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Italian citizenship by marriage or civil union (text in Italian)

  1. REGULATORY OVERVIEW
  2. REQUIREMENTS
  3. DOCUMENTS
  4. PROCEDURE
    1. Step 1 registration
    2. Step 2 application
    3. Step 3 consular verification
    4. Step 4 Home Office assessment
    5. Step 5 decree, notification, oath (conclusion)
  5. ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION AND COSTS
  6. CONTACTS AND USEFUL LINKS

1. LEGAL OVERVIEW

The acquisition of Italian nationality by a foreign spouse or stateless person who married an Italian citizen after 27 April 1983 is currently governed by Law n° 91 of 5 February 1992 (Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8) and subsequent modifications.
Italian citizen from 27 April 1983 is currently regulated by Law n° 91 of 5 February 1992 (Art. 5, 6, 7 and 8) and subsequent modifications.

Applications for Italian citizenship may also be submitted by a foreign citizen or citizen who has formed a civil union with an Italian citizen transcribed in the civil status registers of the Italian municipality (D. Lgs. 5, 6 and 7/ 2017).

The foreign spouse/parties to the civil partnership may acquire Italian nationality upon application, in the presence of the requirements established by the regulations in force, as explained in the following sections.

Normative references:

Law No. 123 of 21 April 1983
Law No. 91 of 5 February 1992
Legislative Decrees Nos. 5, 6 and 7 of 19 January 2017
Decree-Law No. 113 of 4 October 2018 (security decree), converted by Law No. 132 of 1 December 2018
Decree-Law No. 130 of 21 October 2020, converted by Law No. 173 of 18 December 2020

2. REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLYING FOR CITIZENSHIP

  • Residence in the consular district: The spouse/part of the civil union of Italian nationality must be resident and regularly registered in the registry of Italians resident abroad (A.I.R.E.) of the consular district of the Italian Embassy in Maputo and cohabiting at the same address as the applicant for citizenship. Otherwise, he must provide documentation proving the reason (e.g. work, children’s schooling, medical treatment or other), which determines or has determined the need for separate residence;
  • Submission deadlines: the application may be presented three years after the marriage/civil union if the spouse is an Italian citizen iure sanguinis; in the case of naturalisation after marriage, the three years run from the date of the spouse’s naturalisation. The three years are reduced to one and a half years in the presence of minor children born or adopted by the spouses;
  • Transcription of the marriage/civil union: if the marriage/civil union took place abroad, it must have been transcribed at the Municipality in Italy;
  • Validity of the marriage/civil union and stability of the bond of marriage/civil union until the measure granting nationality is adopted. In order for Italian nationality to be granted, on the date of the decree’s adoption, there must not have been any dissolution, annulment or cessation of the civil effects of the marriage/civil union (legal separation, divorce, death of the spouse or part of the civil union, etc.).
  • Absence of convictions by Italian judicial authorities for offences carrying a sentence of more than three years’ imprisonment;
  • Absence of convictions by foreign judicial authorities to a sentence of more than one year for non-political offences;
  • Absence of convictions for offences against the personality of the State;
  • Absence of obstacles to the security of the Republic;
  • Knowledge of the Italian language not less than level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
  • Payment of the taxes and fees indicated in the documents and costs section.

3. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR THE CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION

  1. Extract of the birth certificate or equivalent: in original, issued if possible no more than six months ago by the country of birth, complete with all particulars (including paternity and maternity), duly legalised/apostilled and translated into Italian.
  2. Criminal record certificate of the country of origin and of any third country of residence (from the age of 14) – except Italy – and of the country of nationality, in original, issued no more than six months before the submission of the application, duly legalised/apostilled and translated into Italian.
    The applicant is exempt from submitting the criminal record certificate of his/her country of origin only if he/she left it before reaching the age of 14 and has not retained its nationality.
  3. Receipt for payment of the fee of €250.00 to the Ministry of the Interior, in accordance with the procedures indicated in the ‘Costs’ section.
  4. Identity document: photocopy of a valid passport (pages with personal details, photograph, dates of issue and expiry) or identity card.
  5. Copy of the marriage record or abstract of the marriage register, to be requested from the competent Italian Municipality where the record is transcribed, possibly issued no more than six months before the application. This document may be inserted at the time of the application under ‘generic document’ and must be presented at the time of the convocation at the Embassy.
    PLEASE NOTE: If the applicant is an EU citizen, he may use self-certification instead of the marriage certificate, family status and certificate of nationality of the spouse/partner in the civil partnership (DPR 445/2000).
  6. Certificate of knowledge of the Italian language not inferior to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) or a qualification issued by a public or equivalent educational institution recognised by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
    The CLIQ (Italian Language Quality Certification) certifying bodies – possibly in collaboration with local Italian cultural institutes – are exclusively the University for Foreigners of Siena, the University for Foreigners of Perugia, the University of Roma Tre and the Dante Alighieri Society of Maputo.
    The following are not required to present a certificate of knowledge of the Italian language:

    1. Foreigners (even if resident abroad) who have signed the integration agreement referred to in Article 4 bis of Legislative Decree no. 286/1998 Consolidated Immigration Act.
    2. Holders of an EU (or EC) residency permit for long-term residents referred to in Article 9 of the same Consolidated Act.

