The Questura of Agrigento has launched a new electronic agenda that allows residents and foreign nationals living in the province to secure ‘urgent’ passport appointments online, effective 17 July. The pilot, integrated with the existing ‘Agenda Passaporti’ platform, opens a rolling seven-day calendar refreshed at midnight, replacing in-person queuing and email requests. Applicants must upload proof of imminent travel—such as flight tickets or employer letters—and will receive a QR-coded confirmation to present at the police headquarters. The initiative responds to a 38 % spike in passport demand recorded since January, driven by outbound leisure travel and corporate assignments. If successful, the Interior Ministry plans to replicate the system in other understaffed southern provinces where appointment backlogs exceed 60 days. Law firms specialising in global mobility note that faster passport issuance shortens end-to-end visa lead times for countries requiring six-month validity, such as China and India, benefitting export-oriented SMEs in Sicily. Companies should update internal travel-readiness checklists: employees based in Agrigento can now obtain new passports in as little as four working days, down from the previous 15-day average—potentially accelerating last-minute business-trip approvals.
Source: La Sicilia
