How to get Italian citizenship

Do you love Italy so much that you’re thinking about applying for Italian citizenship? If so, let’s see in which cases you can get Italian citizenship.

There are two possible ways to get Italian citizenship one is automatic, the other one is on request: acquisizione automatica or acquisizione su domanda.

Automatic ways to get Italian citizenship

The only ways to get Italian citizenship automatically are:

You were born to an Italian citizen.
You were adopted before you were 18 years old by an Italian citizen.
You were born in Italy from unknown parents or stateless parents.

Ways to get Italian citizenship on request

The only ways to get Italian citizenship on request are:

a. If you married an Italian citizen, you can apply for Italian citizenship:

If you’ve resided in Italy for at least 12 months and you’ve got children;
If you’ve resided in Italy for at least 24 months with your Italian husband/wife;
After 18 months from the date of marriage, if you have children (if you’re still married)
After 36 months from the date of marriage (if you’re still married)

b. If you live in Italy you can apply for Italian citizenship if:

You were born in Italy and you’ve been living in Italy for 3 years.
You’re a son/daughter, or a grandson/granddaughter of Italian citizens and you’ve been living in Italy for 3 years.
You’re 18 years old, you’ve been adopted by an Italian citizen and you’ve been living in Italy for 5 years after your adoption.
You’ve served in the Italian State for 5 years.
You are an EU citizen and you’ve been living in Italy for 4 years.
You are stateless or a refugee and you’ve been living in Italy for 5 years.
You’ve been living in Italy for 10 years.

In addition to one of the requirements mentioned above, you should also have a good personal or family income.

Since may 2015 you can only apply online to get your Italian citizenship.
To apply you should generally have to following documents:

Id.
Birth certificate and criminal records certificate issued by your state of origin.
Official Italian language certification attesting a B1 level.
Receipt of the payment of the contribution of 250 euros.
Telematic revenue stamp.

You should visit the website of Ministero dell’Interno for additional information or to check for any update.

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