In two cases, provided for under Article 4, paragraph 1-bis of Law No. 91/1992 and Article 1, paragraph 1-ter of Decree-Law No. 36/2025, minor children born abroad to a parent who is an Italian citizen by birth, but who do not automatically acquire Italian citizenship, may acquire Italian citizenship.
A minor who acquires citizenship under these provisions will not be an Italian citizen by birth or iure sanguinis.
Pursuant to Article 15 of Law No. 91/1992, the minor does not acquire citizenship from the date of birth, but from the day following the date on which the conditions established by law have been fulfilled.
First case (Article 4, paragraph 1-bis of Law No. 91/1992)
The following requirements must all be met simultaneously:
- One of the parents is an Italian citizen by birth. Therefore, cases in which citizenship was acquired through naturalization pursuant to Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992, through “benefit of law” pursuant to Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992, through marriage pursuant to Article 5 of Law No. 91/1992 or Article 10 of Law No. 555/1912, through reacquisition pursuant to Articles 13 or 17 of Law No. 91/1992, or iuris communicatione (Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992) are excluded.
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Both parents (including the foreign parent), or the guardian, must submit a declaration of intent to acquire Italian citizenship within three years of the child’s birth (or from the later date on which parentage by an Italian citizen is established, or on which adoption by an Italian citizen is ordered while the child is still a minor).
Where parentage is established at a later date by parents who are both Italian citizens by birth, the three-year period runs from the date of the first recognition, because the first recognition already results in the transmission of citizenship. If, instead, recognition first takes place by a foreign parent (or by an Italian citizen who acquired citizenship other than by birth), the three-year period is calculated from the date on which parentage is recognized by the second parent who is an Italian citizen by birth.
The declaration of intent to acquire citizenship must be formal and must be made in person, in the presence of an official delegated to perform civil-status functions. If the parents do not make the declaration simultaneously, the statutory requirement is deemed to have been fulfilled on the date on which the second parent submits the declaration. If parentage (including adoptive parentage) is established with respect to only one person, or if the other parent is deceased, a declaration by only one parent is sufficient.
If the minor establishes legal residence in Italy, the declaration may also be submitted after the three-year period following birth has expired; however, the minor’s residence in Italy must continue for at least two consecutive years after the parents have submitted the declaration of intent to acquire citizenship.
Second case (Article 1, paragraph 1-ter of Decree-Law No. 36/2025)
This provision applies when all of the following conditions are met:
- the persons were minors on the date on which the conversion law entered into force, i.e. they had not yet reached the age of 18 on 24 May 2025;
- they are children of Italian citizens by birth who fall within the conditions set out in paragraphs a), a-bis), and b) of Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992. In other words, the parents must have been recognized as Italian citizens on the basis of an administrative or judicial application submitted by 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) on 27 March 2025, or on the basis of an application submitted pursuant to an appointment communicated by the Consular Office or the competent Municipality by the same date;
- the declaration by the parents or guardian must be submitted to the Consular Office by 31 May 2029. If the person who was a minor on 24 May 2025 reaches the age of majority in the meantime, the declaration must be submitted personally by that person by the same deadline.
Common provisions
In both cases, the declarations must be made in person at the Consular Office, before officials delegated to perform civil-status functions.
Italian citizenship acquired in the manner described above may be renounced by the individual after reaching the age of majority, provided that the renunciation does not result in the person becoming stateless.