deferred; similar difficulties regarding the adequacy of consular staffing in relation to the growth of resident Italian communities and demand for services are also recorded, although to different degrees, at other European offices particularly exposed to increasing administrative pressure; among these, the consular office in Basel represents a unique case in the Swiss context, being the only one among the main Italian offices in the country not to have the rank of Consulate General, despite the high number of resident Italian citizens and the economic and strategic importance of the district; according to some reports, Basel has for years recorded a discrepancy between the planned staffing establishment and the personnel actually in service, with an understaffing situation that significantly limits the office’s capacity to respond to the growing demand for consular services, in a territorial context characterised by one of the highest costs of living in the world; some difficulties are also recorded in Copenhagen, where the Italian community in the consular district has grown significantly in recent years, having substantially doubled in a decade; this is a situation that is nonetheless being addressed through a gradual increase in the office’s staffing; other consular districts, such as Barcelona, are experiencing increasing administrative pressure resulting from the steady growth of the resident Italian population and the high demand for consular services; in particular, alongside a steady increase in the AIRE population, from 133,287 to 147,524 citizens between 2024 and 2025, with further exponential growth in the first months of 2026 as reported by the Consulate itself, there was at the same time a reduction in personnel in service from 32 to 31 units over the same two-year period; however, the current number of personnel in service is 33; this situation, despite the commendable commitment of consular personnel and the significant increase in processed applications compared with previous years, causes ongoing difficulties in access times to services for fellow citizens, fuelling widespread tension and dissatisfaction among users and exposing consular personnel to situations of particular pressure, including potential risks from a security perspective; among the difficulties reported at European consular offices, finally, the Stuttgart consular district presents problems both in terms of accessibility of services and with regard to the issuing of Electronic Identity Cards, CIE; in particular, the consular office still lacks full accessibility for people with disabilities, while waiting times for the issuing of CIE cards remain high, despite the approaching deadline of 3 August 2026, from which non-biometric identity documents will cease to be valid for expatriation purposes, commits the Government: 1) to assess, compatibly with available financial resources, the adoption of extraordinary temporary strengthening measures at the consular offices most exposed to operational difficulties and administrative backlogs, including through the creation of dedicated task forces and the sending of personnel on short-term assignment, in order to guarantee reasonable service delivery times, with particular reference to passport, citizenship and electronic identity card applications; 2) to assess, compatibly with available financial resources, the completion and strengthening of staffing levels at the consular offices concerned, ensuring, where possible, full coverage of the planned staffing establishments and monitoring any persistent vacancies or difficulties in assigning personnel, including by identifying the causes that hinder staffing stability in certain offices and by adopting appropriate measures to guarantee their attractiveness and operational continuity, in order to bring the service standards of the offices concerned back into line with those of the main European consular offices.

It is confirmed: from 1 June 2026, AIRE-registered Italian citizens will be able to apply for an Electronic Identity Card (CIE) directly in Italy, at any Italian municipality, and not just at the Consulate. The new procedure is set out in DAIT circular 54 of 29 May 2026 and provides that, after the appointment, the CIE may be delivered, at the applicant’s choice, either to an address in Italy or to an address abroad in the country of AIRE residence. The ordinary processing times are of six working days after the appointment, plus the time it takes to be delivered at the chosen address. We welcome this development with great satisfaction. It is a concrete result, supported by the Comites of Manchester together with many associations and representative bodies of Italians abroad, on numerous occasions including through a letter sent on 11 February 2025 to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We therefore invite AIRE-registered Italian citizens travelling to Italy to consider applying for a CIE for themselves and their family members, recalling that: 1. The electronic identity card is a second Italian document valid for all legal purposes and recognised by most organisations in the United Kingdom. It can therefore significantly reduce the inconvenience caused by any delays or difficulties in obtaining a passport, which unfortunately continue to affect many citizens in this consular district. 2. The CIE can be used to travel to Italy. In addition, for those with settled status or pre-settled status, the CIE can also be used to travel to the United Kingdom, provided that it is correctly linked to their UKVI account. 3. The CIE includes a digital identity: it therefore allows access to the online services of the Italian Public Administration, in a similar way to SPID, simplifying many bureaucratic procedures for those living abroad. This is an important step forward for Italians living abroad, making access to an essential document much simpler and concretely strengthening the rights of AIRE-registered citizens. For full details, please refer to the circular.

