How to apply for Italian citizenship by marriage?
A foreign citizen or stateless person may apply for Italian citizenship by marriage, pursuant to article 5 of Law No. 91 of 1992, provided that the following requirements are met:
Length of marriage:
- being legally married to an Italian citizen for more than two years, if residing in Italy;
- being legally married or having entered into a civil union with an Italian citizen for more than three years, if residing in another country;
- proof of knowledge of the Italian language through an official certificate (B1 level);
- no relevant criminal record.
This period is reduced by half if the couple has children together.
For the application to be accepted, there must be no separation between the spouses, not even de facto.
Under the Italian legal system, de facto cohabitation, stable unions, or any other type of cohabitation agreement are not considered equivalent to marriage for the purpose of applying for citizenship.
Important: to apply for citizenship by marriage, the marriage must have been previously registered with the competent Comune.
OTHER CASES:
- If the applicant has changed their surname, it is necessary to submit the birth certificate with the annotation of the surname change.
- If the spouses do not share the same residence, a declaration signed by both spouses explaining the reasons for the different residences must be submitted (for example, work or health reasons).
- If the applicant has lived in other countries, criminal record certificates from those countries of residence must be provided. The documents must be submitted in original form, duly authenticated according to the rules of the issuing country and translated into Italian. These documents are valid for six months from the date of issuance.
All applications for citizenship by marriage are subject to a discretionary assessment by the competent authorities, as this is a concession and not a right. For this reason, the Italian authorities may reject the application.
It is emphasized that, for the application to be accepted, it is essential that the procedure be initiated correctly, including proper documentation, completion, and submission of the application. Without adequate assistance, incomplete or incorrect documents and forms are often submitted, which may require the entire procedure to be restarted after years of waiting.
The procedure may be initiated either in Italy or abroad and has an average duration of three years from the date of submission of the application.
The legal time limit for the conclusion of the procedure is 48 months for applications filed before December 20, 2020. For applications filed after that date, the time limit is 24 months, which may be extended up to 36 months if necessary.
Cavalcanti de Albuquerque offers assistance with this procedure and remains available to clarify any questions.
