Law No. 74 of 23/05/2025, which amended and converted Decree-Law No. 36 of 28/03/2025, introduced significant restrictions on the transmission of Italian citizenship and, consequently, on the procedure for registering the birth certificates of minors born abroad.
The new citizenship law introduced the principle that a person born abroad, even before the effective date of Law No. 74 of 23/05/2025, who holds another nationality or even has the right to acquire it, is considered to have never acquired Italian citizenship, unless one of the conditions outlined below applies.
Summary table HERE
AUTOMATIC ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY MINOR CHILDREN BORN ABROAD TO ITALIAN CITIZENS.
A minor born abroad to Italian parents is automatically considered an Italian citizen only if at least one of the following conditions is met:
- At the time of birth, the minor can exclusively acquire Italian citizenship, meaning they cannot hold or acquire any other citizenship, such as through ius sanguinis, ius soli, citizenship by option, etc.
This case usually does NOT apply to children born in the United Kingdom, as they generally have the right to British citizenship (even if the parents decide not to apply for it).
The application for registration must include documents proving that, at the time of birth, the minor was not eligible to acquire any foreign citizenship.
For more information about the documentation proving exclusive possession of Italian citizenship, see HERE. - At the time of the minor’s birth, a first or second-degree ancestor (parents/grandparents) holds (or held, at the time of their death) exclusively Italian citizenship.
The application for registration must include documents that incontrovertibly demonstrate that, at the time of the minor’s birth, one of the parents or grandparents was exclusively an Italian citizen (or was at the time of death, if they passed away before the minor was born).
The responsibility of providing valid proof of non-naturalization from the relevant authorities of all countries where the ancestor may have resided lies solely with the applicant.
For more information about the documentation proving the exclusive possession of Italian citizenship by parents/grandparents, see HERE. - The Italian parent has resided in Italy for at least 2 continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth of the child.
***Recommended procedure for all citizens born in Italy who have lived continuously in Italy for at least 2 years before the birth of their child***
The Italian parent, either born Italian (even if holder of another citizenship), or who acquired citizenship through marriage, residence, or legal benefit must demonstrate they have resided in Italy for at least 2 continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth of the child. The residence in Italy of the Italian citizen prior to acquiring Italian citizenship, as well as the residence in Italy of the foreign parent, is not relevant.
For more information about the documentation proving residence in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the date of the child’s birth, see HERE.
NEW CASES OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP ABROAD FOR MINOR CHILDREN OF ITALIAN CITIZENS WHO DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSMIT ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP.
A minor born abroad to Italian parents who cannot be automatically considered an Italian citizen due to the above restrictions (i.e., the minor holds another citizenship, or the parents/grandparents hold another citizenship) can acquire Italian citizenship by legal benefit if the parents or guardian declare their intention to acquire citizenship within one year of the minor’s birth, provided the following conditions are jointly met:
- At least one parent is an Italian citizen by birth (ius sanguinis).
This excludes cases of naturalized Italian citizens (Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992), citizenship by legal benefit (Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992), marriage (Article 5 of Law No. 91/1992 or Article 10 of Law No. 555/1912), or iuris communicatione (Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992).
The responsibility of providing valid proof of ius sanguinis citizenship lies solely with the applicant.
For more information about the documentation proving the possession of Italian citizenship jure sanguinis by parents, see HERE. - Both parents (including the foreign parent) or the guardian submit the “Dichiarazione di volontà” to acquire citizenship within one year of the minor’s birth or the date of a subsequent legal determination of parentage, even in the case of adoption during the minor’s age.
How to submit the DICHIARAZIONE DI VOLONTA’
IMPORTANT:
- A minor acquiring Italian citizenship by legal benefit is not a citizen by birth or iure sanguinis. According to Article 15 of Law No. 91/1992, the minor acquires citizenship on the day after the legal conditions are met (for declarations submitted at the consulate: the day after the declaration made by both parents).
- Upon reaching the age of majority, an individual who has acquired citizenship through a dichiarazione di volontà, as outlined above, can renounce it if they possess another nationality.
A transitional provision has also been introduced (Article 1, Section 1-ter of Decree-Law No. 36/2025) allowing the declaration of intent for acquiring citizenship for a minor child of a citizen, to whom Italian citizenship is not automatically transmitted, if all the following conditions apply:
- The minor is under the age as of 24 May 2025 (the entry into force of the conversion law for Decree-Law No. 36/2025);
- The parent, Italian citizen by birth, is recognized as such based on an administrative or judicial application submitted by 23:59 (Rome time) on March 27, 2025, or based on an application for recognition of Italian citizenship filed following an appointment communicated by the consular office or municipality by the same date;
- The dichiarazione di volontà by the parents or guardian is submitted to the consular office by May 31, 2026.
Please note that in both cases, since this is the acquisition of citizenship by “legal benefit”, the minor will not acquire citizenship from the day of birth but from the day after the declaration made by the parents at the Consulate.