Scope of Application
Law no. 74 of 23 May 2025 has reopened the timeframe for the reacquisition of Italian citizenship in favour of former Italian citizens who were born in Italy or who resided in Italy for at least two uninterrupted years, and who lost citizenship no later than 15 August 1992 under Article 8 (nos. 1 and 2) or Article 12 of Law no. 555 of 1912 (naturalisation in a foreign country; renunciation following the involuntary acquisition of foreign citizenship; minor children living with a parent who lost Italian citizenship).
The possibility of reacquisition does NOT apply to those who renounced Italian citizenship (or lost it for any other reason) on or after 16 August 1992.
Declarations of reacquisition may be submitted between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027.
Eligibility Requirements
a) The applicant must either have been born in Italy or have resided in Italy for at least two uninterrupted years;
b) The applicant must have lost Italian citizenship no later than 15 August 1992 in one of the following cases:
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voluntarily acquired foreign citizenship no later than 15 August 1992 and established residence abroad (Article 8, no. 1, Law 555/1912);
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having involuntarily acquired a foreign citizenship, formally renounced Italian citizenship and established residence abroad (Article 8, no. 2, Law 555/1912);
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as an unemancipated minor child of a parent who lost citizenship, shared residence with the parent and acquired the citizenship of a foreign State (Article 12, Law 555/1912).
The new Article 17(1) of Law 91/1992 does NOT apply to:
– former citizens born abroad who have not been residents in Italy for at least two continuous years;
– anyone who lost Italian citizenship after 15 August 1992 (for any reason);
– anyone who lost citizenship for having accepted employment with a foreign government or entered the military service of a foreign power, and who remains in such service despite an order from the Italian Government to abandon that employment or service within a specified period;
– anyone who did not exercise the option provided by Article 5(2) of Law 123/1983 (minor child, including adopted, of an Italian citizen parent who, in case of dual citizenship, could choose one citizenship within one year of reaching majority, but did not do so).
Timeframe
The declaration of intention to reacquire Italian citizenship may be submitted from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2027.
Procedure for Declaring the Intention to Reacquire Italian Citizenship
Before making the declaration, the applicant must appear in person at the Consulate on Tuesday or Thursday between 9:00 and 12:30 and must:
a) Identify themselves with a valid identity document issued by the authorities of their current country of citizenship;
b) Provide complete and authentic documentation proving:
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their full personal details, via a birth certificate. Foreign-born applicants must present it in a form suitable for transcription in Italy, apostilled and translated;
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for foreign-born applicants only: proof of residence in Italy for at least two uninterrupted years (via historical residency certificate);
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previous possession of Italian citizenship (via historical citizenship certificate);
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the cause of loss of citizenship (documents proving acquisition of foreign citizenship and, where required, renunciation of Italian citizenship — e.g., Australian naturalisation certificate);
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the effective date of loss of Italian citizenship (usually demonstrated by the same documentation above).
Self-certifications under Articles 46 and 47 of Presidential Decree 445/2000 are NOT permitted to prove any of the above.
c) Pay the consular fee, in Australian dollars, equivalent to €250, at the Consular Office.
The declaration must be made personally before the consular officer delegated for civil-status functions, who must receive it directly. Witnesses are not required.
Effects of the Declaration
From the day after the declaration is made, the former citizen reacquires Italian citizenship.
Reacquisition does not have retroactive effect: from the date of loss of citizenship (for naturalised foreign citizens, the day after voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship) until the day the declaration is made, the individual is considered a foreigner for all legal purposes.
Reacquisition entails the restoration of the rights and obligations connected with Italian citizenship, including:
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the obligation to register with AIRE;
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the obligation to update one’s civil-status records (e.g., by providing marriage certificates, documents showing dissolution of previous marriages, etc.);
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the right to be included in electoral rolls;
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the right to obtain an Italian passport and ID card (appointment required via the Prenot@mi portal).
IMPORTANT NOTE
Reacquisition of citizenship by a person residing abroad no longer results in the automatic acquisition of citizenship by their minor child living abroad.
For such acquisition (called communicatio iuris), the minor must be living in Italy with the parent reacquiring citizenship for at least two years prior to the reacquisition.
Therefore:
– children (minors or adults) living abroad and born before the parent’s reacquisition do NOT obtain Italian citizenship as a consequence of the parent’s reacquisition.
However:
– if the parent was originally an Italian citizen by birth, the child born before the reacquisition may obtain Italian citizenship by residing in Italy (Article 4(1)(c) or Article 9(1)(a) of Law 91/1992).
Finally, because the parent reacquiring citizenship is no longer considered a citizen by birth but reacquires it under a different legal basis, it is NOT possible to submit, on behalf of their minor children, the declaration of acquisition of citizenship “by benefit of law” (see new rules regarding transcription of birth certificates of minor children).