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

Citizenship by Naturalisation

(Marriage / Civil Union – Article 9, Law No. 91/1992)
1. LEGAL OVERVIEW

In accordance with the current legislation, which requires knowledge of the Italian language, information regarding citizenship by marriage is provided in Italian. Applicants for Italian citizenship by marriage or civil union must be aware of their duties toward the Italian Republic, including adherence to national values and irreproachable conduct.

The acquisition of Italian citizenship by a foreign or stateless spouse who married an Italian citizen from 27/04/1983 onwards is currently regulated by Law No. 91 of 05/02/1992 (Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8) and subsequent amendments.

Applications may also be submitted by foreign citizens who have entered into a civil union with an Italian citizen, registered in the civil-status records of an Italian municipality (Legislative Decree Nos. 5, 6, and 7 of 2017).

The foreign spouse or civil partner may acquire Italian citizenship upon application, provided that the requirements established by current legislation are met, as explained in the following sections.

Legal references:
  • Law No. 123/1983
  • Law No. 91/1992 and Presidential Decrees No. 572/1993 and No. 362/1994
  • Law No. 94/2009
  • Law No. 76/2016 and Legislative Decrees Nos. 5, 6, and 7/2017
  • Law No. 113/2018 and Law No. 132/2018
  • Law No. 130/2020 and Law No. 173/2020
  • Law No. 36/2025 and Conversion Law No. 74/2025
2. REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLYING
a) Residence within the consular district
  • The applicant must submit the application to the competent diplomatic-consular representation for their place of residence, exclusively through the dedicated online application system (see Section 4 – Procedure, Phase 1).
  • The Italian spouse/civil partner must be: resident within the consular district; and properly registered with AIRE (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad), and must live at the same address as the applicant. If this is not the case, both spouses must provide documentation justifying the different residence (e.g. work, children’s schooling, medical care, or other valid reasons).
b) Timeframes for application

The application may be submitted:

  • after 3 years from the date of marriage/civil union if the Italian spouse is an Italian citizen by birth (iure sanguinis);
  • after 1.5 years if the couple has underage children, either biological or adopted.

If the Italian spouse acquired citizenship after marriage (e.g. through residence in Italy), the 3-year period begins from the date of naturalisation.

c) Validity and registration of marriage/civil union
  • If the marriage/civil union took place abroad, it must have been previously registered to an Italian municipality.
  • The marital/civil union bond must remain valid until the citizenship decree is issued. At the time of the decree the marriage/civil union must not have been dissolved by separation or divorce. However, the death of the Italian spouse after submission of the application does not result in loss of eligibility.
d) Criminal record requirements
  • No convictions by Italian authorities for offences punishable by more than 3 years’ imprisonment;
  • No convictions by foreign authorities for non-political offences with sentences exceeding 1 year;
  • No convictions for crimes against  the legal personality of the State and security concerns affecting the Republic.
e) Language requirement

Minimum Italian language level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

f) Fees and payments

All fees and charges indicated in the “Documents and Costs” section must be paid.

3. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
  • Birth certificate (full extract or equivalent), issued within 6 months prior to the application submission, if possible, complete with all details (including parentage), legalized/apostilled and translated into Italian;
  • Criminal record certificates from:
    • the country of origin;
    • any third countries of residence (from age 14);
    • any country of which the applicant holds citizenship (excluding Italy). These must be issued within 6 months prior to application submission, legalized/apostilled and translated to Italian.

Chinese documents must be notarised, translated, and apostilled by the competent Foreign Affairs Office, for more information please check the following link. Criminal records in China are called 无犯罪证明 (wú fàn zuì zhèng míng).

  • Receipt of €250 payment to the Ministry of the Interior;
  • Identity document (passport or foreign ID card with personal data, photo, issue and expiry dates);
  • Copy of marriage certificate or extract from the Italian municipality where the marriage is registered (issued within 6 months prior to application submission, if possible).

NOTE: EU citizens may use self-certification under Presidential Decree 445/2000.

