Citizenship by Descendance (“iure sanguinis”)

CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENDANCE “iure sanguinis” (Law n. 91/1992)

The request for recognition of Italian citizenship is permitted upon application of the interested party, of legal age, and can be submitted abroad exclusively at the Consular Office in the country of legal residence.

The following operational provisions are outlined.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Art. 3bis, paragraph 1, letter c, Law No. 91/1992

One of the parents or grandparents (including adoptive) was born in Italy and held exclusively Italian citizenship (NB: this condition must exist at the date of the applicant’s birth or at the death of the ancestor, if it occurred before);

2. Art. 3bis, paragraph 1, letter d, Law No. 91/1992

An Italian parent or adoptive parent has been resident in Italy for at least two continuous years prior to the birth or adoption of the child (residence must be proven through a historical residence certificate issued by the competent municipality);

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NB For minors, refer, depending on the case, to the pages:
CLICK HERE

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PROCEDURE:

Starting from January 2026, those who meet the above requirements can request an appointment through the Prenot@mi portal.

Phase 1
Register on the Prenot@mi portal and request an appointment.

Phase 2
On the appointment day, interested parties must personally present:

1. Proof of booking on the aforementioned portal;
2. Completed application form (it be available on Prenot@mi or CLICK HERE);
3. Complete documentation, in original and copy, depending on the requested type.

Phase 3
This Embassy will analyse the application within the legal timeframe of 730 days (Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers No. 33 of 17/01/2014, published in G.U. No. 64 of 18/03/2014), communicating any requests for additional or corrected documentation if necessary.

Documentation Case A – Refer to Art. 3bis, paragraph 1, letter c, Law No. 91/1992:

Of the applicant

1. Valid passport and copy of the page with photo and signature;
2. Proof of residence within this consular district;
3. Long-stay residence permit;
4. Birth certificate of the applicant issued by the country of birth, in original with apostille if non-EU, with Italian translation and apostille if non-EU;
5. Marriage certificate (plus any divorce/second marriage/death of spouse), in original with apostille if non-EU, with Italian translation and apostille if non-EU.

Of the ancestor (grandparent and/or parent)

1. Birth certificate, marriage certificate (plus any divorce/second marriage/death of spouse), in original with apostille if non-EU, with Italian translation and apostille if non-EU;
2. Historical citizenship certificate of the ancestor from whom citizenship derives (grandparent and/or parent);
3. Historical residence certificate of the ancestors (if both Italian), issued by the competent municipality of last residence or AIRE registration;
4. Non-naturalization certificate issued by the authorities of the country where they resided (valid for six months from issue), listing all variations of the name and surname as they appear in the civil status acts, even if corrected on individual certificates.

IMPORTANT: The template we are providing below, exclusively for Ireland, is offered as a courtesy, and since it is issued by the local authorities, we are not responsible for any changes to it or for any modifications to the procedure required to obtain the certificate.

APPLICATION FORM

DOCUMENTATION Case B – Refer to Art. 3bis, paragraph 1, letter d, Law No. 91/1992:

 Of the applicant

1. Valid passport and copy of the page with photo and signature;
2. Proof of residence within this consular district;
3. Long-stay residence permit;
4. Birth certificate of the applicant issued by the country of birth, in original with apostille if non-EU, with Italian translation and apostille if non-EU;
5. Marriage certificate (plus any divorce/second marriage/death of spouse), in original with apostille if non-EU, with Italian translation and apostille if non-EU.

Of the parent

1. Historical citizenship certificate;
2. Historical residence certificate (issued by the competent Italian municipality/municipalities);
3. Birth certificate, marriage certificate (plus any divorce/second marriage/death of spouse), in original with apostille if non-EU, with Italian translation and apostille if non-EU.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

All Italian certificates must be requested from the competent municipality/municipalities, recently issued, in original.
All foreign acts, judgments, and certificates must be legalized by the Italian diplomatic/consular representation in the country of issuance or bear the apostille affixed by the competent foreign authority in countries adhering to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 (refer to the following list, updated by the Italian Ministry of Interior legalizzazione_supertabella.pdf).
All mandatory Italian translations of the above acts must be legalized either:

• With the apostille as above;
• By the Italian diplomatic/consular representation in the country of issuance
• Be sworn before an Italian Court if done in Italy.

NB: For documents issued in Ireland, legalization or apostille is not required. It is possible to request birth and marriage certificates in multilingual format from local authorities. In the absence of this, a certified translation is necessary (see link Traduzione e legalizzazione dei documenti – Ambasciata d’Italia Dublino).
The consular fee for processing recognition of Italian citizenship for adults is €600.00.
The fee must be paid at the time of application submission and is non-refundable regardless of the outcome of the assessment.
Payment can be made by Debit Card (Visa or Mastercard – NO AMERICAN EXPRESS) on the day of the appointment.