Italian Citizenship — Reacquisition – Italian Dual Citizenship Law

Complete Legal Guide 2025–2027

Reacquisition of Italian Citizenship

A historic, time-limited opportunity for former Italian citizens who lost their nationality before August 16, 1992. Reacquire your Italian citizenship through a simple declaration — with no requirement to relocate to Italy.

Introduction — A Historic Opportunity With a Fixed Deadline

Before August 16, 1992, Italian citizens who naturalized in a foreign country automatically lost their Italian citizenship. Hundreds of thousands of Italian immigrants in the United States, Canada and elsewhere lost their Italian nationality in this way — often involuntarily, or without fully understanding the legal consequences of their naturalization.

In some cases the loss was entirely involuntary — for example, an Italian woman who married a foreign national automatically acquired his nationality under the law then in force, losing her Italian citizenship in the process. In other cases, the loss affected minor children who had no say in their parents’ decision to naturalize abroad.

From August 16, 1992, Law No. 91/1992 ended the automatic loss of Italian citizenship upon acquiring a foreign nationality. However, this change did not apply retroactively — those who had already lost Italian citizenship before that date remained excluded.

Law 74/2025 changed this. By amending Article 17, paragraph 1 of Law No. 91/1992, it opened a time-limited reacquisition window during which former Italian citizens can reacquire Italian citizenship by filing a simple declaration — without any requirement to move to Italy. This window runs from July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027.

The Legislative Framework — Background and Evolution

Marriage or Civil Union

The fundamental requirement is a valid marriage or civil union with an Italian citizen. Italy formally recognized same-sex civil unions in 2016 (Law 76/2016), and the same waiting periods and conditions apply to civil unions as to opposite-sex marriages.

Applicants Residing in Italy

Couples who are both legally resident in Italy face the shortest waiting period. After 2 years from the date of marriage, the foreign spouse may file the application. Residence must be continuous and lawful throughout that entire period.

Applicants Residing Outside Italy

For couples based in the United States, Canada or elsewhere, the threshold is 3 years from the date of marriage or civil union.

The Children Discount

If the spouses have biological or legally adopted children together, the waiting periods are reduced by half:

Residing in Italy with children: 1 year
Residing abroad with children: 18 months

Important Conditions for Overseas Applicants

Two additional non-negotiable requirements apply specifically to applicants residing outside Italy:

AIRE registration: the Italian spouse must be enrolled in AIRE (Registry of Italian Citizens Residing Abroad).
Marriage transcription in Italy: if the marriage took place abroad, it must be apostilled, translated into Italian and formally transcribed in the Italian civil registry before the application can proceed.

Do not file the application the day before the two- or three-year threshold. The waiting period must have fully elapsed, and all documents must be valid at the same time when the application is submitted. Filing too early leads to automatic rejection.

The Marriage Must Remain Valid

The marriage must remain legally valid from the date of filing until the final ministerial decree is issued. Divorce, legal separation or annulment during the process automatically terminates the application.

Death of the Italian Spouse During the Process

If the Italian spouse dies after the application has already been officially submitted, the procedure does not automatically terminate and may continue to its conclusion, provided all eligibility requirements were met at the time of filing.

The Italian Language Requirement — B1 Level

The Legal Framework

Since December 4, 2018, when Law 132/2018 came into force, every foreign spouse applying for Italian citizenship is required to demonstrate working knowledge of the Italian language at B1 level under the CEFR framework.

What B1 Means in Practice

B1 is the intermediate or threshold level. At this stage, the applicant is expected to understand the gist of everyday conversations, handle common situations such as travel, shopping or medical appointments, and write about familiar topics in Italian. Native-level fluency is not required — independent functioning is.

Accepted B1 Certificates

Only certificates issued by institutions formally recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR) or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI) are accepted. Certificates from unaccredited schools or online platforms will be rejected.

CILS

University for Foreigners of Siena

CELI

University for Foreigners of Perugia

PLIDA

Società Dante Alighieri

CERT.IT / ele.IT

Roma Tre University

Exam sessions are usually held five to six times per year, and results often take around 40 business days. This timing matters because the criminal record certificate is valid for only 6 months, so the B1 result and the rest of the dossier should be planned together.

Exemptions from the B1 Requirement

Following a Constitutional Court ruling of March 2025, certain categories may be exempt from the B1 requirement where language acquisition is objectively impossible or already legally satisfied:

Holders of an EU Long-Term Residence Permit issued in Italy
Individuals who signed the Integration Agreement under Article 4-bis of the Consolidated Immigration Act
Persons with certified severe cognitive or physical disabilities that genuinely prevent language acquisition
Persons of advanced age for whom language acquisition is objectively impossible, with formal public health documentation

Required Documents

Assembling the documentation is typically the most time-consuming and delicate phase of the process. Every foreign document must bear an apostille and be accompanied by a certified Italian translation.