Language certificate (B1 level CEFR)

Only the following certificates are accepted:

  • PLIDA (Dante Alighieri Society)
  • CertIt (University of Roma Tre)
  • CILS (University for Foreigners of Siena)
  • CELI (University for Foreigners of Perugia)
  • Co.L (University for Foreigners of Reggio Calabria)

No other certificates issued by other institutions are accepted.

Exemptions from language requirement:
  • Foreigners who signed an integration agreement under Article 4-bis of Legislative Decree 286/1998;
  • Holders of EU long-term residence permits issued by Italian authorities (issued after 09/12/2010);
  • Persons who obtained a degree from an Italian-recognised institution. The degree must be taught in Italian;
  • Individuals with serious linguistic learning limitations due to age, illness, or disability certified by public health authorities (Constitutional Court Judgment No. 25/2025).
4. HOW TO APPLY
PHASE 1 – REGISTRATION AND APPLICATION SUBMISSION

The applicant must access the Ministry of the Interior citizenship portal using SPID or CIE. If not available, registration is done via email and two-factor authentication (TOTP) using apps such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. The email address used becomes the elected domicile (Article 47 of the Civil Code). All communications will be sent electronically only.

Applicants must ensure data is entered correctly; any input error require a new registration with a new e-mail address. Specifically, the personal information indicated on the birth certificate (including any annotations) and/or in documents issued abroad by the competent foreign authorities (such as marriage certificates, identity documents, name/surname change decrees, etc.) must be included. In the event of discrepancies, the applicant must provide appropriate supporting documentation.

The application must state whether the applicant has any co-habiting minor children from a previous relationship.

All countries of residences since the applicant’s fourteenth birthday must be declared, and no period of time should be left undeclared.

No special characters or signs (for example, the cedilla, acute or grave accents within words, circumflex accents, etc.) should be included. Only the accent on the last letter of the letter may be used, using an apostrophe if one is also present in the original language.

PHASE 2 – CONSULAR VERIFICATION

The Consular Office verifies the application and communicates acceptance or rejection via the portal. If rejected, the application may be resubmitted correcting errors, reusing previous payments within one year.

If accepted, the applicant is summoned to:

  • sign the application in person;
  • submit original documents;
  • pay the consular fees.
PHASE 3 – EVALUATION

The Ministry of the Interior is exclusively responsible for evaluation within:

  • 24 months (extendable to 36 months).

If approved, the citizenship decree is sent to the competent Consulate.

PHASE 4 – DECREE, NOTIFICATION AND OATH

The decree is notified through the Ministry of the Interior citizenship portal.

Additional documents may be required to confirm continued marital status, such as:

  • full marriage certificate from the Italian municipality;
  • updated criminal record.

At the time of the decree:

  • marriage must still be valid;
  • no separation or divorce must have occurred.

Death of the spouse after application does not affect eligibility.

Within 6 months of notification, the applicant must take the oath of allegiance, recited in Italian,  at the Consulate:

“GIURO DI ESSERE FEDELE ALLA REPUBBLICA E DI OSSERVARE LA COSTITUZIONE E LE LEGGI DELLO STATO”

Failure to take the oath within 6 months results in loss of the right to citizenship.

Citizenship becomes effective the day after the oath is taken.

The birth certificate will be sent for registration in the Italian municipality, together with AIRE registration and the oath record.

5. COSTS

€250 fee to the Ministry of the Interior (via PagoPA or bank transfer to Poste Italiane S.p.A.)

Bank details:

IBAN: IT54D0760103200000000809020

BIC/SWIFT: BPPIITRRXXX / PIBPITRA

Purpose: Citizenship application under Article 5 Law 91/1992 + applicant’s name

Consular fees:

  • Signature authentication: €20 (Art. 24)
  • Translator signature legalization: €24 (Art. 69)
  • Certified copy of ID: €10 (Art. 71)
  • Certified copy of language certificate: €10 (Art. 71)
  • Translation conformity: €13 (Art. 72A)
  • Oath record fee: €15 (Art. 8)
6. CONTACTS AND USEFUL LINKS