Citizenship

Italian citizenship is based on the principle of ius sanguinis (right of blood), whereby a child born of an Italian father or mother is Italian; however, it should be borne in mind that a citizen mother transmits citizenship to her minor children only as of 1.1.1948, as a result of a specific Constitutional Court ruling. At present, Italian citizenship is regulated by Law No. 91 of 5.12.1992, which, unlike the previous law, reevaluates the weight of individual will in the acquisition and loss of citizenship and recognizes the right to the simultaneous holding of more than one citizenship, subject to different provisions of international agreements.

MODALITIES OF ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP

AUTOMATIC MODES OF ACQUISITION

• • By filiation
  • By birth on Italian territory, in any case in which the parents are unknown or stateless or do not transmit their citizenship to the child according to the law of the state to which they belong; in the case in which the child of unknowns is found abandoned on Italian territory and its status civitatis cannot be determined.
  • By recognition of paternity or maternity, during the minor age of the child (in case the recognized child is of age, an election of citizenship by the latter is required within one year of the recognition)
  • By adoption, whether the foreign child is adopted by an Italian citizen by order of the Italian Judicial Authority, or in the case where the adoption is pronounced abroad and made effective in Italy by order (issued by the Juvenile Court) of transcription in the Civil Status Registers. If the adoptee is of age, he or she may acquire Italian citizenship by naturalization, after a period of legal residence in Italy of 5 years following the adoption (see in Method of Purchase on Application: Naturalization).

MODE OF ACQUISITION ON APPLICATION

• • Declaration of will of the interested party
    • If the foreigner is descended from an Italian citizen by birth (up to the 2nd degree), he/she may obtain citizenship if (alternatively):- performs military service in the Italian Armed Forces;
    • assumes public employment in the employ of the State, including abroad;
    • has been legally residing in Italy for at least two years upon reaching the age of majority. If the foreigner was born on Italian territory, he/she can obtain citizenship if he/she resides legally and continuously in Italy from birth until reaching the age of majority.
  • Marriage with an Italian citizen/The requirements are:
    • legal residence in Italy for a period of at least six months after marriage or three years of marriage if resident abroad;
    • validity of the marriage; absence of criminal convictions;
    • absence of impediments related to national security.

The application to acquire citizenship should be addressed to the Minister of the Interior and submitted to the Prefecture of the province of residence, if residence is in Italy, or to the diplomatic-consular authority, if residence is abroad.

• • Naturalization Requirements are:
    • ten years of legal residence;
    • sufficient income;
    • absence of criminal record;
    • renunciation of nationality of origin (where applicable).The number of years may be shortened to:- three years of legal residence for descendants of former Italian citizens by birth up to the second degree and for foreigners born on Italian territory;
    • four years of legal residence for citizens of a state belonging to the European Communities;
    • five years of legal residence for stateless persons and refugees, as well as for foreigners of age adopted by Italian citizens;
    • seven years of legal residence for the affiliate from an Italian citizen;
    • no period of residence is required for foreigners who have served the state for a period of at least five years, including abroad.The application for naturalization should be made out to the President of the Republic and submitted to the Prefecture of the Province of residence.

DOCUMENTATION TO BE SUBMITTED FOR APPLICATION TO ACQUIRE CITIZENSHIP

Self-certifiable documents:

• • General Certificate of Criminal Records (on tax stamp);
  • Certificate of Family Status (on tax stamp);
  • Historical Certificate of Residence; if there have been more than one municipality of legal residence, one historical registry certificate must be submitted for each municipality (on revenue stamp);
  • Notarized copy of the 740 or 101 forms for the three years preceding the application or certification issued by the competent Direct Tax Office about the income tax returns produced in the three years immediately preceding the submission of the application.

NON-Self-Certifiable Documents:

• • application for the acquisition of citizenship to be completed on a pre-printed form available from the competent Prefecture in relation to the place of residence of the interested party;
  • birth certificate from the country of origin complete with full particulars;
  • in case of documented impossibility, certificate issued by the Diplomatic or Consular Authority of the country of origin, duly translated and legalized, in which the generalities (first name, last name, date and place of birth), as well as the paternity and maternity of the applicant must be indicated;
  • Criminal record certificate from the country of origin and countries of residence (self-certifiable only by EU citizens);
  • Authorization to the competent authorities of the country of origin to release any information about themselves that may be requested by the Italian Diplomatic Authorities, to be completed on a pre-printed form to be collected from the Prefecture;
  • Declaration of renunciation of protection of the Italian Diplomatic Consular Authority vis-à-vis the Authority of the country of origin, to be filled out on a pre-printed form to be collected from the Prefecture (only for applicants for citizenship by residence in Italy). Certificate of Italian citizenship of spouse on stamp (only for applicants for citizenship by marriage).

After the application is submitted, other documents such as:

• • Certificate on pending charges, issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the competent Magistrate’s Court and Court in relation to the locality of residence of the interested party;
  • Data on the entry and residence of the person concerned;
  • Extract from the marriage registers of the Italian municipality at which the relevant act was transcribed (only for applicants for citizenship after marriage).
  • The applicant, in order to shorten the procedure, can always exhibit or send electronically a copy, even if not authenticated, of the certificates in his possession.

Regaining Italian citizenship in case of loss

In case of loss, Italian citizenship can be reacquired:

• • Etablisheing residence in the territory of the Republic, unless within the same period of time it is renounced.
  • By application
    • performing actual military service in the Italian Armed Forces;
      • by taking up, or having taken up, public employment in the employ of the State, including abroad;
      • by presenting, for residents abroad, at the Italian Consular Authority, a declaration aimed at the reacquisition of Italian citizenship and establishing, within one year of the declaration, one’s residence in Italy;
      • by declaration, by the Italian citizen who has automatically lost her citizenship by marriage to a foreigner celebrated before January 1, 1948.