The acquisition of citizenship by the foreign national 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 national spouse can acquire Italian citizenship upon application, in the presence of the following requirements:
- in Italy: two years of legal residence after marriage/civil union or from the date of acquisition of Italian citizenship by naturalisation by the spouse; abroad: three years after marriage/civil union or from the date of acquisition of Italian citizenship by naturalisation by the spouse. These terms are reduced by half in the presence of children born or adopted by the spouses;
- validity of the marriage/civil union under the Italian legal system and transcription of the marriage/civil union certificate in the registry at the competent Italian Municipality, as well as the permanence of the marital bond until the adoption of the decree;
- absence of convictions for offences committed for which the law prescribes a statutory penalty of a maximum of at least three years imprisonment or conviction for non-political offences to imprisonment longer than one year inflicted by a foreign court, if the foreign sentence has been recognised in Italy;
- absence of convictions for any of the offences set out in Book II, Title I, Chapters I, II and III of the Italian Criminal Code (offences against the State);
- absence of substantiated impediments 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” (requirement applicable to applications submitted as of 4/12/2018).
Persons residing abroad must submit the application for the acquisition of Italian citizenship electronically according to the procedure established by the competent Ministry of the Interior.
The applicant must register on the dedicated portal at the following URL: https://www.interno.gov.it/servizi/servizi-line and, once logged in, will have access to the online procedure for submitting the application for citizenship.
In order to facilitate the identification of the diplomatic-consular Authority territorially competent to receive the application, at the internet address indicated above a connection link is provided that allows the user – after selecting the country of residence – to choose, through a drop-down menu, the competent Authority by accessing a list that includes the entire diplomatic-consular network of the selected country.
The user must fill in all the fields provided for in the form and attach the following mandatory documents indicated by the Ministry of the Interior to apply for citizenship (please note that EU Regulation no. 2016/1191, which came into force on 16 February 2019, provides for the exemption of legalisation provided that public documents are issued to an EU citizen by the Authorities of his or her Member State of citizenship):
- birth certificate of the country of origin (in compliance with the obligations prescribed by the current legislation on legalisation/apostille and translation) complete with all personal details, or, in case of documented impossibility, certificate issued by the diplomatic-consular Authority of the country of origin in which the exact personal details (name, surname, date and place of birth) are indicated, as well as the applicant’s paternity and maternity.
- criminal record certificate of the country of origin, and of any third countries of residence and of the countries of which he or she possesses citizenship (in compliance with the obligations prescribed by the current legislation on legalisation/apostille and translation).
- receipt of the EUR 250 payment.
- identity document: photocopy of a valid passport (pages with personal data, photograph, dates of issue and expiry) or valid identity card.
- certificate of knowledge of the Italian language not lower than level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) or qualification issued by a public or private educational institution recognised by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The institutions whose certifications are admitted are exclusively the University for Foreigners of Siena (CILS), the University for Foreigners of Perugia (CELI), Roma Tre University (Cert.It), the University for Foreigners “Dante Alighieri” of Reggio Calabria (Ce.Co.L.) and the Dante Alighieri Society (PLIDA).
The following are not required to present the qualification of knowledge of the Italian language:
- Foreign nationals (even if residing abroad) who have signed the integration agreement referred to in art. 4 bis of Legislative Decree no. 286/1998 Consolidated Immigration Act;
- Holders of EU (or EC) residence permits for long-term residents referred to in art. 9 of the same consolidated text.
- Those who have obtained a qualification issued by a public or private educational institution recognised by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
- Persons suffering from “serious limitations in language learning capacity resulting from age, pathologies or disabilities, attested by certification issued by the public health facility”, as a result of the Constitutional Court’s Ruling no. 25/2025, are also not required to submit the aforementioned certificate of knowledge of the Italian language.
After submitting the application electronically, the user will be summoned by the diplomatic-consular Authority that received the application for identification and the other formalities necessary for the completion of the application, including the acquisition of the original documentation attached to the application submitted online and any other document useful for the preliminary activities of the same. In this regard, it should be noted that if 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-declaration pursuant to Presidential Decree no. 445/2000 and most recently by Law no. 183/2011.
The applicant who is a citizen of a country not belonging to the European Union may be exempted from submitting the extract from the records of the marriage/civil union, the certificate of family status and the certificate of Italian citizenship of the spouse, only if these documents are already in the possession of the diplomatic-consular Authority.
According to art. 4, paragraph 5 of Presidential Decree no. 572/93, the Ministry of the Interior has the right to request, as the case may be, other documents.
It should be noted that, pursuant to the Directive of the Minister of the Interior dated 7 March 2012, starting from 1 June 2012 the authority to issue decrees granting citizenship lies with:
- 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 national spouse has residence abroad;
- the Minister of the Interior if there are reasons relating to the security of the Republic.
For all intents and purposes, it is advisable to consult the website of the Authority responsible for residence.