The prenot@me system and its historical difficulties
The prenot@me is the official appointment system of Italian consulates in Brazil, used to schedule interviews related to Italian citizenship recognition. For years, the system functioned as a bottleneck for thousands of Italian descendants, offering extremely limited slots that would sell out within minutes or even seconds after release.
Before the legislative changes of 2025, consular appointments represented one of the main paths for Italian citizenship recognition by jure sanguinis. Brazilians of Italian descent faced sleepless nights trying to secure a slot in the system, which frequently presented technical instability, slowness, or simply offered no available appointments for months.
Failed attempts on prenot@me became a common and frustrating experience for entire families. Many descendants spent years documenting these attempts through screenshots, never imagining that these prints could, one day, have legal value in a citizenship process.
Historic case: Curitiba family wins in court
In a decision dated April 17, 2026, the Naples Tribunal established a historic precedent by recognizing that screenshots of failed attempts on the prenot@me system have the same legal value as formal documentation filing at the consulate. The case involved a family from Curitiba who documented their appointment attempts between December 2024 and March 2025.
The family filed the judicial process on March 28, 2025, at 11:07 PM — after the decree had taken effect, precisely because the prenot@me system had prevented them from filing earlier. They presented as evidence the screenshots of multiple attempts to access the consular system. For months, the applicants unsuccessfully tried to schedule an interview at the Italian Consulate General in Curitiba, always finding the system unavailable or without slots.
What made this case even more relevant was the position taken by the Italian Public Prosecutor's Office, which ruled favorably on the family's request. This agreement from the prosecuting body reinforces the legal soundness of the decision and indicates a more flexible interpretation of formal requirements for proving filing attempts.
Legal innovation: screenshots equivalent to formal filing
The Naples Tribunal's decision represents an unprecedented legal innovation in Italian citizenship law. For the first time, a judge recognized that technical and operational difficulties of the prenot@me system cannot harm applicants' rights, equating failed appointment attempts to formal documentation filing.
The magistrate based his decision on the principle that Italian public administration inefficiency cannot be transferred as a burden to citizens seeking recognition of their rights. This interpretation considers that the Italian State, by providing a deficient system, must bear the consequences of this deficiency.
This judicial approach recognizes the reality experienced by thousands of descendants: the practical impossibility of scheduling consular interviews not due to lack of interest or documentation, but due to limitations of the government system itself. The precedent opens the way for other courts to adopt similar interpretations in future cases.
Law 74/2025 and 'Letter A' protection
The Naples decision gained special relevance in the context of Law 74/2025, which converted the Decreto Tajani and established severe restrictions on Italian citizenship recognition. The transitional provisions of the law, known as "Letter A", legally protect cases of people who attempted to file their applications until March 27, 2025.
This transitional protection covers not only formally filed processes, but also - as established by the Naples Tribunal - documented filing attempts through the prenot@me system. The Curitiba family fit perfectly into this protection, having their attempts occurred before the temporal milestone established by law.
Letter A represents an acquired right for those who can prove filing attempts before the new restrictions took effect. Recognition that prenot@me screenshots constitute valid proof significantly expands the universe of people who can benefit from this legal protection.
Judicial route as the only alternative in 2026
With changes introduced by Law 74/2025, the consular system is restricted only to direct children and grandchildren of Italians, eliminating the administrative possibility for great-grandchildren and subsequent generations. The Decreto Tajani drastically limited consular access for most Brazilian descendants.
In this scenario, Italian courts became the mandatory path for those seeking citizenship recognition by jure sanguinis. The judicial route, although more complex and costly, currently represents the only viable alternative for third-generation descendants and beyond.
The Naples Tribunal is recognized among specialized lawyers as one of the most experienced courts in Italian citizenship matters. Its jurisprudence has been consistently favorable to descendants' rights, and this decision about prenot@me screenshots reinforces this reputation for understanding practical difficulties faced by applicants.
Practical guidance for those with prenot@me screenshots
Italian descendants who documented appointment attempts on the prenot@me system before March 2025 should carefully preserve all screenshots taken. These prints may represent the difference between having the right to citizenship recognition or not, as demonstrated by the Naples precedent.
It is essential that these people consult a lawyer specialized in Italian law to assess the viability of a judicial process. Documentation of attempts should include dates, times, and error or unavailability screens from the system, creating a chronological history of appointment frustrations.
To assist in family history reconstruction and searching for Italian historical records, Registro Italiano offers research tools that can strengthen documentation needed for the judicial process. The combination of proof of prenot@me attempts and complete genealogical documentation significantly increases chances of success.
Those in this situation should act quickly. Although the Naples precedent is favorable, each case has particularities that must be analyzed individually by a qualified professional. Contact us to clarify doubts about your family history and evaluate the best strategies for your Italian citizenship process.
