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ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP

How foreigners can get ‘fast track’ citizenship in Italy

It can take three years or more for Italy to approve applications for citizenship via ancestry, but there is another way. Here’s how you may be able to cut the waiting time.

Alley in Italy and Italian flag
Foreign nationals looking to acquire Italian citizenship don’t have to necessarily go through their Italian consulate to do so. ​​Photo by Alexey TURENKOV via Unsplash

Italy is far more lenient than many other countries when it comes to allowing people to claim citizenship via ancestry.

In fact, anyone who can prove that they had an Italian ancestor who was alive after March 17th 1861 (when the Kingdom of Italy was born) and that no one in their line of descent renounced Italian citizenship before the birth of their descendant has the right to become an Italian citizen. 

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italian residency and citizenship?

But that doesn’t mean getting Italian citizenship by descent is easy, and the application process is known for involving lots of paperwork and being excruciatingly lengthy.

From the moment applicants file their claim with their country’s Italian consulate, it usually takes between two to three years to get a ruling from the Italian authorities, with waiting times often being even longer in countries where the number of applications is high (Brazil, Argentina, USA). 

There is an alternative route: Italy has a ‘fast track’ citizenship application option which can reduce adjudication times to around a year on average.

But this quicker avenue requires moving to Italy, becoming a legal resident, and filing the citizenship request directly with the local town hall. 

This means applicants must be physically and legally resident in Italy for the entire duration of the citizenship application process, and their presence in Italy must be continuous during that time.

This is subject to checks by Italian law enforcement and breaking the rules can void your application.

If moving to Italy (and staying here) would be an option for you, here’s a closer look at the requirements:

Step 1 – Sorting out the documents 

Foreign nationals opting for the quicker citizenship route can only submit their application after they’ve relocated to Italy. But, most, if not all of the documents required by Italian authorities should be prepared well before moving to Italy. 

“Prospective applicants are strongly advised to come to Italy with all of the relevant documentation already arranged in the best possible way,” says Giuditta De Ricco, attorney-at-law at immigration law firm Mazzeschi Srl. 

That’s because “any inconsistencies in the documentation can further complicate and lengthen the process”, she says.

But what documents do foreign nationals need to claim Italian citizenship? Here’s an overview: 

  • Birth and (where applicable) death certificates for all the Italian ancestors in their direct line of descent plus their own birth certificate.
  • Marriage certificates for all the Italian ancestors in their direct line of descent, including that of their parents.
  • A certificate issued by their home country’s relevant authorities proving that the first ancestor in their line of descent did not acquire foreign citizenship before the birth of their descendant.
  • A certificate issued by their country’s Italian consulate proving that no ancestor in their direct line of descent nor they ever renounced Italian citizenship.

Two people signing documents in an office

Prospective applicants should get all of the necessary documents in order prior to leaving for Italy. Photo by Gabrielle HENDERSON via Unsplash

It bears noting that all of the documents issued by foreign authorities will have to be legally validated by the issuing country’s Italian consulate.

Also, all documents available in a language other than Italian will have to be translated and their translation will too have to be legally validated (this is known as ‘asseverazione’).

Once again, De Ricco recommends that all translation and validation procedures be carried out before leaving for Italy.

Step 2 – Relocating to Italy  

Being permanently resident in Italy is a binding requirement of the quicker citizenship avenue. 

“Applicants are allowed to go on short holidays abroad if they wish to” but, outside of those, their presence in Italy “must be continuous”, says De Ricco.  

Taking up residency in Italy is relatively straightforward for EU-passport holders as they don’t need a visa to enter the country nor do they need a permesso di soggiorno (residency permit).

Essentially, all EU nationals are required to do at this stage is to physically relocate to Italy and become legally resident by registering with the Ufficio Anagrafe (Registry Office). 

Things aren’t quite as easy for non-EU nationals as they need a valid entry visa and a residency permit.

READ ALSO:

There are different types of visas and permits available to non-EU nationals, but the easiest route if you’re moving for citizenship purposes is the permesso di soggiorno in attesa di cittadinanza (residency permit pending the acquisition of citizenship), which allows foreign nationals to legally live in the country for the entire length of their claim. 

Prospective applicants can enter the country on a dichiarazione di presenza (declaration of presence) – this is filed with border police for non-Schengen arrivals and at the local Questura (police station) within eight days of entry for others – use the above dichiarazione to register with the Anagrafe and then submit their citizenship application at the town hall. 

Starting the citizenship application process will ultimately give foreign nationals the right to apply for the residency permit, which they’ll have to request by filling out and posting the relevant form along with all the necessary documents to the local Questura.   

Remember: a dichiarazione di presenza allows non-EU nationals to legally remain in Italy for a maximum of 90 days, so you’ll have to send in your permesso di soggiorno application before your 90-day window expires.

READ ALSO: How to register with the anagrafe in Italy

It’s also worth noting that holders of residency permits for citizenship purposes are not allowed to carry out any type of work in the country. However, such permits can be converted into residency permits for work purposes if needed. 

Step 3 – Booking an appointment with the town hall

Once you’ve registered with the Anagrafe and prepared all of the relevant documents, you’ll need to book an appointment at the Ufficio di Stato Civile (Civil Registry) at your local town hall and submit the application to become an Italian citizen. 

Colourful houses in Venice

Foreign nationals must be legally and physically resident in Italy in order to apply for citizenship at their local town hall. ​​Photo by Alex VASEY via Unsplash

You’ll find your registry’s contact details on the town hall’s website. 

Step 4 – Outcome

Barring any inconsistencies regarding the submitted documentation, Italian authorities have 180 days to rule on the issue of Italian citizenship.

