Women who married an Italian citizen prior to April 27, 1983
In order to apply for Italian citizenship through marriage, please schedule a citizenship appointment online on the portal Prenot@mi.
Applicants will need to personally apply at the Consulate office. Required documentation: passport, driving license and utility bill(original and photocopy). Birth certificate with Apostille and translation into Italian. Money order to the order of Consulate General of Italy for the payment of the consular fee (see updated fees, art 07B).
For ALL other cases, citizenship applications through marriage are to be submitted through the dedicated platform. Please read carefully all information below.
1. Regulations
Those who apply for citizenship by marriage or civil unions must be acquainted with the duties the Italian citizenship entails, first of all adherence to national values and irreproachable conduct.
The acquisition of Italian citizenship by marriage by a foreign national or stateless person who married an Italian national on or after April 27, 1983 is currently governed by Law no. 91 of February 5, 1992 (articles 5, 6, 7 and 8) and subsequent amendments.
Italian citizenship applications may also be submitted by a foreign national who has entered into a civil union with an Italian national. The civil union must have been registered in the Civil Status Registry of the relevant Italian “Comune” – Town Hall – (Legislative Decrees 5, 6 and 7/2017).
The foreign spouse or partner in a civil union can acquire the Italian citizenship upon request, provided they meet the legal requirements, as outlined below.
Relevant legislation:
Law no. 123 of April 21, 1983
Law no. 91 of February 5, 1992
Legislative decrees no. 5, 6 and 7 of January 19, 2017
Decree Law no. 113 of October 4, 2018 (so-called “Safety Decree”) converted by Law no. 132 of December 1, 2018
Decree Law no. 130 of October 21, 2020, converted by Law no. 173 of December 18, 2020
2. Requirements for the acquisition of Italian citizenship
Residence in the consular district:
– The applicants will have to address their application to the diplomatic/consular office that has jurisdiction on their country/State of residence;
– The Italian spouse or partner in a civil union must be resident and legally registered in A.I.R.E. (Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all’Estero – Register of Italians residing abroad) of the relevant consular district and live at the same address of the citizenship applicant. Otherwise, documentation justifying the need for separate domicile (e.g. work, children’s schooling, medical care or other) will need to be provided;
– Submission date: the application can be submitted three years after the marriage/civil union if the spouse is an Italian national iure sanguinis. If the Italian national was naturalized after the marriage, the three years start from the date of naturalization of the spouse. The three years are reduced to one year and a half in case of minor children born or adopted by the spouses;
– Registration of the marriage/civil union: if it occurred abroad, it must have been registered at the “comune” (municiaplity) in Italy;
– Validity of the marriage/civil union and stability of the marriage/civil union until the decree granting citizenship has been finalized. For the purposes of granting Italian citizenship, no dissolution, annulment or termination of the civil effects of the marriage/civil union (e.g. legal separation, divorce) must have occurred when the decree comes into force;
– No convictions by the Italian judicial authorities for offences that carry a sentence of more than three years’ imprisonment;
– No convictions by the foreign judicial authorities that carry a sentence of more than one year for non-political offences;
– No convictions for offences against the State;
– No impediments related to the security of the Italian Republic;
– Knowledge of the Italian language at least at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR);
– Payment of taxes and fees listed in the Documents and fees section.
3. DOCUMENTS required for the citizenship application
1. Birth certificate or equivalent: in original or certified copy, possibly recently issued by the Country where the applicant was born, duly legalized/apostilled and translated into Italian. It must report all details such as city/town of birth and parent’s information.
The birth certificate translation must be previously legalized. To request translations’ legalization, mail to this Consulate General the documentation and its translation, with a money order for the payment of the consular fees and a prepaid envelope for the return. The money order has to be to the order of “Consulate General of Italy”. For the most updates fees, please refer to the Consular fees table, art 72/A (see Quick Links – Consular Fees in the Home page)
The Apostille has to be requested to the competent Secretary of State and does not need to be translated.
