In two cases provided for by Article 4, paragraph 1-bis of Law No. 91/1992 and Article 1, paragraph 1-ter of Decree-Law No. 36/2025, minor children born abroad to a parent who does not automatically transmit citizenship may acquire Italian citizenship.
The minor benefiting from this provision will not be an Italian citizen by birth or jure sanguinis.
Under Article 15 of Law No. 91/1992, the minor acquires citizenship not from the date of birth, but from the day after the legal conditions required by law have been fulfilled.
First Case (Article 4, paragraph 1-bis of Law No. 91/1992):
The following conditions must be all met jointly:
- One of the parents must be an Italian citizen by birth. Therefore, this excludes citizens who acquired citizenship:
- through naturalization under Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992;
- through “benefit of law” under Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992;
- through marriage under Article 5 of Law No. 91/1992 or Article 10 of Law No. 555/1912;
- through reacquisition under Articles 13 or 17 of Law No. 91/1992;
- through iuris communicatione (Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992).
- Both parents (including the foreign parent), or the legal guardian, must submit a declaration expressing the intention to acquire citizenship within three years from:
- the child’s birth; or
- the later date on which filiation with the Italian citizen parent is established; or
- the date on which adoption by an Italian citizen during the child’s minority is finalized.
If filiation is recognized later by two parents who are both Italian citizens by birth, the one-year period runs from the first recognition, because the first recognition already causes transmission of citizenship.
If the first recognition is instead made by:
- a foreign parent; or
- an Italian citizen who is not Italian by birth but acquired citizenship through another legal basis,
then the one-year period is calculated starting from the recognition by the second parent who is an Italian citizen by birth.
The declaration of intent to acquire citizenship must:
- be formal;
- be made in person;
- and occur before an employee appointed to perform civil-status functions.
If the parents do not submit the declaration simultaneously, the legal requirement is considered fulfilled on the date when the second parent submits their declaration. If filiation (including adoptive filiation) is established with respect to only one parent, or if the other parent is deceased, the declaration of only one parent is sufficient.
Residence in Italy Exception:
If the minor establishes legal residence in Italy, the declaration may also be submitted after the one-year deadline from birth. However, the residence in Italy must continue for at least two consecutive years after the parents submit the declaration expressing the intention to acquire citizenship.
Second Case (Article 1, paragraph 1-ter of Decree-Law No. 36/2025):
This provision applies when all of the following conditions are met:
- The person was still a minor on the date the conversion law entered into force, meaning they had not reached 18 years of age on 24/05/2025.
- They are children of citizens by birth who fall within the situations described in points a), a-bis), and b) of Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992. In other words, the parents must have been recognized as Italian citizens on the basis of:
- an administrative application submitted by 23:59 (Rome time) on 27/03/2025;
- a judicial application submitted by the same deadline; or
- an application submitted pursuant to an appointment communicated by the Consular Office or Municipality before that same deadline.
3. The declaration by the parents or guardian must be submitted to the Consular Office no later than 31/05/2029. If the individual concerned, who was a minor on 24/05/2025, reaches adulthood before that deadline, the declaration must instead be submitted personally by that individual before 31/05/2029.
How to Apply for the Declarations
The declarations must be made in person at the Consular Office before employees appointed to civil-status functions.
Applicants must also provide:
- identity documents for both the applicant and the child;
- proof of residence within the consular jurisdiction;
- the documentation listed in the relevant declaration form.
For Italian citizens registered with AIRE in the consular district of residence, the certificate proving that the father or mother is an Italian citizen by birth may be replaced with a self-certification declaration.
Renunciation of Citizenship
Citizenship acquired through the methods described above may later be renounced by the individual once they reach adulthood, provided that the renunciation would not result in statelessness.