Citizenship through marriage/civil partnership

Those who apply for citizenship by marriage or civil partnership must be acquainted with the duties towards the Italian Republic, first among them adherence to the national values and irreproachable conduct.

The acquisition of Italian citizenship by marriage by a foreign national or stateless person who married an Italian national on or after 27th April 1983 is currently governed by Law no. 91 of 5th February 1992 (articles 5,6, 7 and 8) and subsequent amendments.

Italian citizenship applications may also be submitted by a foreign national who has entered into a civil partnership with an Italian national. The civil partnership must have been registered in the Registers of Civil Status of the Italian “Comune” – Town Hall/Municipality– (Legislative Decrees 5,6,and 7/2017).

The foreign spouse/civil partner can acquire Italian citizenship upon request provided they satisfy the legal requirements, as outlined below.

Relevant legislation:

Law no. 123 of 21st April 1983

Law no. 91 of 5th February 1992 and DPR no.572/1993 and 362/1994

Law no. 94/2009

Law no. 76/2016 and Legislative decrees no. 5, 6 and 7 of 19th January 2017

Decree Law no. 113 of 4th October 2018 (so-called “Safety Decree”) converted by Law no. 132 of 1st December 2018

Decree Law no. 130 of 21st October 2020, converted by Law no. 173 of 18th December 2020

Decree Law no.36/2025  converted by Law no.74/202

• Residence within the consular jurisdiction:
  Applicants must submit the application to the diplomatic-consular mission responsible for their long term residence, exclusively through the dedicated online web portal (see below: “Procedure – Phase 1 – Registration and Application Entry”). For users intending to apply with the Consulate General in Toronto, please verify that your residence is within this office’s consular jurisdiction. The spouse/partner in a civil union who is an Italian national must be a resident and duly registered in the Registry of Italians Residing Abroad (A.I.R.E.) of the relevant consular jurisdiction, and must live at the same address as the applicant for citizenship. Otherwise, both spouses must provide documentation proving the reason (e.g., work, children’s education, medical care, or other) that determines or has determined the need for separate domicile.
• Submission dates:
  The application can be submitted three years after the marriage/civil partnership, if the spouse is an Italian national iure sanguinis (i.e. from birth). If the spouse acquired Italian citizenship after the marriage (e.g. by residence in Italy) then the three years start from the date of naturalisation of the spouse. The three years are reduced to one and a half years in case that there are children under 18 born or adopted by the spouse.
• Registration of the marriage/civil partnership:
  If it took place abroad, it must have been previously registered with a municipality in Italy.
  The marriage/civil union bond must remain valid and stable until the citizenship decree is issued. In order to be granted Italian citizenship, the marriage/civil union must not have been dissolved by separation or divorce as of the date of the decree. However, the death of the spouse after the citizenship application is submitted does not result in the forfeiture of the benefit.
• Criminal Record:
  No convictions by Italian judicial authorities for crimes carrying a prison sentence of more than three years.
  No convictions by foreign judicial authorities for non-political crimes carrying a prison sentence of more than one year.
  No convictions for crimes against the State or for reasons that impede the security of the Republic.
• Proficiency in Italian at least at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
• Payment of taxes and fees indicated in the Documents and Costs sections.

• Original birth certificate or equivalent by the country of birth, preferably issued no more than six months prior to the application, complete with all personal information (including paternity and maternity), duly legalized/apostilled, and translated into Italian.

For those born in Canada, a full birth certificate must be requested in the form of a Long Form Birth Certificate – Certified Copy of Registration of Birth. Certificates issued in Ontario, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories must be apostilled and accompanied by an Italian translation by a certified translator (ATIO in Ontario). In this case, according to Canadian procedures, the translation must be notarized before a new apostille can be issued (the Long Form Birth Certificate must already be apostilled). For information regarding translations and Apostille: Translation of documents and Apostille

If a married woman has taken her husband’s surname, proof of this change must be provided by the annotation of a “Change of Name” on the birth certificate, or by means of a “Certificate of Change of Name” apostilled by the competent Canadian authority and translated by an ATIO-certified translator: Translation of documents and Apostille.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are a naturalized Canadian citizen but born in Italy, you may INSTEAD submit the full birth certificate issued by the Italian municipality of birth.

• Original criminal records certificates from your country of origin, any third-party countries of residence (starting at age 14) – except Italy – and the countries of citizenship, issued mandatorily no more than six months prior to submitting the application, duly legalized/apostilled, and translated into Italian, in accordance with the applicable legislation of the issuing country (check the websites of the Italian diplomatic-consular offices in the issuing country).
The applicant is exempt from submitting a criminal record certificate from their country of origin only if they left their country of origin before turning 14 and have not retained their citizenship.

