The birth certificates of Italian citizens born abroad must be entered into Italian civil status registers.
Law No. 74 of 23 May 2025 (converting Decree Law No. 36 of 28 March 2025) introduced restrictions on the existing mechanisms for the automatic transmission of Italian citizenship, which also apply to requests for the registration of birth certificates.
For further information, please refer to Citizenship
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The Consular Office must therefore first check whether the conditions set out in current legislation for the transmission of Italian citizenship to minors are met.
A minor born abroad to an Italian parent is not automatically an Italian citizen unless at least one of the following conditions applies:
- The minor has not and cannot have another citizenship
A minor is considered to have another citizenship if he / she acquires foreign citizenship automatically (e.g. iure sanguinis by descent through transmission from one of his / her parents or iure soli by birth in a country that applies this principle) or following an irrevocable declaration that cannot be refused by the competent foreign authorities (e.g. “citizenship by choice” envisaged for children born abroad). Please note: even if the parents decide not to make the declaration of choice, the minor is anyway considered to have another citizenship.
- The minor has another citizenship and the Italian parent has been resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years prior to the date of birth or adoption of the child
It should be noted that if the Italian parent acquired citizenship by marriage or residence, he /she must prove to have resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship (i.e. from the day after taking the oath). Residence in Italy prior to acquiring Italian citizenship is not relevant, nor is the residence in Italy of the foreign parent.
If the parent is an Italian citizen by birth, the date from which the years of residence in Italy can be counted is the date of birth (it should be noted that for citizens who have obtained citizenship by descent, periods of residence in Italy prior to recognition are valid for the purposes of demonstrating this requirement).
- The minor has another citizenshipy and one parent has only Italian citizenship
Self-declarations regarding the lack of other citizenships are not permitted.
For information on the documentation to be submitted, please contact the relevant Italian consular office.
- The minor has another citizenship and a grandparent having only Italian citizenship at the time of the minor’s birth or having only Italian citizenship at the time of his / her death.
PLEASE NOTE: In the case of a grandparent with Italian citizenship only, the child’s parent must anyway not have interrupted the chain of transmission of Italian citizenship.
Self-declarations regarding the lack of other citizenships are not permitted.
For information on the documentation to be submitted, please contact the relevant Italian consular office.
Regulatory changes regarding citizenship exclude the transmission of Italian citizenship if the minor born abroad to an Italian parent does not fall into one of the above categories.
If the minor does not fall into one of the above categories, it will be necessary to check whether it is possible to make minor children acquire citizenship by “operation of law”, by making the appropriate declaration referred to in Articles 4, paragraph 1-bis of Law 74/2025 and 1, paragraph 1-ter of Decree Law 36/2025.
For more information on acquiring citizenship by “operation of law” for minors, please refer to: Citizenship by operation of law (art.4) – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation