Citizenship and Adoption

Decree-Law No. 36 of 28 March 2025 was converted with modifications into Law No. 74 of May 23, 2025, and became effective on May 24 2025.

The conversion law amends Law No. 91 of February 5, 1992, whose updated full text is available at the following link.

Special attention should be given to the new Article 3-bis:

By way of exception to Articles 1, 2, 3, 14 and 20 of the current Law; Article 5 of Law No. 123 of April 21, 1983; Articles 1, 2, 7, 10, 12 and 19 of Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912; as well as Articles 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 of the Italian Civil Code approved by Royal DecreeNo. 2358 of June 25, 1865, a person born abroad even before this article came into force is considered to have never acquired Italian citizenship if they hold another citizenship, unless one of the following conditions applies:

a) Their citizenship status is recognized – under the laws applicable as of March 27, 2025 — following an application submitted with the required documentation to the competent Consular Office or Mayor no later than 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) of the same date;

a-bis) Their citizenship status is recognized — under the laws applicable as of March 27, 2025 — following an application submitted to the competent Consular or Mayor’s office with the required documentation on the scheduled date of an appointment notified to the applicant by the competent office by 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) on March 27, 2025; 

b) Their citizenship status is confirmed by judicial ruling, in accordance with the laws applicable as of March 27, 2025, based on a judicial petition submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) on the same date;

c) A first or second-degree ancestor possesses, or possessed at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship;

d) A parent or adoptive parent has been resident in Italy for at least two continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth or adoption of the child.

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Therefore, under the updated Law No. 91/1992, the following individuals are recognized as Italian citizens by descent (iure sanguinis) from birth:

• The applicant was born in Italy,regardless of the date;
• The applicant has Italian citizenship exclusively, i.e. does not have and cannot have any other citizenship;
• The applicant falls under one of the scenarios listed in points a), a-bis), b), c) and d) of Art. 3-bis.

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In light of the new Law, it is specified that:

1) Only applications submitted before March 27, 2025 at 11.59 p.m. (Rome time), with all the required documentation, will be evaluated under the previous legal framework.

Applications “submitted” means:

• Delivered in person to the Consular Office counter before the above-mentioned deadline;
• Sent by mail with tracking showing date and time prior to the deadline indicated above;
• Sent by mail without date and time tracking, but received by the Consular Office before the deadline indicated above;
• Received via Fast-It before the deadline indicated above.

2) Only those applications, with the required documentation, submitted to the Consular Office on the day scheduled by appointment and notified to the applicant by 11.59 p.m. (Rome time), on March 27, 2025 will be evaluated under the previous legal framework.

“Appointment notified to the applicant by the competent Office” means an email confirmation received via the Prenot@mi platform or from the official email address of the Consular section handling the application.

3) In all other cases, the new law applies.

The applicable consular fees are available on this page.

For the required documentation to be submitted, applicants must provide:

1. As per Ministry of the Interior Circular K.28.1 of April 8, 1991:
   1. The Extract of the birth certificate of the Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad, issued by the Italian Municipality (Comune) where they were born;
   2. The birth certificates, with an official Italian translation, of all their lineal descendants, including that of the applicant;
   3. Marriage certificate of their Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad, with an official Italian translation if issued abroad;
   4. Marriage certificates of their lineal descendants, including that of the applicant’s parents;
   5. Certificate issued by the competent Authorities of the foreign State of emigration, with an official translation in Italian, certifying that the Italian ancestor did not acquire that foreign State’s citizenship before the birth of the next descendant in line.
   6. Certificate issued by the competent Italian Consular Office certifying that neither the lineal ancestors nor the applicant have ever renounced Italian citizenship (as per Article 7 of Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912);
   7. Certificate of residence.
2. For applications under the new legal framework, the following additional documents must also be provided:

• To prove the exclusive possession of Italian citizenship (for example:
  • Negative citizenship certificates;
  • Proof of renunciation of other citizenship(s);
  • Certificates of non-enrollment in the electoral rolls;
• To prove residence in Italy for at least two continuous years:
  • Historical certificate of citizenship.

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Through the links on the right, you can access information regarding other specific methods of acquiring Italian citizenship:

• Acquisition of Citizenship by “benefit of law” (for minor children)
• Acquisition of Citizenship for Minor Children Living with a Parent who is Italian but not by birth
• Reacquisition of Citizenship
• Acquiring Citizenship through Marriage or Same-Sex Union
• Recognition under special laws
• Certificate of “Non-Renunciation”