In CANADA, the Canadian Criminal Record Check is issued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Headquarters in Ottawa:

The required certificate is the “Certified Criminal Record Check with Fingerprints,” which must contain the applicant’s photo and fingerprints (click here for further information and the application form).
This document must be apostilled by Global Affairs Canada. Apostilles issued by the Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery are not accepted.
The document must be accompanied by an Italian translation by a certified Canadian translator (ATIO in Ontario). In this case, according to Canadian procedure, the translation must be notarized and a new apostille must be affixed (the Certified Criminal Record Check with Fingerprints must already be apostilled by Global Affairs Canada). For information regarding translations and Apostille: Translation of documents and Apostille

ATTENTION: Canadian criminal record issued by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is a federal document and, as such, must be apostilled by Global Affairs Canada. Apostilles issued by the Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery are not accepted.

• Receipt of payment of the €250 fee to the Ministry of the Interior, as indicated in the “Costs” section.

• Identity document: photocopy of passport or valid foreign identity card (pages with personal information, photograph, dates of issue and expiration). If the applicant is not Canadian, the Canadian study/work permit or permanent residence permit must also be included.

• Copy of the marriage certificate/civil partnership or summary extract from the marriage registry, issued by the competent Italian municipality where the certificate is registered, preferably issued no more than six months prior to submitting the application.
PLEASE NOTE: If the applicant is an EU citizen, they may use self-certification pursuant to Presidential Decree 445/2000. The Consular Office will verify the declarations.

• Certificate of Italian language proficiency no lower than level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Only the following certifications are accepted:
– PLIDA from the Dante Alighieri Society
– CertIt from the Roma Tre University
– CILS from the University for Foreigners of Siena
– CELI from the University for Foreigners of Perugia
– Ce.Co.L from the University for Foreigners of Reggio Calabria

Other certifications from the aforementioned bodies or other institutions are not eligible and will not be accepted.

Foreigners residing within the consular jurisdiction of this Consulate General may take the Italian language certification exams at the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto, which is the examination center for the CILS (Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language) certifications from the University for Foreigners of Siena.

Exams are held in two annual sessions (in June and December) according to a timetable.

The exam schedule is established by the University for Foreigners of Siena, which is responsible for preparing and marking the tests. The exam schedule and information can be found on the University of Siena website: Esami CILS

To take the exams at the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto, you must register at least 40 days before the exam date and pay the registration fee. For information on the exam schedule and payment of the registration fee, please contact the Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto (tel. 416 – 921 3802).

The following are not required to submit an Italian language proficiency certificate:
– Foreigners (even those residing abroad) who have signed the Integration Agreement pursuant to Article 4 bis of Legislative Decree No. 286/1998 (Consolidated Immigration Act).
– Holders of an EU long-term residence permit as per Article 9 of the same Consolidated Law (even if residing abroad), only if issued by the Italian authorities. EC long-term residence permits are considered equivalent to EU permits for language purposes only if issued after December 9, 2010. Residence permits for family reasons or those issued by other countries are not eligible.
– Those who have obtained a qualification issued by a public or private educational institution recognized by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and/or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The course of study must have been conducted in Italian.
– Individuals with serious limitations in their ability to learn a language due to age, illness, or disability, certified by a certificate issued by a public healthcare facility, pursuant to Constitutional Court Ruling No. 25/2025.

STEP 1 – REGISTRATION AND APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Applicants residing abroad must access the Ministry of the Interior’s citizenship application submission portal (https://portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it/AliCittadinanza/ali/home.htm) using their SPID digital identity or CIE electronic identity card.

Applicants who do not have these tools must register on the portal with their email address and activate two-factor verification (TOTP), which involves installing an authentication app (such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator) directly on their smartphone and setting up their account within it.

This procedure only needs to be performed once, the first time you log in. For all subsequent logins, simply open the authentication app and use the TOTP code (automatically generated) to complete the login.
The Ministry of the Interior’s Help Desk is available to assist citizenship applicants and can be accessed via the link on all pages of the portal.

Please note that the email address provided on the portal when submitting the online application constitutes your domicile (Article 47 of the Italian Civil Code). Therefore, it is essential to check your email inbox frequently, as all communications relating to the citizenship application, including requests for additional documentation, summonses, notifications of decisions, etc., will be sent exclusively electronically.

Applicants are required to register their data with the utmost care, as they cannot be modified. In the event of an error, they will need to register again with a different email address. Specifically, personal details indicated on the birth certificate (including any annotations) and/or on records and documents issued abroad by the competent foreign authorities (such as marriage certificates, identity documents, decrees of name/surname change, etc.) must be included. In the event of discrepancies, the applicant must provide appropriate supporting documentation.

All residential addresses from the age of fourteen must be declared, and no periods of time must be left undeclared.

No special characters or signs (for example, the cedilla, acute or grave accents within words, circumflex accents, etc.) should be included. Only the accent on the last letter using the apostrophe, if one is also present in the original language, may be used.

STEP 2 – CONSULAR VERIFICATION

The Consular Office will be automatically notified of the application submission and will proceed with the necessary verifications. The applicant will then receive, electronically via the Ministry of the Interior portal, a notification regarding the acceptance or rejection of their application.

