At present, Italian citizenship is regulated by Law No. 91 of February 5, 1992 (and its implementing regulations: in particular Presidential Decree No. 572 of October 12, 1993 and Presidential Decree No. 362 of April 18, 1994), which, unlike the previous law, reevaluates the weight of individual will in the acquisition and loss of citizenship and recognizes the right to simultaneous ownership of multiple citizenships.
The principles on which Italian citizenship is based are:
- the transmissibility of citizenship by descent (the principle of “ius sanguinis”);
- the acquisition “iure soli” (by birth in the territory) in certain cases;
- the possibility of multiple citizenship;
- the manifestation of will for acquisition and loss;
As of Aug. 16, 1992 (the effective date of Law No. 91/92), the acquisition of foreign citizenship does not result in the loss of Italian citizenship unless the Italian citizen formally renounces it (Art. 11 Law No. 91/92), except as provided by international agreements.
The Italian state’s denunciation of the 1963 Strasbourg Convention means that, as of June 4, 2010, the automatic loss of Italian citizenship no longer occurs for citizens who naturalize in the countries that are signatories to the Convention (following the denunciation of Sweden, Germany, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, Austria, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands are currently signatories).
Acquisition of citizenship
Italian citizenship can be acquired in the following ways:
- Citizenship by descent according to ius sanguinis – Article 1 of Law No. 91/92 establishes that a child of a citizen father or mother is a citizen by birth. It is, therefore, confirmed the principle of ius sanguinis, already present in the previous legislation, as the cardinal principle for the acquisition of citizenship while ius soli remains an exceptional and residual hypothesis.In explicitly stating that the mother also transmits citizenship, the article fully incorporates the principle of equality between men and women with regard to the transmission of the status civitatis – Citizenship by descent, i.e. for having Italian parents or ancestors, based on the principle of ius sanguinis – Ambasciata d’Italia Nairobi
- Citizenship by marriage – The acquisition of citizenship by the foreign or stateless spouse of an Italian citizen is governed by Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Law 91/92, as amended – Italian Citizenship through “Jure Matrimonii
- Citizenship by benefit of law (Art.4) – This case, regulated by Art. 4 of Law No. 91/92, refers to hypotheses that find application only on Italian territory. For the relevant regulations, therefore, please refer to the Ministry of the Interior – Citizenship by benefit of law (Art.4)
- Granting of citizenship ex art.9 (including service in the employ of the State) – Art. 9 of the law contemplates the institution of granting Italian citizenship by Decree of the President of the Republic, providing for differentiated modalities in consideration of specific requirements of the aspirants and graduating the period of legal residence required to legitimize the proposition of the relevant application – Granting of citizenship ex art.9
Loss of Citizenship
- Italian citizen may lose citizenship automatically or by formal renunciation – Loss of Citizenship – Ambasciata d’Italia Nairobi
- Renunciation of Citizenship – Loses citizenship on condition that he formally renounces it – Renunciation of Citizenship – Ambasciata d’Italia Nairobi
Reacquisition of Citizenship
- Reacquisition of Citizenship – The discipline of reacquisition of citizenship is contained in Article 13 of Law 91/92 – Reacquisition of Citizenship – Ambasciata d’Italia Nairobi
Other Forms of Acquisition