Italy modernises passport laws after 60 years.

Italy has updated its passport rules as part of a bill aimed at bringing existing bureaucratic procedures into line with international travel standards.

In a statement, the ministry of foreign affairs clarified that the changes announced on Friday were "not substantial", rather they were "small adjustments" to update a 1967 law and make it "consistent with international standards in use in recent years".

Under the updated rules, the possibility of renewing expired passports without changing the passport booklet has been formally abolished, the ministry said, noting that this practice had not been applied for years due to the requirement that passports be machine-readable at airports.

The ministry also confirmed that passports are issued for a 10-year period (no longer with a five-year renewable version) and will continue to have a 10-year non-renewable validity.

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Other updates include the scrapping of the collective passport, once issued to groups of between five and 50 people, for cultural, religious, sports and tourism reasons.

The ministry clarified that this travel document had not been issued for years as it did not comply with international standards.

There were also minor changes for citizens abroad. Italian consulates are authorised "to issue travel declarations for minors in cases where the foreign countries the minors are travelling to require this type of document", the ministry said.

Those who lose or have their passport stolen abroad are required to also report it to the police authorities of the country they are in, however the ministry clarified that if this is not possible the consulate can still issue the citizen with a replacement passport.

The bill also confirms that the carta d'identità (identity card) permits travel outside the European Union to countries that have specific bilateral agreements in place.