The following content is only available in Italian. Aggiornamento importante Durante il webinar è stato indicato che, a partire dal 25 febbraio, i cittadini britannici avrebbero dovuto utilizzare esclusivamente il passaporto UK o un certificate of entitlement per entrare nel Regno Unito. Tuttavia, un aggiornamento alla guidance ufficiale  dell’Home Office ha specificato che i cittadini europei che hanno ottenuto la cittadinanza britannica e possiedono presettled o settled status possono continuare a utilizzare un documento europeo (passaporto o carta d’identità) collegato al loro status per viaggiare verso il Regno Unito. Webinar Sono ormai trascorsi più di cinque anni dal 31 dicembre 2020, data in cui, con l’uscita del Regno Unito dall’Unione europea, è cessata la libertà di movimento. L’EU Settlement Scheme ha tutelato i diritti di milioni di cittadini europei e dei loro familiari residenti nel Paese attraverso il riconoscimento del pre-settled e del settled status. Nel tempo, molte regole sono cambiate, insieme a strumenti, controlli e prassi di viaggio. Settled status, pre-settled status, conversioni automatiche, estensioni, revoche dello status, ricongiungimenti familiari, domande in ritardo e nascite sono tutti temi che continuano a generare dubbi pratici. Ecco dunque un nuovo appuntamento di approfondimento, parte di una serie consolidata organizzata in questi cinque anni dai tre Comites nel Regno Unito ( Comites di Londra , Comites di Manchester e Comites di Scozia e Irlanda del Nord) in collaborazione con la charity Settled . Nel corso dell’incontro sono stati ripresi i passaggi essenziali dell’EUSS e i principali aggiornamenti: dai requisiti e dalle tempistiche per arrivare al settled status, alle conversioni automatiche, fino alle estensioni del pre-settled e alle informazioni utili per comprendere quando e perché possano emergere criticità o revoche dello status. Una parte è stata dedicata anche alle situazioni familiari, con attenzione a registrazione dei nuovi nati e ricongiungimenti, e alle domande presentate in ritardo (late applications). Infine, si è parlato di viaggi e controlli: ETA, eVisa, doppi cittadini e cambiamenti imminenti dal 25 febbraio, con consigli pratici sui documenti necessari a viaggiare verso il Regno Unito a seconda della situazione. Di seguito la registrazione del webinar e le slides presentate dai relatori:

