Marriage citizenship in Italy refers to the pathway available for foreign nationals to acquire Italian citizenship through marriage to an Italian citizen. It’s a legal process regulated by Italian law, requiring the fulfillment of certain criteria. Upon meeting these requirements and completing the prescribed procedures, the non-Italian spouse can attain Italian citizenship, granting them access to various rights and benefits accorded to Italian citizens.

What are the requirements to obtain citizenship through marriage in Italy?

Spouses of Italian citizens can apply for citizenship. To submit the application under Article 5, the following conditions must be met:

• Two years of legal and continuous residence in Italy from the date of marriage;
• Three years from the date of marriage if residing abroad;
• Two years from the date of the oath and the date of marriage in the case of a spouse naturalized as Italian;
• These terms are halved in the presence of children born or adopted by the spouses.

At the time of application and until the citizenship decree is issued, there must be no dissolution, annulment, termination of civil effects of marriage, or legal separation. Even in the event of the death of the spouse, occurring between the submission of the application for citizenship and the issuance of the decree of conferment, citizenship cannot be obtained.

The application is rejected not only for lack of the above requirements but also in case of serious reasons related to the security of the Republic and in case of a final conviction of the applicant, pronounced in Italy or abroad, for the offenses listed in Article 6 of Law No. 91/1992.

For the citizenship to be conferred, the marriage must be registered in the Civil Status registers of the municipality of residence. The foreigner residing abroad must submit the application to the competent Italian Consular Authority.

What documents are required to obtain citizenship through marriage in Italy and what are the costs involved?

The following documents are required to apply for citizenship by marriage:

• Birth certificate issued in the home country (no expiration date);
• Criminal record certificate: from the applicant’s home country and any other country where the applicant has lived. This certificate can only be issued by the Italian Consulate in certain countries (Criminal record certificates are valid for six months from the date of issue).

For these documents to be valid in Italy, they must be legalized. This requires the stamp of the Italian authorities (embassy or consulate) of the country where the certificate is issued, or the apostille stamp if the country complies with the Hague Convention; certificates issued in EU countries are exempt from legalization. Legalized certificates must be translated.

In addition to the first two documents, you will need:

• Residence permit: residence card or permit for non-EU citizens; residence certificate for EU citizens;
• Identification document: passport or identity card;
• Receipt of the payment of the €250 fee;
• €16 revenue stamp;
• Certificate of italian language proficiency (B1).