This site uses technical (necessary) and analytics cookies.
By continuing to browse, you agree to the use of cookies.

Acquisition of Citizenship by “benefit of law” (minor children born abroad)

PAGE UNDER REVISION

WARNING!
A minor born abroad to Italian parents is considered an Italian citizen without the need for a “declaration of intent to acquire citizenship” only if at least one of the following conditions is met (it is in any case necessary to request the transcription of the birth certificate through the Consulate at the competent Italian Municipality):
  1. At the time of birth, the minor can acquire exclusively Italian citizenship, i.e., does not have and cannot acquire any other citizenship e.g., iure soli (citizenship for birth on the territory of the foreign country of residence, as in Canada), citizenship by option, etc.
  2. At the time of the minor’s birth, a first- or second-degree ascendant (parents/grandparents) possesses (or possessed at the time of death) exclusively Italian citizenship (example: a child is born in Toronto in August 2025 to one Canadian or Italo-Canadian parent and one parent who holds only Italian citizenship).
  3. The Italian citizen parent resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the date of the child’s birth.
If none of the above conditions (1 to 3) are met, the minor born abroad to Italian parents may still acquire Italian citizenship through a declaration of intent by the parents. Please read the following information carefully.

In two cases, provided by paragraph 1-bis of Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992 and by Article 1, paragraph 1-ter of Legislative Decree No. 36/2025, minor children born abroad of a citizen parent who does not “automatically” transmit citizenship may acquire Italian citizenship.

The minor who benefits from it will not be a citizen by birth or iure sanguinis.

According to Article 15 of Law No. 91/1992, the minor does not acquire the citizenship from the day of birth, but from the day after the conditions provided for by law are met.

A) In the first case (paragraph 1-bis of Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992), the following conditions must be jointly possessed:

  • one of the parents, even if holding another citizenship, is a citizen by birth. Therefore, cases of citizens by naturalization pursuant to Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992 or “by benefit of law” pursuant to Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992 or by marriage pursuant to Article 5 of Law No. 91/1992 or Article 10 of Law No. 555/1912 or by reacquisition pursuant to Articles 13 or 17 of Law No. 91/1992 or iuris communicatione (Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992) are excluded;
  • both parents (including the foreign parent) or the guardian submit a declaration of intent to acquire citizenship within a year from the birth (or from the subsequent date on which filiation from an Italian citizen is established or on which adoption by an Italian citizen is decided during the child’s minority). In the event of recognition of filiation at a later date by parents who are both Italian citizens by birth, the one-year term will run from the first recognition (because the first recognition already entails the transmission of citizenship). If, however, recognition by a foreign parent (or an Italian citizen not by birth but by another title) occurs first, the one-year term will be calculated starting from the recognition by the second parent who is a citizen by birth.

The declaration of intent to acquire citizenship must be formal and made in person, in the presence of an employee delegated to perform civil status functions, by appointment to be requested via email at: ambottawa.cittadinanza@esteri.it.

If the parents do not make the declaration at the same time, the legal requirement is considered satisfied on the date on which the declaration of the second parent is submitted. If filiation (including adoptive) is established in respect to a single person (or if the other parent is deceased), the declaration of a single parent will be sufficient.

In the case of establishment of legal residence of the minor in Italy, the declaration may also be submitted after the end of one year from the birth, but the residence must last for at least two continuous years after the declaration of intent to acquire citizenship submitted by the parents.

B) The second case (paragraph 1-ter of Article 1 of Legislative Decree no. 36/2025) applies when all the following conditions are met:

  • minors on the date of entry into force of the conversion law n. 74/2025, i.e. persons who had not reached the age of 18 on May 24, 2025;
  • children of citizens by birth who are in the conditions set out in letters a), a-bis) and b) of Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992. In other words, the parents must be recognized as citizens based on an administrative or judicial application filed by 11.59 p.m. (Rome time) on March 27, 2025 or based on an application submitted via appointment notified by the Consular Office or the Italian Municipality (Comune) by the same date;
  • the declaration of the parents or guardian declaration must be submitted to the Consular Office by May 31, 2026. If the applicant, a minor on May 24, 2025, becomes an adult in the meantime, the declaration must be submitted by him personally by the same deadline.

Declarations must be made in person at the Consular Office in front of employees delegated to perform civil-status duties, by appointment to be requested via email at: ambottawa.cittadinanza@esteri.it.

It will also be necessary to attach an identity document of the applicant and the child, proof of residence in the consular district, as well as the documentation listed in the relevant declaration form.

For Italian citizens registered with AIRE in their consular district of residence, the certificate of Italian citizenship by birth of the father or mother may be replaced by a declaration in lieu of certification.

According to Article 9-bis of Law No. 91/1992, the payment of the contribution in favour of the Ministry of the Interior of 250 euros applies, for each minor, by wire transfer, with any bank fees borne by the person arranging the transfer:

“Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I Cittadinanza”.

Bank Name: Poste Italiane S.p.A.

IBAN Code: IT54D0760103200000000809020

Reason for payment: Acquisto cittadinanza a seguito di dichiarazione ex art. 9-bis L. 91/1992(followed by the full name of the minor applicant)

BIC/SWIFT code of Poste Italiane: BPPIITRRXXX (for foreign transfers)

BIC/SWIFT Code: PIBPITRA (for EUROGIRO circuit operations)

The applicant, once they have become an adult, may renounce Italian citizenship acquired in the ways indicated above, with the sole condition that this does not result in a statelessness condition (the applicant may renounce Italian citizenship only if they have another citizenship).