However, town halls are required to exchange information with foreign consulates during the application process and the latter’s response times don’t count towards the 180-day window.

That’s part of the reason why “waiting times vary greatly from case to case”, says De Ricco. “Some consulates get back after three weeks, while others might take seven months to do it.”

So, ultimately, the luckier applicants might become Italian citizens within as little as six months, whereas others might have to wait a year or a year and a half. 

READ ALSO: Reader question: Will my children get an Italian passport if born in Italy?

If the request is successful, the applicant will receive Italian citizenship and so will any children of theirs under the age of 18. Children aged over 18 will have to file their own application. 

From the moment they’re awarded Italian citizenship, new citizens have six months to take an oath of allegiance to the Italian Republic. If they don’t, their citizenship will be automatically revoked.

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For members

ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP

How many people get Italian citizenship every year?

Thinking of applying to become Italian? Here's how many other people do it each year, where they come from and how they qualify.

How many people get Italian citizenship every year?

If you want to secure your future in Italy, acquiring citizenship can be the best way to go about it – but the route you go down will vary significantly depending on your personal circumstances.

READ ALSO: What’s the difference between Italian residency and citizenship?

Here’s what the most up-to-date information from Istat, Italy’s national statistics agency, says about who gains Italian citizenship, and how.

How many people get Italian citizenship each year?

A total of 121,457 people were granted Italian citizenship in 2021, the last year for which official data is available. 

That’s eight percent less than in 2020, and lower also than 2019 (127,001) and 2018 (112,523).

This may be partially down to delayed effects of the pandemic, given the lengthy application process and the amount of paperwork involved in Italian citizenship applications.

Where do most ‘new Italians’ come from?

In 2021, like most years before it, the vast majority of people acquiring citizenship came from outside the European Union: 109,600 or roughly 90 percent. That’s what you’d expect, since people with EU passports already enjoy most of the same rights in Italy as Italians and therefore have less incentive to apply for citizenship.

The highest number of successful applications came from Albanians (22,493), followed by Moroccans (16,588), Romanians (9,435), Brazilians (5,460), Bangladeshis (5,116), Indians (4,489), Pakistanis (4,410), Argentinians (3,669), Moldovans (3,633), and Egyptians (3,531).

READ ALSO: Reader question: Will my children get an Italian passport if born in Italy?

Citizens of Albania and Morocco have consistently made up the top two since at least 2012, with as many as 36,920 Albanians and 35,212 Moroccans gaining Italian citizenship when claims were at their height in 2016.

People from the top three countries – Albania, Morocco, and Romania – accounted for 40 percent of all new Italian citizens in 2021.

Italian flag coloured smoke is pictured in the sky after Italian Air Force aerobatic unit Frecce Tricolori (Tricolor Arrows) flown over Rome to mark Repubblic Day on June 2, 2021.

Three countries of origin account for 40 percent of new Italian citizens. Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP.

How do most people qualify for Italian citizenship?

In 2021, the most common way to acquire citizenship was either by descent (ius sanguinis, which allows those who can prove descent from at least one Italian ancestor to claim Italian citizenship), by birthplace (ius soli, which entitles people born and raised in Italy by non-Italian parents to claim Italian citizenship at age 18), or by parental transmission (the law that automatically transfers citizenship to the children of adults who acquire citizenship, provided they’re under 18 and living with them at the time).

Altogether 55,897 people qualified for Italian citizenship via one of these three routes in 2021, around 46 percent of the total.

Another 50,973 people (42 percent) qualified via residency in Italy, while 14,587 (12 percent) qualified by marriage to an Italian national.

Claims based on residency decreased by around 15,000 from the year before, while those based on birthplace/descent increased by a little over 4,000, and claims from spouses of Italian nationals remained broadly stable, increasingly by just over 500.

READ ALSO: How foreigners can get ‘fast track’ citizenship in Italy

In 2020 and 2021, citizenship requests via marriage were at their lowest in the past decade, down from 24,160 in 2018 and 17,026 in 2019.

That may reflect a change in the law in late 2018 that allowed the Italian state to take up to four years to process requests for citizenship via marriage, where previously they had to be answered within two years or automatically granted after this point.

The new rules also abolished automatic consent after the deadline, as well as introducing a language test for people applying via marriage or residency.

The number of new Italians acquiring their citizenship via marriage was at a ten-year low in 2020 and 2021. Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP.

Where in Italy do most people get citizenship?

The region of Italy with the most successful citizenship claims in 2021 was Lombardy, which granted 29,438 requests – just over 24 percent of the total. The region has topped the list for several years, reflecting the large numbers of foreigners who move there for work or study. 

READ ALSO: How British nationals can claim Italian citizenship by descent

Other regions where high numbers of people gained citizenship were Emilia-Romagna (16,432; 13.5 percent), Veneto (13,229; 11 percent), Piedmont (11,653; 9.6 percent), and Tuscany (9,682; 8 percent). While Lazio, the region of Rome, has a high foreign-born population, just 8,895 people took Italian citizenship there.

The regions handing out the fewest new citizenships, meanwhile, were Sardinia (704), Molise (466), Valle d’Aosta (455), and Basilicata (351).

What else do we know about people who apply for citizenship in Italy?

There’s a fairly even gender balance – 49.6 percent of the total number of new citizens in 2021 were women, compared to 51.4 percent men – though women made up over 81 percent of those who acquired citizenship via marriage.

They’re also mainly young: the largest age group is under-20s, who accounted for 48,324 citizenships granted in 2021.

People aged 20-39 made up another 30,952, while 40 to 59-year-olds numbered 36,326. The number of people over 60 who acquired Italian citizenship was just 5,855.

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