Citizenship by marriage and civil union

The acquisition of citizenship by the foreign or stateless spouse of an Italian citizen is governed by arts. 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Law no. 91/92 and subsequent amendments.

The foreign spouse may acquire Italian citizenship upon application, provided the following requirements are met:

• in Italy: two years of legal residence after the marriage/civil union or from the date of acquisition of Italian citizenship by naturalisation by the spouse; abroad: three years after the marriage/civil union or from the date of acquisition of Italian citizenship by naturalisation by the spouse. These periods are halved if the couple has children born or adopted;
• validity of the marriage/civil union according to Italian law and transcription of the marriage/civil union certificate at the competent Italian municipality, as well as the continuation of the marital bond until the adoption of the decree;
• absence of criminal convictions for offences punishable by a maximum sentence of at least three years’ imprisonment or convictions by a foreign judicial authority to a sentence exceeding one year for non-political offences, where the conviction has been transcribed in Italy;
• absence of convictions for any offences provided under Book Two, Title I, Chapters I, II and III of the Italian Criminal Code (offences against the State);
• absence of impediments related to the security of the Republic;
• certified knowledge of the Italian language at a level not lower than B1 of the “Common European Framework of Reference for Languages” (rule applicable to applications submitted from 4 December 2018 onwards).

Applicants residing abroad must submit the citizenship acquisition application electronically following the procedure established by the competent Ministry of the Interior.

Applicants must register on the dedicated portal at the following URL: https://www.interno.gov.it/servizi/servizi-line. Once logged in, they will have access to the online procedure for submitting their application for citizenship.

In order to facilitate the identification of the territorially competent diplomatic-consular representation to receive the application, the above internet address contains a link allowing users – after selecting the country of residence – to choose, via a drop-down menu, the competent representation from a list covering the entire diplomatic-consular network of the selected country.

Applicants must complete all the required fields in the form and upload the following mandatory documents as indicated by the Ministry of the Interior for the citizenship application (please note that EU Regulation no. 2016/1191, effective from 16 February 2019, exempts documents from legalisation provided that public documents are issued to an EU citizen by authorities of his or her Member State of citizenship):

1. birth certificate from the country of origin (in compliance with the legalisation/apostille and translation requirements under current legislation) including full personal details, or, in cases of documented impossibility, a certificate issued by the diplomatic-consular authority of the country of origin specifying the exact personal details (name, surname, date and place of birth), as well as the applicant’s parentage.
2. criminal record certificate from the country of origin, and from any third countries of residence and countries of citizenship held (in compliance with the legalisation/apostille and translation requirements under current legislation).
3. receipt of payment of the EUR 250 fee.
4. identity document: photocopy of a valid passport (pages showing personal data, photograph, dates of issue and expiry) or valid identity card.
5. certificate of knowledge of the Italian language proficiency not lower than B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) or a qualification issued by a public or recognised private educational institution accredited by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Only the following entities’ certifications are accepted: University for Foreigners of Siena (CILS), University for Foreigners of Perugia (CELI), Roma Tre University (Cert.It), University for Foreigners “Dante Alighieri” of Reggio Calabria (Ce.Co.L.) and the Dante Alighieri Society (PLIDA).

The following are exempt from submitting the Italian language proficiency certificate:

1. Foreign nationals (including those residing abroad) who have signed the integration agreement pursuant to art. 4 bis of Legislative Decree no. 286/1998 (Consolidated Immigration Act);
2. Holders of the EU (or EC) long-term residence permit pursuant to art. 9 of the same Consolidated Act;

3. Those who have obtained an educational qualification issued by a public or recognised private institution accredited by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
4. Furthermore, applicants with “severe limitations in language learning ability due to age, illness or disability, certified by a public health authority”, as per Constitutional Court Ruling no. 25/2025, are exempt from presenting the Italian language certificate.

After submitting the online application, the applicant will be summoned by the diplomatic-consular representation that received the application for identification and the other necessary formalities to finalise the application, including submission in original of documents attached to the online application and any other documents useful for processing the application. It should be noted that the marriage certificate extract, the certificate of family status, and the certificate of Italian citizenship of the spouse are replaced, if the applicant is an EU citizen, by a self-certification pursuant to Presidential Decree no. 445/2000 and most recently by Law no. 183/2011.

Applicants who are citizens of a non-EU country may be exempted from submitting the marriage/civil union certificate extract, the certificate of family status and the certificate of Italian citizenship of the spouse, only if these documents are already held by the diplomatic-consular representation.

According to art. 4, paragraph 5 of Presidential Decree no. 572/93, the Ministry of the Interior may request additional documents depending on the case.

Please note that, pursuant to the Ministerial Directive of 7 March 2012, from 1 June 2012 the authority to issue citizenship concession decrees is as follows:

• the Prefect for applications submitted by foreign nationals legally residing in Italy;
• the Head of the Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration, if the foreign spouse resides abroad;
• the Minister of the Interior in cases involving reasons related to the security of the Republic.

For clarity and convenience, it is recommended to consult the website of the competent diplomatic-consular representation according to residence.