How Obtain Citizenship Italian

Italian Citizenship through descent

Italian citizenship(cittadinanza italiana) is based upon the principle of jure sanguinis (blood right), meaning the child born of an Italian father or mother is also an Italian citizen.

Are you a descendant from one of the millions of Italians who left their homeland during the 19th and 20th century to settle abroad and improve their conditions? In that case, you may meet requirements set forth by law to submit the application for Italian citizenship by ancestry.

In fact, Italian citizenship law is currently based on the principle of jure sanguinis (blood right, according to ancient Latin). This means that a child born to an Italian mother or father have also the right to claim Italian citizenship, regardless of where the child was born.

Requirements:

Requirements are based on a combination of various factors and events related to parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents. The primary requirement to be eligible to apply for Italian citizenship is to have at least one ancestor born in Italy who possessed Italian citizenship, without any generational limit.

Documents required are the following

Ancestry applications must be supported by vital records certificates (birth, marriage, death certificates) proving the relationship between the applicant and the Italian ancestors.

The eligibility assessment is also grounded on the consistency of the information contained in those certificates, where discrepancies within names, dates, and places of birth may be an issue for the Italian authorities.

Ancestry applications can either be filed:

At the Italian Consulate of your jurisdiction, or
Directly in Italy, provided that the applicant takes Legal residency there, or
By court of Rome

ITALIAN ANCESTOR’S CIVIL RECORDS

Birth certificate from the “Comune or Church” in Italy (where your father was born and register), in “formato internazionale”, or in “estratto per riassunto” showing his parents names.
Marriage Certificate – see above or, if it took place in the U.S.A., you must obtain a “certified copy” of the license and certificate and an “APOSTILLE” from the Secretary of State of the State in which it was issued; TRANSLATED INTO ITALIAN
Death Certificate – as above
CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION or NON NATURALIZATION or his Italian passport and permanent resident card, if he/she is alive.

If the imigrant became a naturalized U.S. citizen before the birth of his child, you are not entitled to Italian citizenship (unless you fit into another category).

YOUR RELATIVE’S CIVIL RECORDS:

Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate

You must obtain a “certified copies” of “full form” or “long form” not abstract, of all certificates, authenticated with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State in which they were issued. The Certificates must be TRANSLATED INTO ITALIAN.

YOUR CIVIL RECORDS:

Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Divorce Records – if applicable
Birth Certificates of your childrens – if applicable

Steps to check if you quality

Identify your ancestor and his/her basic data

Do you know your Italian ancestor’s full name?
Do you know his/her approximate date of birth?
Do you know the Italian town where he/she was born?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions we can help you get the information you need to proceed. We can also help you to identify the category and ancestral path that best applies to your situation. You can learn more about these categories on our basic criteria page.

Verify the milestone dates of the immigration process

Did your ancestor die in Italy before 17th March 1861?

1. If yes, you may not be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent
2. If no, you may be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent

Was your ancestor naturalized before June 14th 1912?

1. If yes, you may not be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent
2. If no, you may be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent.

Is there a woman in your Italian lineage who gave birth to her child before January 1st, 1948?

1. 1. If no, you may be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent AT THE CONSULATE or LIVING IN ITALY
  2. If yes, you may not be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent through an application at the consulate or living in Italy, however you may be able to pursue Italian citizenship via the court system

Trace a direct line between you and your ancestor

Did your Italian-born ancestor naturalize before his/her child’s birth (born in the US)
1. If yes, you may not be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent. However please note that even if you do not qualify through one ancestor you might be able to apply through his/her spouse.
2. If no, you may be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent

Did you or any of your ancestors ever renounce your/their right to Italian Citizenship?
1. If yes, you may not be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent
2. If no, you may be able to qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent

Have any of your family members already applied or obtained Italian Citizenship?
1. If yes, you may be able to undergo a simplified process

If no, you may need to submit all of your family vital records going back to your ancestor who was born in Italy.

Italian Citizenship throug marriage

If you are married or in a civil union with an Italian citizen you may already meet compulsory requirements to apply for Italian citizenship, or you will probably meet them in the near future.

MARRIAGE PRE-1983 (only for women married to Italian men prior to 1983)

Foreign women who married an Italian man prior to April 26, 1983 obtained Italian citizenship automatically and instantly on the date of the marriage.

If you fall into this category, you are required to schedule an appointment with your local Italian consulate or you can do it toghether with the husband if the proccess will be in court of Rome.

You can apply for Italian citizenship by marriage even if your spouse is deceased or if you divorced, as long as the marriage was still valid as of April 26, 1983.

On 27 April 1983, automatic Italian citizenship through marriage ended (Law no. 123). Starting on this date, foreign women and foreign men are treated equally when marrying their Italian spouses: they do not receive automatic and immediate Italian citizenship.

MARRIAGE – for women married to Italian men (after April 26, 1983) or men married to italian women any time

Foreign nationals that reside outside Italy are eligible to apply for Italian citizenship by marriage three years after the date of marriage/civil union to an Italian Citizen.

The term is reduced by half if the couple has children under the age of 18 or when children are legally adopted by the couple.

In the past the maximum processing time for applications for citizenship by marriage was 730 days (2 years). The Law Decree n. 113 passed on October 4, 2018 (and converted into law 132/2018) reduced the maximum processing time to 48 months. On December 18, 2020 the Law number 173 changed the processing time to 24 months which can be extended to a maximum of 36 months.

Law December 1, 2018 n. 32 (which converted into law and modified/integrated Law Decree October 4, 2018 n. 113) introduced a new requirement for applications for Italian citizenship by marriage presented after December 4, 2018. Such law establishes that applicants for Italian citizenship by marriage must have an adequate knowledge of the Italian language (B1 level) which must be certified by an educational institution approved by the Italian Ministry of Education (“MIUR”) or Ministry of Foreign affairs (“MAECI”)

Same-sex civil unions were recognized in Italy in 2016. All same-sex marriages celebrated abroad are recognized in Italy as Civil Unions. Same-sex couples are provided with most of the protections that are provided to married couples.

Documents are the following

Italian passport (original and photocopy);
Non-Italian spouse’s foreign passport and State ID (original and photocopy);
Proof of residency within the consular jurisdiction (original and photocopy);
“signed declaration” by which the spouses declare to be still married;
Application form;
Residency list;
ORIGINAL long form certified copy of the non-Italian spouse’s birth certificate with Apostille and translation into Italian;
ORIGINAL marriage transcript from the Italian municipality (“estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio);
ORIGINAL criminal background checks from the US states and countries where the applicant has resided since the age of 14 (+ the state or country of birth) with Apostille and translation into Italian;
Italian language certification (B1 level);
Fee

Note: an “estratto per riassunto” is a certification that lists only the basic information about the record and it is different form a “copia integrale”, which is a copy of the original entry, listing any information that is listed on the original record.

After the appointment at the consulate, the documents will be sent by the Consulate to the Ministry of Interior for processing.

Italian Citizenship through naturalization

Did you simply fall in love with Italy and decide to live and settle down here? This could be an interesting option for you!

If you have been legally resident in Italy, and you are still resident, you may be eligible for citizenship through residency and apply for Italian citizenship through naturalization.