If the birth certificate is issued by a different Country than U.S., both certificate and translation need to be certified by the Italian Consulate or Embassy present in that Country, unless it can be certified with an “Apostille” (for further information please refer to the website of the Italian Consulate of the Country where the certificate was issued).
2. Criminal Record from the Country of origin and from any Country of residence (from age 14) – except Italy – and from the Countries of which the applicant is a citizen, issued no more than six months before the application date, duly legalized/apostilled and translated into Italian.
For applicants who are resident in USA, the required criminal records are: 1. From the Country or from the U.S. State of birth: 2. from each Country or U.S. State where the applicant has been living from the age of 14; 3. From the F.B.I, Federal Bureau of Investigation, CJIS Division and must have the Apostille issued by Washington DC Department of State.
The translations must be previously legalized by the Consulate General (please refer to birth certificate’s paragraph for details on how to request translations’ legalization).
The police records have to be requested to the State Police (not County) and the Apostille to the competent Secretary of State.
All background checks should mention all names of the applicant, including all the AKA (e.g. name before marriage). At the moment of the uploading, all criminal records can’t be older than 6 months.
If any criminal records certificate was issued in Countries other than US, both the certificate and the translation must be legalized by the competent Italian Authority (Consulate or Embassy), unless it can be certified with an “Apostille” (for further information please refer to the website of the Italian Consulate of the Country where the certificate was issued).
3. Payment of Euro 250.00 to the Ministero dell’Interno (Ministry of the Interior),
4. ID document: photocopy of a valid passport (pages with personal details, photo, issue and expiry date).
5. Copy of the full marriage certificate or “estratto per riassunto del registro dei matrimoni”, to be requested to the Italian Municipality, where the marriage has been registered, issued no more than the six months before the application date.
PLEASE NOTE: If the applicant is an EU national, a personal affidavit may be accepted instead of the “estratto per riassunto del registro dei matrimoni (Presidential Decree 445/2000).
6. Certificate attesting an adequate knowledge of Italian language knowledge at least at B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or a qualification issued by a public or private educational institution recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Università per stranieri di Siena, Università per stranieri di Perugia, Università Roma Tre and Società Dante Alighieri are the only CLIQ (Certificazione Lingua Italiana di Qualità – Quality Italian language Certification) certifying bodies, and they may partner with the local Italian Cultural Institutes.
The applicants who meet the following criteria are not required to submit the certificate of Italian language knowledge:
1. Foreign nationals (even though they reside abroad) who signed the “integration agreement” as per art. 4 bis of Legislative Decree no. 286/1998 Testo Unico Immigrazione (Consolidated Immigration Law);
2. Holders of EU (or EC) residence permit for long-term residents as per art. 9 of the above Consolidated Law.
The Italian Culture Institute in Chicago offers courses to prepare for the certification exam. For more information please refer to the webpage of the Italian Culture Institute in Chicago
4. PROCEDURE
STEP 1 – REGISTRATION
The applicant must register in the Ministry of the Interior platform https://www.interno.gov.it/it/temi/cittadinanza-e-altri-diritti-civili/cittadinanza/cittadinanza-invia-tua-domanda
Please note that the email address provided when submitting the online application is your chosen contact address (art. 47 of the Civil Code); it is therefore necessary that the applicants check their email regularly, because all communications, including requests for additional documents, appointments, notification, etc., will be sent ONLY electronically.
STEP 2 – APPLICATION SUBMISSION (Model AE)
Once registered, the applicant can submit the application online and upload all the required documentation on the dedicated platform https://portaleserviziapp.dlci.interno.it
For any technical issue or content-related query please refer directly to the Ministry of the Interior customer service (FAQs and Help Desk).
Please note:
– When registering, you must report the DATE and PLACE OF BIRTH as they appear on the birth certificate.
– The PERSONAL DETAILS must match documentation issued by the competent foreign authorities. In case of discrepancies, please provide supporting documentation.
Only the changes of name following a name change decree through a Court and/or the ones reported on birth certificate are acceptable. Name changes after marriages or naturalizations are not taken in consideration.
