Decree-Law No. 36 of March 28, 2025 was converted, with modifications, into Law No. 74 of May 23, 2025, and became effective on May 24, 2025. The conversion law amends Law No. 91 of February 5, 1992, whose updated full text is available at the following link.
Special attention should be given to the new Article 3-bis:
By way of exception to Articles 1, 2, 3, 14, and 20 of this law; Article 5 of Law No. 123 of April 21, 1983; Articles 1, 2, 7, 10, 12, and 19 of Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912; and Articles 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 of the Civil Code approved by Royal Decree No. 2358 of June 25, 1865, a person born abroad—even before this article came into force—is considered to have never acquired Italian citizenship if they hold another citizenship, unless one of the following conditions applies:
a) Their citizenship status is recognized—under the laws applicable as of March 27, 2025—based on an application submitted with the required documentation to the competent consular office or mayor no later than 11:59 PM (Rome time) on that date;
a-bis) Their citizenship status is recognized—under the laws applicable as of March 27, 2025—based on an application submitted with the required documentation on the date of an appointment communicated to the applicant by the competent office by 11:59 PM (Rome time) on March 27, 2025; b) Their citizenship status is confirmed by judicial ruling, in accordance with the laws applicable as of March 27, 2025, based on a judicial petition submitted no later than 11:59 PM (Rome time) on that date;
c) A first- or second-degree ancestor holds or held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of their death;
d) A parent or adoptive parent resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth or adoption of the child.
Therefore, under the updated Law No. 91/1992, the following individuals are recognized as Italian citizens by descent (iure sanguinis) from birth:
- Applicants born in Italy, regardless of the date;
- Applicants who hold only Italian citizenship, do not have and cannot acquire any other citizenship;
- Applicants who fall under one of the scenarios listed in points a), a-bis), b), c), or d) of Article 3-bis.
In other words, as of March 28, 2025, foreign-born citizens who hold another citizenship (for example, Canadian citizenship) are eligible to apply for Italian citizenship BY DESCENT only if:
a) they are first- or second-degree descendants of Italian citizens who hold, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship. This must exist at the applicant’s date of birth, OR
b) a parent or adoptive parent has been resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the applicant’s date of birth or adoption.
In this case, a historical certificate of residence issued by the competent Italian municipality and a historical certificate of citizenship issued by the same municipality must be presented.
PLEASE NOTE: It is not sufficient for the second-degree ascendant (grandfather/grandmother) to have, or had at the time of death, only Italian citizenship. In all cases, it is necessary to verify that the line of transmission of Italian citizenship is intact for the first-degree ascendant (father/mother).
Important Clarifications under the New Law:
- Only applications submitted before March 27, 2025, at 11:59 PM (Rome time), with all required documentation, will be evaluated under the previous legal framework. “Submitted” means:
- Delivered in person to the consular office before the above deadline;
- Sent by mail with tracking showing a date and time prior to the deadline;
- Sent by mail without tracking but received by the consular office before the deadline;
- Submitted via Fast-It before the deadline.
- Only applications with the required documentation submitted on the day of an appointment communicated to the applicant by the competent office no later than 11:59 PM (Rome time) on March 27, 2025, will be evaluated under the previous legal framework. “Appointment communicated to the applicant by the competent office” means an email confirmation received via the Prenot@mi portal or from the official email address of the consular section handling the application.
- In all other cases, the new law applies.
The applicable consular fees are listed in the Table of Consular Fees that is available at this web page.
For the required documentation to be submitted, applicants must provide:
1. As per Ministry of the Interior Circular K.28.1 of April 8, 1991, the applicant must provide:
- Extract of the birth certificate of the Italian ancestor who emigrated, issued by the Italian municipality where they were born;
- Birth certificates, with official Italian translations, of all direct descendants, including that of the applicant;
- Marriage certificate of the Italian ancestor, with official Italian translation if issued abroad;
- Marriage certificates of all direct descendants, including that of the applicant’s parents;
- Certificate from the authorities of the foreign country of emigration, with Italian translation, confirming that the Italian ancestor did not acquire that country’s citizenship before the birth of the next descendant in line;
- Certificate from the competent Italian consular authority confirming that neither the direct ancestors nor the applicant ever renounced Italian citizenship (as per Article 7 of Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912);
- Certificate of residence.
2. For applications under the new legal framework, the following additional documents may be required:
- To prove exclusive possession of Italian citizenship (examples include):
– Negative citizenship certificates (e.g., Search of Citizenship Records issued by the Canadian government), duly apostilled and officially translated;
– Proof of renunciation of other citizenship(s);
– Certificates of non-enrollment in electoral rolls; - To prove residence in Italy for at least two consecutive years:
– Historical certificate of residence (certificato storico di residenza).
HOW TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT
Applications for recognition of citizenship by descent are to be accepted only by in-person appointment. Permanent residents of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Yukon must schedule an appointment at the Citizenship Office in Vancouver exclusively through the online booking system Prenot@mi (click here to access).
Using the links on the right, you can access information regarding other specific methods of acquiring Italian citizenship:
- Acquisition of citizenship by benefit of law (for minor children)
- Acquisition of citizenship for minor children residing with a parent who is not an Italian citizen by birth
- Reacquisition of citizenship
- Acquiring Citizenship through Marriage or Same-Sex Union
- Recognition under special laws
- Certificate of “non-renunciation”
CONSULAR FEES
For the examination and processing of applications for the recognition of Italian citizenship in favour of a person over the age of 18, a fee of €600 is due.
This fee is paid BEFORE the formal examination of the application at the counter and, regardless of the positive or negative outcome, is NOT refundable.
Please note that the aforementioned fee must be paid at the counter in Canadian dollars only. Payment is required in cash or money order made out to the Consulate General of Italy in Vancouver. For the current amount in Canadian dollars, consult art. 7bisof the Table of Consular fees. Please check the current fees prior to the appointment as the amount in Canadian dollars may change quarterly. In addition to the aforementioned fee, legalisation fees (Art. 69) may apply for the certification of translations.
Last update: 2025/10/30