 

4. PROCEDURE

STEP 1 – Registration

In order to submit the citizenship application, the applicant must access the website https://portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it/AliCittadinanza/ali/home.htm then select the ‘LOGIN WITHOUT SPID’ button and register, as per the instructions.

It should be noted that the email address declared on the portal when submitting the online application constitutes an elected domicile (art. 47 of the Italian Civil Code); it is therefore necessary to consult one’s email address frequently as all communications relating to the citizenship application, including requests for supplementary documentation, summonses, notifications of measures, etc., will be made ONLY through the computer channel.

STEP 2 – Submitting the application (Form AE)

Once registered, the applicant may proceed to complete the online application and enter all the required documents on the Ministry of the Interior website.
Any technical or content-related questions regarding the online application must be resolved by contacting the Ministry of the Interior directly, which has set up an assistance service with dedicated FAQs and HelpDesk.
Attention: NOTES FOR COMPILING THE ONLINE APPLICATION

  • DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH as indicated in the birth certificate must be entered on the registration form.
  • GENERALITIES as stated in deeds and documents issued abroad by the competent foreign authorities must be entered. In case of discrepancies, provide supporting documentation.
  • Specify in the application the possible presence of minor children of the applicant from a previous relationship.

STEP 3 – Consular checks

The Consular Office will be automatically informed of the submission of the application and will proceed with the necessary CHECKS.
The applicant will then receive, in telematic mode through the portal of the Ministry of the Interior, a communication regarding the acceptance or the reason for the inadmissibility.
In case of acceptance of the application, the applicant will be summoned, electronically, to the Embassy for the authentication of the signature on the citizenship application, for the delivery of all the paper documentation IN ORIGINAL, including that already transmitted electronically through the Portal, for the collection or verification of the payment of the consular fees provided.
All the above-mentioned documentation will be kept in original by the diplomatic-consular Representation, with the exception of the passport and the language certificate, for which a certified copy will be made with the relevant payments.

STEP 4 – Evaluation and terms of the procedure

The evaluation of the application and the definition of the procedure are the sole responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior: 24 months from the date of submission of the application – extendable up to a maximum of 36 months – for citizenship applications submitted from 20 December 2020 (date of entry into force of Law no. 173 of 18 December 2020). If at the end of the assessment of the file the procedure is positively concluded, the Ministry of the Interior will send the Decree of conferment of Italian citizenship to the diplomatic-consular Representation competent for the residence of the interested party.

STEP 5 – Decree, notification and oath

The Decree of conferment of Italian citizenship will be notified – through the portal – with a communication addressed to the email address indicated by the applicant during the registration phase. At the time of notification, documents – provided for by national law – will also be requested in order to verify the permanence of the conjugal bond. These documents must be dated after the adoption of the decree:

  • full marriage certificate issued by the competent Italian local authority;
  • criminal record certificate from the country of current residence, duly legalised and translated (see documents section);
  • certificate of existence in life of the Italian spouse/partner in the civil partnership if he is not present at the time of the oath.

At the date of adoption of the decree, therefore, there must not have been a dissolution, annulment or termination of the civil effects of the marriage or civil partnership, nor a legal separation (separation decree).
No later than six months after the notification, the interested party will be summoned to the consular offices to swear an oath of loyalty to the Republic and its laws.
A revenue stamp must be paid on the decree.

The full marriage certificate must be requested from the Italian Municipality in whose registers the deed is transcribed; the criminal record certificate must be requested from the competent authorities in the country of residence and must comply with the legalisation/apostille and translation provisions, as explained in the ‘documents’ section.
The person concerned will swear an oath of allegiance to the Italian Republic by pronouncing the words

GIURO DI ESSERE FEDELE ALLA REPUBBLICA E DI OSSERVARE LA COSTITUZIONE E LE LEGGI DELLO STATO

The effects of the oath, i.e. the acquisition of Italian nationality, will be effective the day after the oath is taken.
The original birth certificate will be sent for transcription to the relevant Italian municipality, together with the AIRE registration request and the record of the oath.

 

5. ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLIFICATION AND COSTS

If the applicant is a citizen of an EU country, he may use self-certification for the possession of Italian citizenship by the spouse/civil union partner, for the marriage/civil union bond with an Italian citizen and the composition of the family unit.
The information, data and documents already in the possession of the Public Administration are acquired ex officio, subject to the indication by the interested party of the elements that are indispensable for the acquisition of the family unit.
The information, data and documents already in the Public Administration’s possession are acquired ex officio, subject to the indication by the interested party of the elements that are indispensable for finding the information requested (DPR 445/2000).

Costs:

For citizenship by marriage applications, a €250 fee and an €18 revenue stamp are paid via PagoPA directly from the Citizenship Services Portal of the Ministry of the Interior, while filling in the telematic application form.

Consular table items applied:

  • Authentication of signature on the application: art. 24
  • Revenue stamp on the application: art. N/A
  • Legalisation of translator’s signature: art. 69
  • Certified true copy of valid identity document: art 71.
  • Certified true copy of language certification: art 71
  • Certified true copy of the translation of civil status documents and criminal certificates: art 72
  • Revenue stamp on the decree of nationality: art N/A

6. CONTACTS AND USEFUL LINKS

SEND YOUR APPLICATION TO THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR: https://portaleserviziapp.dlci.interno.it
CONSULAR TABLE: https://www.esteri.it/mae/en/ministero/normativaonline/normativa_consolare/tariffa%20consolare