The naturalisation by right of residency in Italy is available to applicants who:
• Have lawfully resided in Italy for at least 10 years;
• Have a sufficient income;
• Have no criminal records;
• Are prepared to renounce their original citizenship, if need be
The ten-year requirement may be reduced:
• to three years if the applicant’s ancestors were Italian by birth (up to the second degree) and in case of foreign nationals born in Italy;
• to four years if the applicant is a national of a EU country;
• to five years if the applicant is stateless or a refugee, or he/she is over 18 years of age when he is adopted by an Italian national;
• to seven years for the adoptee of an Italian national;
• no residence requirement is necessary if the applicant has been employed abroad by the Italian Government for at least five years.
The application for naturalisation is to be addressed to the Italian President of the Republic and lodged at the Prefettura of the Province where the applicant is formally registered as resident in Italy. Please note that this is citizenship application cannot be filed with this Consular office. Applicants must contact the Italian authorities in Italy.
Citizenship granted to minors as a result of parents’ naturalization
In accordance with Article 14 of Law No. 91/92, “The minor children of those who acquire or reacquire Italian citizenship, while living together with them, shall acquire Italian citizenship but, after coming of legal age, they can renounce it, if in possession of other citizenship”.
Hence the acquisition of citizenship takes place automatically only when they live together and the person is not of legal age, in accordance with the Italian legal system.
For the parents who have become Italian to pass their status civitatis onto their children, the following three conditions shall be met:
– there is a parent-child relation; children are not of legal age; parents live together with their children.
Article 12 of Presidential Decree No. 572/93 clearly lays down that the condition of living together shall be stable and effective, as well as certified with appropriate documents, and shall also exist at the time of parents’ acquisition or reacquisition of citizenship.