Prior to August 16, 1992, Italian citizens who naturalized in a foreign country automatically lost their Italian citizenship (law 555/1912). After August 16, 1992 Italian citizens who become naturalized in a foreign country no longer lose their Italian citizenship but can renounce it voluntarily. Individuals who lost or voluntarily renounced their Italian citizenship can re-acquire it on the condition that they reside or establish their residency in Italy (law 91/1992).
Individuals who renounced or lost their Italian citizenship can reacquire it if they re-establish their residency in the territory of the Republic for one year, or if they declare that they want to reacquire Italian citizenship and establish residency within one year from the declaration, in the territory of the Italian Republic. Therefore, there are two potential scenarios:
Scenario 1: you can visit the consulate which covers the jurisdiction where you reside and sign a declaration stating that you intend to reacquire Italian citizenship by establishing residency in Italy within one year from the date of declaration. It is important to note the declaration can also be rendered directly at the “stato civile” office of the Italian municipality (“comune”) where you intend to establish your residency. Please note that this process can be done at any municipality in Italy and that there is no language requirement in order to re-acquire Italian citizenship.
A detailed insight into the process …
When you arrive in Italy you will need to establish legal residency. This is done by registering with the “anagrafe”; in other words, you will need to provide the municipality with proof that you are legally residing in a property (e.g. lease agreement or property deed) and the local police will verify that you are living in your property within 45 days from your residency application. Once your residency status has been verified you will need to provide the municipality with all your documents, including the declaration that stated that you intended to reacquire Italian citizenship. The municipality will then process your application. If the process is longer than 90 days you will be granted a residency permit which is valid for the entire duration of the process to re-acquire Italian citizenship (the permit is called “permesso di soggiorno in attesa di cittadinanza”). Once you are granted Italian citizenship you can apply for a passport. NOTE: you will be granted Italian citizenship from the day of your registration as a resident in an Italian municipality.
Scenario 2: after one year of legal residency in Italy you will obtain Italian citizenship automatically unless you expressly declare that you do not wish to re-acquire your Italian citizenship. In this scenario, no self-declaration is necessary as you will automatically regain your Italian citizenship after a year and one day from the date of your registration as a resident in an Italian municipality, unless the Ministry of Interior intervenes with a decree preventing the re-acquisition.
The documents required might vary depending on the specific comune to which you apply, but as a general rule you will need:
- your birth certificate***;
- a copy of your Italian passport (if available);
- your certificate of naturalization (to prove that you renounced Italian citizenship prior to August 16, 1992);
- your marriage certificate and divorce decree (if applicable);
- your U.S. passport or valid ID;
- a utility bill or driver’s license (as proof that you fall under the consulate’s jurisdiction);
- proof of payment of €250.
Note: Please note that some municipalities may require that your birth certificate shows a note indicating that you lost your Italian citizenship. If you start the reacquisition process through an Italian consulate, the consulate should pass the information relating to the date on which you lost your citizenship to your municipality of birth so you can then apply for an updated record. If you plan to apply for the re-acquisition of citizenship directly in Italy you may want to add this information to your birth certificate prior to moving to Italy and you can ask the consulate to assist you with this.
All certified copies of foreign documents must be authenticated with Apostille and translated into Italian.