– All applicant’s minor children must be included in the application, even the ones born from a previous relationship.
STEP 3 – CONSULAR ASSESSMENT
The Consular Office will receive an automatic notification that the application has been submitted and will conduct an assessment.
The applicant will then receive a message through the Ministry of the Interior platform to inform if the application has been accepted. If the application gets rejected, the message will include the reason(s).
If the application is accepted, the applicant will be invited to the competent Consular office to personally sign the citizenship application, to submit all the ORIGINAL hardcopy documentation (including the one uploaded in the dedicated platform) and to pay the consular fees.
All the above original documentation will be kept by the Consular office, except for the passport and language certificate, for which a certified copy will be made and relevant fees collected.
STEP 4 – ASSESSMENT and TIMING OF THE PROCEDURE
The Ministry of the Interior is responsible to assess the application and finalize the procedure. For applications submitted before December 19, 2020, the expected completion date is within 48 months. For applications submitted from December 20, 2020 (date of entry into force of Law no. 173 of December 18, 2020), the expected completion date of the procedure is 24 months from the application submission date, and it can be extended to 36 months at most. If at the end of the assessment process, the procedure is successful, the Ministry of the Interior will send the Italian Citizenship Decree to the competent Consular office.
STEP 5 – DECREE, NOTIFICATION AND OATH
The applicant will be notified through the citizenship platform that the Italian Citizenship Decree has been issued. At that time the Consular Office will request additional documentation, which need to be issued after the decree notification.
– Atto integrale di matrimonio (full marriage certificate) issued by the Italian “Comune” where marriage was registered;
– Criminal record certificate of the Country of current residence, duly legalized and translated;
– Certificate of “esistenza in vita” of the Italian spouse/partner in the civil union, if not present on the day or the oath.
No dissolution, annulment or termination of the civil effects of the marriage/civil union or legal separation (separation judgment) must have occurred.
No later than six months from notification, the applicant will be invited to the Consular Office to take an oath of allegiance to the Republic and its laws.
The applicant will pronounce the following words:
“GIURO DI ESSERE FEDELE ALLA REPUBBLICA E DI OSSERVARE LA COSTITUZIONE E LE LEGGI DELLO STATO”.
A fee (stamp duty) must be paid for the decree.
The applicant will officially become an Italian citizen the day after taking the oath.
The original birth certificate will be sent to the competent Italian Municipality office to be registered, together with an AIRE registration and the statement of oath.
5. Administrative simplification and fees
If the applicant is an EU citizen, a personal affidavit about spouse/civil partner’s Italian citizenship, marriage/civil union details and family composition will be accepted.
Information, details and documents already in the Public Administration’s possession can be acquired ex officio, provided the applicant has given essential details to gather the necessary information (Presidential Decree 445/2000).
Fees:
A fee of Euro 250.00 must be paid to the Ministero dell’Interno, using only the below current account of the Ministero dell’Interno (payment receipt to be uploaded on the application platform)
“Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I Cittadinanza”
Name of the Bank: Poste Italiane S.p.A;
IBAN code: IT54D0760103200000000809020
Reason for payment: Richiesta cittadinanza per matrimonio ex art. 5 L. 91/1992 + applicant’s name and surname
BIC/SWIFT Code of Poste Italiane: BPPIITRRXXX (for international bank transfers);
BIC/SWIFT Code: PIBPITRA (for transactions of the EUROGIRO system)
Useful contacts and links
FIND YOUR CONSULATE –
https://serviziconsolarionline.esteri.it/ScoFE/services/consulate/find-consulate.sco
SEND YOUR APPLICATION TO THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR – https://portaleserviziapp.dlci.interno.it
WEBSITE OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS – https://www.esteri.it/mae/it/servizi/italiani-all-estero/cittadinanza.html
CONSULAR FEES SCHEDULE see Home page – Quick links – Consular Fees
Citizenship Office
Consulate General of Italy
500 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1850
e-mail cittadinanza.chicago@esteri.it