Italian Legislation
Italian law allows the spouse (or the party to a civil union between persons of the same sex) of an Italian citizen to acquire citizenship. Historically, Art. 10 of Law 555/1912 granted foreign women marrying Italian citizens the right to acquire citizenship directly. The same article, however, stipulated that an Italian woman marrying a foreign citizen automatically lost her Italian citizenship to acquire her spouse's, unless the law of the husband's country did not automatically pass the new citizenship to the wife.
With the approval of Law 91 of February 5, 1992, the system changed: Art. 5 establishes that citizenship is no longer granted automatically, but only upon explicit request by the interested party (whether husband or wife, thus abolishing the discriminatory barriers of the previous law), provided specific residency or time-based requirements following the marriage are met.
Subsequently, D.L. 113/2018 (known as the “Security Decree” or "Salvini Decree") introduced further parameters, including the mandatory knowledge of the Italian language (B1 level) and an increase in the state application fee.
Mandatory Current Requirements
- Legal Residency: 2 years of legal residency in Italy while married (1 year in case of birth or adoption of children within the marriage) OR, for those residing abroad, 3 years from the date of marriage (1.5 years in case of birth or adoption of children).
- No Criminal Record: No criminal convictions in the countries where the foreign citizen has resided.
- Language Proficiency: Possession of a certification of Italian language proficiency of at least B1 level.
Submission Procedure
The application must be submitted exclusively through the official Ministry of the Interior platform. Access is granted via SPID or Electronic Identity Card (CIE) for those residing in Italy, or through email registration for those residing abroad.
For this procedure as well, Emigrantix offers expert support for the correct preparation of your file and guides you through every necessary bureaucratic step.