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Italian citizenship by residency requirements

This type of citizenship application is conceived for foreign nationals who have been legally residing in Italy for some time. The required time varies according to the specific case. In particular, there are five different scenarios to be considered:

  • a 3-year legal and continuous residency in Italy is requested to a foreign national having at least one parent or one grandparent who is or was Italian by birth. The same time requirement applies to adult foreign nationals who were born in Italy;
  • a 4-year legal and continuous residency in Italy is requested to EU citizens;
  • a 5-year legal and continuous residency in Italy is requested to adult foreign nationals adopted by an Italian citizen. The same time requirement applies to stateless people;
  • in all other cases, the time requirement is a 10-year legal and continuous residency in Italy.

Main Procedural Steps

  1. Submission of the application through the ad-hoc web portal of the Ministry of the Interior;
  2. The applicant is summoned to the competent ‘Prefettura’ to submit the original documentation supporting their application;
  3. Issuance of the Decree recognizing the Italian citizenship;
  4. The applicant is summoned to take a loyalty oath to the Italian Republic and its laws (within 6 months from the Decree).
  5. The applicant’s birth certificate is registered at the competent Italian Municipality together with the documentation attesting that the applicant has taken the oath of loyalty.

Time Frame

The legal deadline for the conclusion of the citizenship procedure is 36 months from the day of the application.

Get in Touch

Do not hesitate to write to us if you wish to have additional information on the requirements for Italian citizenship, obtaining an Italian residence permit, or counselling on your specific case.