Today, 26 February at 10:00, the III Committee on Foreign and EU Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies held a hearing with the President of the Comites of Manchester, Cesare Giulio Ardito, focused on the situation of consular services in Manchester. The hearing was chaired by Hon. Giulio Tremonti and attended, both in person and remotely, by members of the Committee. The analysis was introduced with the results of a statistical study published last December, prepared by Ardito as a joint initiative of the Comites and the Consulate. Based on this dataset, structural weaknesses in consular services in Manchester were highlighted, including long waiting times for access to services and difficulties in interaction with users, even via telephone channels. It was also noted, based on the data and collected reports, that citizens experience significant difficulties and that the Manchester office appears understaffed compared to other comparable consular posts. At the same time, the productivity figures presented during the hearing clearly show the excellent work of the Consulate staff, indicating that the observed difficulties are not due to lack of effort or efficiency of personnel but to the structural gap between workload and available resources. The hearing then continued with a question-and-answer session. The full recording is available on the Chamber of Deputies portal, along with the supporting documentation. Video (Italian language) Slides (Italian language) Full speech Good morning, everyone. I am Cesare Giulio Ardito, President of the Comites of Manchester and a mathematician at the University of Manchester. First, I thank you for giving attention to the situation of consular services in Manchester. I will go straight to the point: the message I want to convey is that the situation of consular services in Manchester is extremely problematic. The key word is “extremely,” because we all know that the consular network in general faces structural understaffing issues. I know Parliament is aware of this and is working to address them. I have followed recent legislative interventions and very recent resolutions in this Committee where the Manchester Consulate was explicitly mentioned. I will mainly refer to a statistical study I conducted, as a joint initiative supported by both the Comites and the Manchester Consulate, primarily based on AIRE data. Before proceeding, let me also thank you for choosing to hear from the Comites. Comites are elected volunteer bodies in all consular districts with a sufficient number of Italians. They serve as a channel for citizens to raise issues and also carry out activities promoting language, culture, and historical memory of Italian emigration. However, in my view, their primary function—and the justification for their existence and funding—is representation. Thank you for allowing me to bring the voice of the local community to this Committee session. Now, the study, with some slides to illustrate graphs. The study was designed to provide a closer look at the Manchester consular district, which includes northern and central England. In most studies on Italians in England, this area is almost invisible due to numbers: London has nearly 300,000 Italians, and every dataset is weighted toward London, overshadowing the 123,000 citizens in other areas. A brief history: in 2011 the Manchester Consulate was closed, and in 2014 the replacement consular office was also closed. Its reopening was decided in 2019 as part of measures to strengthen UK services in response to Brexit, under the so-called “Brexit Decree,” and took place in July 2022. During those years, the population grew dramatically. At closure, there were 28,369 AIRE registrants in the district; at reopening, 108,396; today approximately 123,500. The recent increase is due to new births, internal migration from London to the North for economic reasons, and late AIRE registrations. Comparing with local authority data, I estimate around 10,000 additional compatriots not yet registered in AIRE, totaling approximately 135,000 people. From the heat map, you can see that Italians are spread across the territory; there is no central hub. Notably, 76% live outside the metropolitan area of Manchester. The average age is low, about 35 years, with one in four under 18. From a passport renewal perspective, a minor “counts double,” as their passports are valid for five years instead of ten. The demographic pyramid resembles more an hourglass than a traditional pyramid. Origins of AIRE registrants are very diverse: only 44.9% were born in Italy, 31% in the UK, and 33.7% in other countries, mainly extra-European (Pakistan, India, Brazil, Ghana, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Morocco, etc.). My estimate is that over half come from secondary migration: people who moved to Italy from abroad, acquired Italian citizenship, and later emigrated again, often with family. The consular network in the territory includes the career Consulate in Manchester, four honorary offices (Liverpool, Birmingham, Nottingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne), two consular correspondents without fingerprint machines, and consular missions created recently to cover “red zones” poorly served by existing offices, which this year will be organized with the Comites. Key figures: 123,500 Italians plus ~10,000 unregistered; one in four under 18; roughly half from secondary migration from extra-European countries. These factors complicate consular practices, especially with documents from non-European countries. Numerically, the Manchester Consulate ranks 20th globally for AIRE registrants, 7th for passports issued (11th in 2025), 1st in productivity per employee, and 3rd in passport-to-resident ratio, yet 42nd for number of staff. Recent modest staff increases still leave it far below ideal. Despite high productivity, citizens report long waits, difficulty making appointments, unresponsive phone lines, and delayed email responses. The three main ways to renew passports are: In-person at the Consulate (appointments via Prenot@mi portal, often sold out in minutes). Through honorary consulates (less pressure but extra fee of ~€50 and 8-month processing). Renewal in Italy (requires travel and varies by police station). These limitations affect all other services. Identity cards, citizenship, civil registration, and notarial services face long delays. Phone lines are open only two hours per week, emails often auto-reply, and vulnerable citizens face the greatest difficulty. Delays can also lead to legal disputes and urgent requests, further straining consular resources. Examples of impact: families with multiple passports cannot coordinate appointments; ill individuals face delays for treatment; a newborn without dual citizenship was left without documents due to repeated processing delays, with tragic consequences. My assessment: the Consulate does everything possible. Productivity and efficiency are among the world’s best, yet citizens perceive services as slow and inaccessible. Current operations resemble a war economy: internal resources reorganized to focus on passports at the expense of everything else. The underlying cause is understaffing, despite the significant investment made to reopen Manchester Consulate. A modest increase in resources could fully capitalize on existing efforts. Manchester requires a Consulate: no cultural institutes, Italian schools, or other Italian institutional presence exist - only the Consulate. During its closure, the territory suffered from disconnection among local Italian communities. Adequate resources would allow the Consulate to expand cultural, event, and coordination activities, similar to London. I urge two immediate actions: Permanent strengthening of staff, recognizing the current understaffing. A task force to clear the backlog of postal applications, which paralyzes the Consulate and cannot be managed with ordinary resources. The Comites has raised these points annually in coordination meetings at the London Embassy, in letters, and through the General Council of Italians Abroad, approved unanimously over the past two years. In conclusion, Manchester faces extraordinary difficulties, increasingly exacerbated by the growing backlog. I remain available for any questions or clarifications. Thank you again for allowing the Comites of Manchester to represent citizens directly in this Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.

Last Saturday in Manchester, the Carnival party organised by the volunteers of the Italian Kids association together with Comites took place. It was nearly three hours of music, games and fun, with over 240 attendees and lots of children taking part in games and activities run by the Italian Kids volunteers. More than 70 families took part in the costume contest, judged by a panel made up of Fausto from the Consulate of Italy in Manchester, Cesare from COMITES, and Michael, now an adult but one of the very first children to join Italian Kids activities over ten years ago. The parade was hosted by Italian comedian Tino Giaccotto together with Valentina from Italian Kids. Silvia from Comites was also at the entrance to welcome everyone before joining the celebrations. Costumes, colours, accents and smiles, together with the ever-present frappe (or cenci, chiacchiere, crostoli, galani, sprelle), brought a little corner of Italy to Manchester. Congratulations to all the winners of the many prizes, and thank you to everyone who took part: your creativity and energy made the event truly special.