If the application is rejected, the application may be resubmitted, taking care to correct any errors indicated in the rejection itself, and the payment already made can be reused.

If it is accepted, the applicant will be summoned electronically to the diplomatic-consular mission to authenticate the signature on the citizenship application, submit all original paper documents, including those already submitted electronically via the Portal, and collect the applicable consular fees.

All the above documents will be retained in original by the diplomatic-consular mission, with the exception of the identity document and language certificate, for which a certified copy will be made, along with the relevant payments.

Documents with errors: Please carefully check all details of the documents to be uploaded to the portal to avoid any discrepancies in personal information. If, upon receipt of the application online (via the Ministry of the Interior portal), the documentation is irregular, incomplete, missing an apostille and/or translation (notarized and apostilled as required by the Canadian authorities), or contains obvious errors and/or discrepancies in the personal details, the Consular Authority will invite the applicant to complete the application, setting a deadline for completion. If the applicant fails to complete the application within the required timeframe, the Consulate may declare the application inadmissible. A new application may be submitted, but all fees must be paid again (as it is a new and separate application).

STAGE 3 – ASSESSMENT AND TIMELIMITS OF THE PROCEDURE

The evaluation of the application and the conclusion of the procedure are the sole responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, within 24 months of the application submission date, extendable up to a maximum of 36 months.
If the procedure is concluded positively at the end of the evaluation of the application, the Ministry of the Interior will send the decree granting of Italian citizenship to the diplomatic-consular mission competent for the applicant’s residence.

STEP 4 – DECREE, NOTIFICATION AND OATH

The decree granting Italian citizenship will be notified via the portal with a communication addressed to the applicant.

Upon notification, documents verifying the permanence of the marital bond, dated after the decree, will also be requested. These documents include (non-exhaustive list):
– Complete marriage certificate issued by the competent Italian municipality (not an extract) and a corresponding foreign certificate
– Criminal record certificate from the country of current residence, duly legalized and translated (see “Documents” section)

The complete marriage certificate must be issued by the Italian municipality in whose records the certificate is registered.

Criminal record certificate must be issued by the competent authorities in the country of residence and must comply with the provisions regarding legalization/apostille and translation, as explained in the “Documents” section.

Therefore, as of the date of adoption of the decree, the marriage or civil union must not have been dissolved, nor must there have been a legal separation (separation decree).
However, the death of the spouse after the application for citizenship has been submitted does not result in the forfeiture of the benefit.

No later than six months after notification, the interested party will be summoned to the consular offices to swear the oath of allegiance to the Republic and its laws. The six-month deadline is mandatory, after which the right to citizenship will be lost.

The interested party will swear an oath of allegiance to the Italian Republic by pronouncing the following words:
“GIURO DI ESSERE FEDELE ALLA REPUBBLICA E DI OSSERVARE LA COSTITUZIONE E LE LEGGI DELLO STATO”

A fee will be required on the day of the oath ceremony, please see the “Costs” section.

Acquisition of Italian citizenship will take effect the day after the oath is taken. It is not possible to apply for an Italian passport on the day of the oath.

The original birth certificate will be sent to the relevant Italian municipality for registration, along with the AIRE registration application, the citizenship decree, and the certificate of the citizenship oath.

• A fee of euro 250.00 must be paid to the Ministero dell’Interno, either paid using PagoPa during the submission of the application, or by bank transfer, to the following account with the payment receipt to be uploaded in the online application and any costs borne by the sender:
  “Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I Cittadinanza”
  Name and address of the Bank: Poste Italiane S.p.A., Piazzale del Viminale, 00184 Roma
  IBAN code: IT54D0760103200000000809020
  Reason for payment: Richiesta cittadinanza per matrimonio ex art. 5 L. 91/1992 + applicant’s name and surname
  BIC/SWIFT Code of Poste Italiane: BPPIITRRXXX (for international bank transfers)
  BIC/SWIFT Code: PIBPITRA (for transactions of the EUROGIRO system)
• Only for applications submitted by 31st December 2024: Stamp duty of Euro 16 to be paid either by PagoPa to the Agenzia delle Entrate during the compilation of the application, or by bank transfer to the following Banca d’Italia account, with any costs borne by the sender IBAN code: IT07Y0100003245348008120501
• Applicable Consular Fees (which, when required, will be indicated to the applicant by the Consular office):- Authentication of signature on the application: Article 24 of the Consular Fee Schedule
  – Legalization of translator’s signature: Article 69 of the Consular Fee Schedule
  – Certified copy of a valid identity document: Article 71 of the Consular Fee Schedule (If the document is not in Latin characters, a translation is also required)
  – Certified copy of language certification: Article 71 of the Consular Fee Schedule
  – Certified translation of civil status documents and criminal records: Article 72A of the Consular Fee Schedule
  – Perception of the sworn statement: Article 8 of the Consular Fee Schedule

FIND YOUR CONSULATE

SEND YOUR APPLICATION TO THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR

WEBSITE OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS