CITIZENSHIP
The Citizenship Office is open to the public by appointment only. For information or bookings, please write an email to notarile.hongkong@esteri.it
GENERAL FRAMEWORK
Italian Citizenship is based on the principle of “jure sanguinis” (blood right “by descent”) whereby the child born of an Italian father or mother is Italian by birth. However, Italian mothers have been able to pass on their citizenship to their minor children only since 1st January 1948 in compliance with a ruling by the Constitutional Court.
At present Italian citizenship is disciplinned by Law No. 91 of 5 December 1992 which, as well as acknowledging the right to hold more than one citizenship, also strengthens the right of the person to choose which citizenship to hold and which to renounce. However, citizenship claims referring to events which took place before 12/05/1992 must be interpreted in compliance with the provisions of previous Law n. 555 of 1912, except for some changes made by the Constitutional Court’s rulings in the light of the new Italian family law of 1975.
New “public security regulations” for citizenship applications by marriage and by residence were introduced by Law n.94 of 15/07/2009. Starting 8 August 2009, all applicants, including EU citizens, cannot sign affidavits and must always provide original certifications of all required documents.
IMPORTANT: The recent Legislative Decree n. 113 of 04/10/2018 (Law n.132/2018) has introduced some important regulatory changes to the 1992 citizenship law. In particular, applicants by marriage or residence must provide a language certificate proving an adequate knowledge of the Italian language at level B1 of the common reference framework for the knowledge of languages.
The assessment of the application and completion of the procedure are the sole responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior: 48 months for applications lodged before 19/12/2020; 24 months – which can be extended to 36 months at most – for citizenship applications submitted from 20 December 2020.
If the procedure is completed successfully, the Ministry of the Interior will send the Italian Citizenship Decree to the Diplomatic/Consular mission competent for the area where the applicant is resident.
ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP JURE SANGUINIS (by descent)
A citizen is Italian by birth if:
– he/she has at least one Italian parent;
– he/she was born in Italy and both parents are unknown, stateless or do not pass their own citizenship to their child in compliance with the legislation of their Country of birth.
Italian citizenship may also be granted in the following cases:
1) By deed of recognition signed by the father or mother of a natural child who is a minor;
2) If the child is no longer a minor, he/she must formally accept the Italian citizenship by declaration within one year from the deed of recognition;
3) By adoption, when the minor is adopted by an Italian citizen;
4) By bloodline of descendants of Italian citizens emigrated abroad and who never renounced their Italian nationality.
Foreign citizens of Italian origin residing abroad must lodge their application at the local Italian Embassy/Consulate.
N.B.: From 8 July 2014 in accordance with Law n. 66 of 24 April 2014 and following amendments, applications for Italian citizenship by descent are subject to the Consular fee of 300 Euros (payable in local currency) IRRESPECTIVE OF THE OUTCOME OF THE PETITION.
FORMS
– Application Form for Citizenship By Descent
– Checklist of Documents for Citizenship By Descent
CITIZENSHIP JURE MATRIMONI (by marriage / civil union with an Italian citizen, pursuant to Article 5, Law 91 of 5 February 1992)
Pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 11, of Law no. 94/2009 (provisions for applications for the acquisition of Italian citizenship by marriage / civil union to an Italian citizen), the foreign spouse of an Italian citizen residing abroad who intends to apply for Italian citizenship must fulfill the following requirements:
1) 3 years of marriage/civil union, reduced to 18 months in the presence of children under 18 years of age;
2) the marriage/civil union must have been registered in the competent Municipality in Italy;
3) the Italian spouse must be registered as an A.I.R.E. resident in the Consular district where the application for citizenship is lodged.
Italian Citizenship applications must be submitted EXCLUSIVELY online, after completing the registration on the Ministry of Interior ALI website https://portaleserviziapp.dlci.interno.it/AliCittadinanza/ali/home.htm
IMPORTANT: Following operational changes made in January 2021 by the Ministry of Interior on the Citizenship website, applicant are invited to verify that all documents are correct and complete with this Consular Office BEFORE uploading them on the ALI website. Please request an appointment by writing to notarile.hongkong@esteri.it.
IMPORTANT: PERSONAL DATA SUCH AS NAME AND SURNAME, INCLUDING THE PATRONYM WHERE PRESENT, MUST MATCH THE DATA IN THE CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH ATTACHED TO THE APPLICATION, PENALTY REFUSAL OF THE APPLICATION ITSELF. IF THERE ARE DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN DOCUMENTS ISSUED ABROAD (NAME AND SURNAME DIFFERENT FROM THE CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH, FOR EX.), IT IS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION THAT CERTIFIES THE CHANGE OF PERSONAL DATA.
The user must complete the form, fill in all the fields and upload the following mandatory documents indicated by the Ministry of Interior for citizenship applications.
a) Full Birth Certificate, complete with all personal details (*);
b) “Extract from the marriage / civil union certificate with notes” (“Estratto dell’atto di matrimonio con annotazioni marginali”) issued by the Italian Municipality where the Italian spouse is registered as an AIRE resident, or by the Municipality where the marriage / civil union was registered, if different from the Municipality where the spouse is an AIRE resident. IT IS VALID FOR 6 MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF ISSUE.
c) No Criminal Conviction Certificate of the Country of origin and of any third country of residence starting from the applicant’s 14 years of age (*). For the No Criminal Conviction Certificate issued by the Hong Kong Police, it is necessary to make an appointment on PRENOT@MI and request a letter for the Hong Kong Police. The Hong Kong Police will send the certificate directly to the Consulate General, please check instructions and details at the following link: https://conshongkong.esteri.it/consolato_hongkong/en/i_servizi/per_i_cittadini/certificati-penali/ NO CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS CERTIFICATES ARE VALID FOR 6 MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF ISSUE.
d) Italian language certificate at level B1 of the Common Framework of Reference for the knowledge of languages issued by one of the certification bodies indicated below:
– University for Foreigners of Siena;
– University for Foreigners of Perugia;
– Roma Tre University;
– Dante Alighieri Society.
e) Receipt of a 250 Euro bank transfer made to “ Ministero dell’Interno – D.L.C.I. – Cittadinanza –“ BANK ACCOUNT AT “POSTE ITALIANE S.P.A.” – VIALE EUROPA – ROME – IBAN code: IT54D0760103200000000809020 – BIC / SWIFT: BPPIITRRXXX;
f) Copy of passport.
(*) The documents referred to at points a) and c) must be either legalised with Apostille (if the Country of origin of such documents provides this type of legalisation) or by the Italian diplomatic or consular authority present in the Country of origin of these documents, except for those Countries exempted in light of international conventions (for ex., EU Countries).
The documents must also be duly translated into Italian by an official translator, and certified by the Italian diplomatic or consular authority in the Country where the documents were issued. Please check the websites of the respective consular offices for specific information on translations and legalizations in their consular district.
N.B.: It should be noted that the email address declared on the ALI website at the time of the online application is equivalent to an elected domicile (in compliance with art. 47 of the Italian Civil Code). It is therefore necessary to consult it regularly as all communications regarding the citizenship application, including requests for supplementary documents, summons, notifications of measures, etc., will take place ONLY through this IT channel.
IMPORTANT: The online citizenship application is subject to the payment of the electronic stamp duty.
Starting from 25 May 2022 it is possible to pay the stamp duty and / or the contribution of 250 € through PagoPA directly from the Citizenship website when the application is uploaded.
Once the application is lodged online, upon appointment with the consular office, the applicant must deliver IN PERSON all ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS included in the online application. The Italian spouse must equally hand in an Affidavit with the following information: family status, citizenship, non de facto or legal separation with the applicant, date and place of the marriage / civil union and name of the Italian Municipality where the marriage was registered.
FORMS:
– Certificate of No Criminal Record issued by the Hong Kong Police Force
HOW TO TRACK ONLINE APPLICATIONS
You can track the status of your application by registering at the following link https://www.interno.gov.it/it/temi/cittadinanza-e-altri-diritti-civili/cittadinanza/cittadinanza-consulta-pratica
You will need your application number, date and the name of Prefettura which for overseas applicants must be entered as “ESTERO”).
If you do not have your application number, please send an e-mail to the Ministry of Home Affairs (dlci.hd@interno.it) providing your full name and the date of your application. The will send you the necessary information within a few days.
Aspiring citizens can also download the IO APP on their smartphone and then easily interact with the Ministry of the Interior to follow the status of their application submitted online. IO APP allows immediate follow-up with maximum transparency and efficiency in all phases of the procedure to be naturalised Italian.
ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY RESIDENCE AND NATURALIZATION
(art.9 L. 91 – 5 February 1992)
Foreign citizens resident in Italy can apply for Italian citizenship in compliance with art.9 of Law n. 91 of 5 February of 1992, par. 1 and following amendments.
These applications may be granted only by presidential decree upon proposal by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the following cases:
– If the applicant was born and legally resident in Italy for at least three years ( art.9, paragraph 1, letter a) ;
– If the applicant is the child or grandchild of Italian citizens by birth and legally resident in Italy for at least three years ( art.9, paragraph 1, letter a);
– If the applicant was adopted as an adult (over 18 years of age) by an Italian citizen and legally resident in Italy for more than five years from the date of the adoption (art.9, paragraph 1, letter b);
– If the applicant is or was employed as a civil servant by the Italian Government, in Italy or overseas, for at least 5 years ( art.9, paragraph 1, letter c) ;
– If the applicant is a EU citizen legally resident in Italy for at least 4 years ( art.9, paragraph 1, letter d);
– If the applicant is stateless or a refugee legally resident in Italy for at least 5 years (art.9, par. 1, letter e);
– If the applicant is a foreign citizen legally resident in Italy for at least 10 years (art.9, par.1, letter f).
As per art.1, par. 11 of Law n.94/2009, applications for citizenship by residence must provide original certifications.
Documents to be submitted together with the application for citizenship by residence are:
1) Historical residence certificate on pre-stamped forms for official use;
2) No criminal records certificate (“casellario giudiziale e dei carichi pendent”) on pre-stamped forms for official use;
3) Family registration certificate (stato di famiglia) on pre-stamped forms for official use.;
4) Certified copies of tax declarations (CUD, UNICO, 730) for the last 3 years of tax payments.
APPLICATIONS MUST BE ADDRESSED TO: The President of the Republic of Italy and submitted to the Provincial Government Office (Prefettura) of the province of residence.
ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DECLARATION OF INTENT
If the applicant is the descendant of an Italian citizen (up to the 2nd degree), he/she can be granted Italian citizenship only if:
– he/she has served in the Italian armed forces;
– he/she has been employed as a civil servant of the Italian Government, in Italy or overseas, for at least 5 years;
– he/she has resided legally in Italy for at least 2 years after reaching of legal age.
If the foreigner was born on Italian soil, he/she can obtain citizenship by residing legally and uninterruptedly in Italy from birth to legal age.
For any further information regarding the above cases, please contact the competent Municipality or Prefecture.
HOW TO REGAIN ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
Italian citizenship may be regained:
1) Automatically, 1 year after establishing legal residence in Italy, unless the applicant renounces his/her Italian citizenship during the same period;
2) By Application in the following cases:
– if the applicant is serving in the Italian Armed Forces;
– if the applicant is hired as a civil servant by the Italian Government, in Italy or overseas;
– if the applicants is resident abroad and provides the Italian Embassy/Consulate with a statement of intention to regain Italian citizenship and establish the residence in Italy within one year from the such declaration;
– if the applicant is an Italian woman who lost her Italian citizenship by contracting marriage with a foreigner before 1st January 1948.