Document	What is required
Long-Form Birth Certificate	Must show the parents’ names. Requires apostille and certified Italian translation. No expiry date.
Criminal Record Certificate	Required from the country of origin and from every country in which the applicant has resided since age 14. For US nationals, an FBI background check is required. Must be apostilled and translated into Italian. Valid for 6 months only from the date of issue.
Marriage Extract (Estratto per riassunto)	Issued by the Italian Comune where the marriage was registered. Valid as a general rule for 6 months.
B1 Italian Language Certificate	Original certificate from a recognized institution. No expiry date.
Government Fee Receipt	€250 payable via PagoPA to the Ministry of the Interior, plus a €16 revenue stamp (marca da bollo) — total €266.
Valid Passports and Identity Documents	The applicant’s passport and the Italian spouse’s identity document must both be current and valid at the time of submission.
Proof of Residence	Permesso di Soggiorno if residing in Italy, or the Italian spouse’s AIRE certificate if residing abroad.

Common Practical Problems

Name inconsistencies across documents

Even minor variations in names, surnames or dates of birth across the passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate can cause the application to be suspended until corrected. Italian authorities expect consistency across every document.

Criminal record expiry

One of the most common issues. If the criminal record certificate expires, resubmission may be required. Timing the background check alongside the B1 certificate and the rest of the dossier is critical.

Applying too early

Filing before the 2-year / 3-year threshold has fully elapsed results in automatic rejection. The time requirement must have clearly passed before submission.

Incomplete apostilles or translations

A missing apostille or an uncertified translation can prevent the dossier from being accepted at the initial review stage.

Failure to register the marriage in Italy

This is one of the most overlooked steps for couples who married abroad. Without Italian transcription of the marriage, the application cannot proceed properly.

Step-by-Step Application Process

01 Obtain a SPID Digital Identity (Italy-based applicants)

Applicants residing in Italy generally require a SPID account to access the government portal. Applicants abroad use their consulate’s own registration system or credentials.

02 Submit via the ALI Portal

The application is submitted online through the Ministry of the Interior’s ALI portal. The applicant enters personal details, residential history from age 14 onward, family information, and uploads high-resolution scans of all apostilled and translated documents.

03 In-Person Verification

After the digital dossier is processed, the applicant is called to present the original documents in person. In Italy this occurs at the Prefettura; abroad it takes place at the competent Italian consulate.

04 Oath of Allegiance

Once the citizenship decree is issued, the applicant has exactly 6 months to appear at the Comune or consulate and take the Oath of Allegiance. The day after the oath, the applicant becomes an Italian citizen and may apply for an Italian passport.

Costs and Timelines

Application Cost

The fixed government fee is €250, plus a €16 revenue stamp (marca da bollo) — total €266, payable via PagoPA.

Processing Time

Under Law 173/2020, the Ministry has a standard statutory deadline of 24 months, extendable in complex cases up to a maximum of 36 months. The clock starts when the complete application is officially registered.

DDL 1450/2025 — The Legislative Risk You Need to Know

Draft Law DDL S. 1450/2025 was presented to the Italian Senate on April 8, 2025 and assigned to the Senate’s 1st Permanent Commission on April 23, 2025. It proposes significant amendments to Italian citizenship law affecting both citizenship by marriage and citizenship by descent.

For the marriage pathway, the most significant proposed change is the introduction of a mandatory period of physical residence in Italy before filing an application — even for spouses who have already been married for many years. The draft also proposes extending the review period beyond the current 36-month maximum.

The bill has not been passed. But if you currently qualify and have been hesitating, the practical message is clear: there is a real risk that the legal window may narrow or close for applicants residing abroad. Beginning the process now is strongly advisable.

Why You Need Legal Support

Italian citizenship by marriage rewards preparation and punishes shortcuts. Between language certification, apostilled documents, strict expiry windows and the risk of legislative change, every part of the process must be managed with precision and strategic timing.

The bureaucracy is substantial and the wait is long — 24 to 36 months of processing after what may already be years of marriage. But for those who navigate the process correctly, the result is an Italian passport, full EU citizenship rights, and a permanent legal bond with Italy.

E. Chatzidimitriou LLC handles the entire process — from eligibility assessment, document collection and timing coordination of the B1 exam and criminal record certificates, through digital submission via the ALI portal, monitoring of the application and completion of the Oath of Allegiance.

The strongest applications are not just “complete.” They are timed correctly, internally consistent, and prepared with the consular or prefectural review process in mind from the start.