Eligibility quiz
Has one of your parents or grandparents ever had Italian citizenship?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Italian passport and ID
Italian citizens can get an Italian passport and an electronic identity card.
Live in Italy for life
Italian citizens can enter, live in and return to Italy without a visa or residence permit.
Study in Italy
Italian citizens can study in Italy on the same terms as other Italian citizens.
Work in Italy
Italian citizens can work or run a business in Italy without a work permit.
Get help abroad
Italian consulates provide documents and registration services to Italian citizens abroad.
They can also help citizens in difficulty where possible, including with emergencies, legal and health problems, and limited financial help.
Vote in elections
Italian citizens can vote in elections and referendums if they meet the age and voting-register rules.
Citizens living abroad who are registered with AIRE can vote in the overseas constituency for parliamentary elections and national referendums.
Use public healthcare
Italian citizens living in Italy can use the National Health Service through their local health authority.
Care includes family doctors, children's care, medicines, specialists, hospital care and emergency care.
Get family support
Italian citizens may qualify for payments for children, depending on residence, work and tax or social-security conditions.
The amount depends on family circumstances and income.
Maternity benefits depend on the kind of work and other conditions.
How to apply
Applying at a consulateApplying at a consulate
Find your consulate
Find the Italian consulate or embassy that serves the place where you live.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Italian consulate serves your city for citizenship by descent?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the documents required by your consulate.
See required documentsDownload the application form
Download your consulate’s citizenship by descent recognition application and any required family-line forms.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Where can I download the Italian citizenship by descent application form for the consulate serving your city?”
Fill in the form
Fill in the recognition application and any required family-line forms. Sign them as your consulate instructs.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in the Italian citizenship by descent application for the consulate serving your city?”
Book an appointment
Create your own account on Prenot@Mi, select your consulate and citizenship by descent, and book your appointment yourself.
Book your appointmentConfirm your appointment
Confirm your booking in Prenot@Mi during the period your consulate gives you. Otherwise, the booking will be cancelled.
Confirm your appointmentPay the fee
Pay the application fee using the payment method and exchange-rate instructions from your consulate. The adult fee is €600 and is not refunded if your application is refused.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I pay the Italian citizenship by descent application fee at the consulate serving your city?”
Submit your application
Bring your completed application, original documents, identity document, booking confirmation and fee proof to your appointment, and sign or provide fingerprints if asked. Ask your consulate how it takes applications: some require you to mail the package instead.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit an Italian citizenship by descent application to the consulate serving your city?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the consulate to contact you with its decision. Send any additional records it asks for by the method and deadline it gives you.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How long does Italian citizenship by descent recognition take at the consulate serving your city?”
Receive your citizenship confirmation
Keep the consulate’s confirmation that your Italian citizenship has been recognised. You can then apply for an Italian passport.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I apply for an Italian passport after citizenship by descent recognition at the consulate serving your city?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Get the birth records for your Italian grandparent, your parent and yourself. Get your grandparent’s birth extract from the Italian town hall where the birth was registered. If you were adopted, add the adoption decision.
Grandparent's citizenship records
Get official records showing whether your Italian grandparent and your parent became citizens of another country or gave up Italian citizenship, including any naturalisation certificate showing when citizenship was acquired or an official record that naturalisation did not happen. If you rely on your parent or grandparent having only Italian citizenship, provide official evidence of that too, such as a certificate that they did not acquire another citizenship, a renunciation record or an electoral non-registration record. Ask the offices that hold the records for copies.
Marriage certificates *
Get marriage records for your Italian grandparent, your parent and yourself, as applicable, from the offices that registered the marriages. If a divorce or name change affects the records, include the relevant records too.
* Only if you, your parent or your Italian grandparent married.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationDeath certificates *
Get death records for your Italian grandparent and your parent, as applicable. Ask the offices that registered the deaths for the records.
* Only if your parent or Italian grandparent has died.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationParent's residence record *
Get your Italian parent’s historical residence certificate from the Italian town hall that holds it. It must show at least two continuous years of residence in Italy after your parent became Italian and before your birth or adoption.
* Only if you rely on your Italian parent's residence in Italy.
Considerations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Registration when living abroad
Italian citizens moving abroad for more than 12 months must register with AIRE, Italy's register of citizens living abroad.
Short stays, seasonal work and some other cases are exempt.
Registration matters for consular services, documents and voting from abroad.
Citizenship can be lost
You can lose citizenship for serving a foreign state or holding foreign public office after Italy orders you to stop, or for certain acts during war.
It can also be lost if your adoption is revoked because of your conduct and you have or gain another citizenship.
You can give it up if you have another citizenship and live or move abroad, or in certain cases if you gained it as a child through a parent.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
Dual U.S.-Italian Citizenship
English Facebook group for people interested in Italian citizenship
Request to joinCiudadania Italiana
Spanish Facebook group for people interested in Italian citizenship
Join on FacebookItalian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis)
English Facebook group for people interested in Italian citizenship
Request to joinConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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