A year together in 2025: a busy year comes to an end, lived across the territory of the Manchester Consular District. Between public initiatives, collaborations with associations, and institutional work, we focused on turning requests and reports into concrete actions in support of the community. We organised events together with Italian Kids, ACLI York, Mammamia Liverpool and Dante Alighieri Society Liverpool to celebrate occasions such as Carnival, the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World and the Week of the Italian Language in the World. We met the community by taking part in events organised by Lancaster Festa Italia, European Union in the UK, Manchester Italian Association, Scuola Italiana di Nottingham, and Manchester City Council. We raised with institutions the needs and issues affecting the area, first and foremost the difficulties in accessing consular services and the need to strengthen the Italian Consulate in Manchester, by taking part in institutional meetings and UK-wide consular coordination meetings. We wrote to request that the issuance of CIE cards in Italy be enabled also for AIRE-registered citizens, supported the “Digital Status Crisis” report by the3million on problems with the eVisa system, and supported requests for consular representations in Leeds and on the Isle of Man. We replied to you through the Citizens’ Help Desk, promoted a webinar on the EU Settlement Scheme together with Comites London, Comites Scotland and Northern Ireland and Settled, shared information on how to vote in the June referendums, and published the study “Gli italiani nella circoscrizione consolare di Manchester”. In 2026 we will continue the work already started, with many similar initiatives and plenty of new developments. Keep following us. Want to know more? As soon as it is finalised, you will find the 2025 final accounts in the Documents section, including the annual report on our activities.

Starting today, 30 December 2025, the statistical study “Italians in the Manchester Consular District” is available for download. The report was produced through a joint initiative of the Consulate of Italy in Manchester and the Manchester Comites. Using AIRE data, the publication provides an up-to-date snapshot of the Italian community in the area and offers a shared evidence base for institutions, associations, researchers, the media, businesses and citizens. Versione in italiano: English version: As of 31 December 2024, AIRE-registered residents in the district totalled 120,825, with an average age of 35.5 years, significantly lower than the national averages in Italy and the United Kingdom. The Italian presence is spread across the entire district, with two main urban hubs in Greater Manchester and Birmingham (around 28,000 Italian residents each) and sizeable communities in many other cities across the Midlands and the North of England. The report outlines a layered community: from the historic “Little Italies”, to the post-war flows into the textile sector, to intra-EU mobility in the 2000s, later interrupted by Brexit. A key finding comes from comparing AIRE data with other local statistical sources, which suggests a potential additional pool of around 13,000 Italian citizens living in the district who are not yet registered with AIRE. A further analysis highlights the role of secondary migration within the Italian community in central and northern England: almost one registrant in two comes from trajectories starting in non-European contexts (including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana and Nigeria), followed by a long period in Italy and the acquisition of Italian citizenship, and then relocation to the United Kingdom, often together with the family unit. Data on educational attainment, employment status and territorial origin describe a diverse migration profile that cannot be reduced to a single social or professional category. The study, in PDF format, can now be downloaded free of charge from the websites of the Consulate of Italy in Manchester and the Manchester Comites.

On Wednesday 15 October, as part of the Week of the Italian Language in the World dedicated to the theme “Italophony: language beyond borders”, an event organised by the University of Liverpool in collaboration with the Comites of Manchester and the Dante Alighieri Society Liverpool was held at the University of Liverpool’s Language Lounge. The initiative, structured in two distinct parts, was attended in total by around forty people, including students, music enthusiasts and members of the local Italian community. In the first session, “In conversation with soprano Sachika Ito”, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., the dialogue with the singer explored in concrete terms the relationship between the Italian language, vocal technique and the operatic tradition, highlighting how the sounds, accents and rhythm of Italian influence musical interpretation, and recounting how she began studying Italian in Japan thanks to a course co-funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The audience followed with close attention, contributing questions and comments that made the conversation particularly engaging. In the evening, the concert “D’Ito at the Opera: Sachika Ito: Soprano and Davide Sciacca: Guitar” offered a performance of great quality, greeted with clear enthusiasm by those present. The programme, built around Italian operatic and chamber repertoire, highlighted the central role of the language in singing.

