How do you obtain Italian citizenship by marriage or civil union in Italy?

Spouses of, or those who are civilly united with, an Italian citizen, in order to obtain Italian citizenship - once they have verified that they meet the requirements - must undertake a bureaucratic process that consists of several steps.

Documents collection

Applicants for Italian citizenship by marriage or civil union must proceed with the preparation of the supporting documents that must be attached to the application for granting citizenship before starting the process.

Documents coming from abroad-such as, for example, the applicant's birth certificate and criminal record certificate issued in the country of origin and subsequent foreign countries of residence-will have to be duly apostilled/legalized and translated into Italian with a sworn translation or endorsed by Italian consular representations if made abroad.

Filing of the application

The Italian citizenship application is submitted online through the Portal of the Ministry of the Interior, which the applicant must access through their SPID.

Once the application has been filled out and the supporting documentation attached-which also includes a questionnaire on the level of integration into the Italian social fabric that the applicant must fill out manually-the Ministry of the Interior will assign the citizenship file an identification number so-called K/10 that the applicant can use to verify the status of the file through the Ministry's page.

Checks by the competent authorities

The Ministry of the Interior, through the territorially competent Prefecture or the Italian consular representations abroad, will proceed to carry out checks related to the applicant's fulfillment of the requirements provided by law for obtaining Italian citizenship.

Conclusion of the procedure

In case of a positive outcome of the checks (within 24 months from the submission of the application, extendable up to 36 months), the procedure will end with the granting of Italian citizenship: the applicant will be notified of the granting of citizenship with an indication of the date scheduled for the oath to be taken by the same at the competent Prefecture or Consulate based on the residence of the interested party, which will be followed by the registration of the act of granting citizenship at the competent authorities to which the issuance of the Italian passport may follow.

Your Way to Italy: our assistance

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Article written by Alessia Ajelli, Managing Associate of LCA Studio Legale, Italian lawyer specialized on Italian immigration and citizenship law, and Paolo Grassi, Trainee of LCA Studio Legale.