The Comites of Manchester and the association Mammamia Liverpool organised, on Sunday 9 November at the Mossley Hill Parish Centre in Liverpool, a workshop led by Chef Carmelo, who guided the children step by step in preparing homemade ice cream and then gave everyone the opportunity to taste it together. The activity involved children aged 3 to 12 in a calm and engaging setting, supported throughout by their parents. A heartfelt thank you to all the families and all the children who took part in such great numbers in the cooking workshop dedicated to artisan ice cream: we even had to split the event into two sessions in order to accommodate all the registrations! The initiative formed part of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to highlight Italy’s gastronomic tradition and the link between culture, territory and food, which from this year is being held in a more flexible format rather than on a single fixed date.

By invitation of the Manchester Italian Association, a delegation of the Comites of Manchester took part on 9 November 2025 in the Remembrance Day Parade and the Remembrance Sunday Service in Manchester, held at the Cenotaph in St Peter’s Square The Comites was represented by Cesare Ardito and Gianluigi Cassandra, together with the Consul of Italy in Manchester, Gabriele Magagnin, members of the local Italian community, and members of the Manchester Italian Association, including Tina Palattella, who served as a councillor of this Comites in the 1990s. A floral tribute was laid at the memorial dedicated to the Italian soldiers who fought alongside the British Armed Forces in the First World War. The ceremony, organised by Manchester City Council, was held in the presence of the Lord Mayor and the civil, military and religious authorities. In the photo: Cesare Ardito, Tina Palattella, the Lord Mayor of Manchester Carmine Grimshaw, and Gianluigi Cassandra.

On Sunday 12 October, in Liverpool, a storytelling workshop was held, organised by the Comites and the charity Mammamia Liverpool, and led by teacher Anna Cardelli Lynch of Luca’s Library, a specialist in children’s literature. The event was attended with great enthusiasm by many local families and children, and was an opportunity to come together around the Italian language during the Week of the Italian Language in the World, which this year has the theme “Italofonia oltre i confini”. The Comites was represented by its President, Cesare Ardito. During the snack break, the work of the Comites was also presented to the parents, providing a useful opportunity to explain its aims and activities in more detail and to support those present with some difficulties.

The webinar organised by the UK Intercomites (London Comites, Manchester Comites and Scotland and Northern Ireland Comites) in collaboration with the charity Settled , dedicated to the changes relating to travel to the UK and the EU Settlement Scheme, was held on Tuesday 4 March. The full recording (in Italian) is below: During the event, broadcast live on the Comites social profiles, the new requirements for European citizens regarding the ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) and the eVisa were illustrated. After an introduction by the webinar coordinators, Laura Landi (Comites Scotland and NI), Anna Cambiaggi (Comites London) and Cesare Ardito (Comites Manchester), and an institutional greeting by Stefania Langiu (Consulate of Italy in Edinburgh), the speakers Daniela Vicini and Veronica Bortolato of Settled delved into the practical implications of the new rules and the best strategies for smooth travel. A key topic of the webinar was the ETA, which will become mandatory from 2 April for EU citizens travelling to the UK for tourism or short visits. It was clarified that the ETA is not a visa, but an electronic authorisation that must be requested before departure. The requirement to demonstrate possession of an eVisa for foreign nationals residing in the UK with a status or visa, including those with pre-settled or settled status, was also discussed. Participants had the opportunity to receive clarifications on various cases, such as those of family members with non-European citizenship, and to delve into the recommended procedures to avoid complications when traveling. We make available below the slides shown during the webinar, which in turn contain some useful links: Click to open Click to open Update: 16 July 2025 📅 Permitted absences rules for presettled status holders in order to qualify for settled status have been modified. Now up to 30 cumulative months of absence are allowed in the last 60 months. More details here . Update: 19 March 2025 💰 ETA will cost £16 from the 9th of April 2025. Update: 11 March 2025 Passenger support helpline On 31/12/2024, the passenger support helpline became operative. This line, which has the objective to assist travellers who are about to reach the UK and are struggling to demonstrate their permission to travel to the carrier, is no longer open 24/7. It can still be reached for free at 0800 876 6921, but: • Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm UK time • It is closed at weekends and on bank holidays If you cannot call UK 0800 numbers, use +44 203 337 0927, but you may have to pay. More info can be found here : If you update your status after a change of name and/or nationality, it is not necessary to send your Id document to the Home Office anymore. Before, when adding a new ID document to your UKVI account after a change of name or after acquiring a new nationality, you had to post your ID to the Home Office for “manual verification”. Now this is no longer necessary, more information can be found here . 3) New Home Office resources Home Office has created a series of videos that can be used as a guidance on how to switch from pre-settled to settled status and on how to update and access your UKVI account. They are in English, but, if you switch on the subtitles and then translate the whole page automatically in the desired language, you can see the translated subtitles. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ukvi-support-videos