Citizenship by descent

INFO ON THE CITIZENSHIP REFORM (NEW RULES)

This Consulate is currently preparing clear and comprehensive guidelines to share with the public and update its official website, based on the new regulations that came into effect on 24/05/2025. Please regularly check this page of the website, which you will also be redirected to in case of inquiries by phone or email.

Law no. 74 of May 23, 2025 (published in the Official Gazette 23/05/2025, no.118) converted, with amendments, decree-law no. 36 of March 28, 2025, containing urgent provisions on citizenship.

Italian citizenship is based on the principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood), whereby a child born to an Italian father or mother is a citizen. The new decree, as converted, does NOT change this fundamental principle but introduces important limitations on the transmission of citizenship from one generation to the next, basing it on the actual connection to Italy and on holding another citizenship.

Preliminarily, it is noted that the legal regime does NOT change and the previous criteria apply ONLY to the following categories:

• born in Italian territory, even if holding another citizenship;

• born anywhere, if they do not hold any other citizenship.

Italian citizenship is transmitted from parent to child for a maximum of two generations, provided the Italian parent has never renounced citizenship or naturalized during the minor age of the direct descendant.

To recognize Italian citizenship by descent, the following must be proven:

• that the descent begins from an Italian parent or grandparent (the dante causa);

• that the dante causa maintained citizenship until the direct descendant reached adulthood or emancipation;

• that the descent from the dante causa is documented through civil status acts (birth, marriage, divorce, death): these acts must have legalization (apostille), if required, and official translation.

WARNING: A woman transmits citizenship to descendants only from January 1, 1948, onward.

From 1865 to April 26, 1983, a woman’s citizenship followed that of her husband; therefore, a foreign woman automatically acquired Italian citizenship by marriage (keeping it in widowhood).

Similarly, an Italian woman who naturalized before marriage and then married an Italian citizen before April 26, 1983, regained Italian citizenship by marriage.

NOTE WELL: If the ancestor naturalized before the birth or during the minor age of the next descendant, the transmission line of citizenship is interrupted. Therefore, there is no right to recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (see articles 7 and 12 Law no. 555/1912).

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ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Decree-Law no. 36/2025 of March 28, 2025, converted into law on May 24, 2025 (Law 74/2025), introduced additional requirements regarding recognition of citizenship iure sanguinis.

Specifically, under the new provisions, an applicant born abroad, in addition to meeting the above conditions, must also meet at least one of the following:

• must hold exclusively Italian citizenship (i.e., does not have and cannot have any other citizenship besides Italian);

• a parent (including adoptive) or grandparent must hold – or have held at the time of death – exclusively Italian citizenship at the applicant’s birth;

• a parent (including adoptive) citizen must have been resident in Italy for at least two continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship BUT before the birth or adoption of the applicant.

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EXCEPTION

The above additional requirements do NOT apply to:

• applicants with appointments booked and confirmed by 23:59 (Rome time) on March 27, 2025.

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A fee of 600 Euros is required for the processing of citizenship applications, payable in local currency (Article 7B of the consular fee schedule) in cash or debit card. This is a mandatory contribution required by law for processing the application and does NOT guarantee a positive outcome.

Therefore, this fee IS IN NO CASE REFUNDABLE.

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NEW CASES OF ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP ABROAD (MINOR CHILDREN OF CITIZENS WHO DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSMIT ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP)

In limited cases provided by paragraph 1-bis of Article 4 of Law no. 91/1992 and Article 1-ter of Decree Law no. 36/2025 as converted, minor children born abroad to a citizen parent who does not automatically transmit citizenship (i.e., not falling under one of the three categories above) can acquire Italian citizenship in two cases (each subject to a 250 Euro fee paid to the Ministry of the Interior):

The first case requires ALL of the following conditions:

• at least one parent is an Italian citizen by birth (even if holding another citizenship);

• both parents submit a formal declaration of intent to acquire Italian citizenship WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE CHILD’S BIRTH. The declaration must be made in person at the Consular Office.

The second case is a transitional provision applying when ALL the following apply:

• applicants are minors as of the law’s entry into force (i.e., under 18 years old on May 24, 2025);

• applicants are children of a citizen by birth recognized as Italian on the basis of an administrative or judicial application submitted by 23:59 (Rome time) on March 27, 2025, or on the basis of an appointment booked by the same date;

• parents of the minors must submit a declaration by May 31, 2026. The declaration must be formal and made in person at the Consular Office.

If the minor becomes an adult by May 24, 2025, the declaration must be submitted by the applicant personally by that date.

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NOTE WELL: The two new scenarios above configure citizenship acquisition by “benefit of law”: the minor beneficiary is NOT an Italian citizen by birth or iure sanguinis. According to Article 15 of Law no. 91/1992, citizenship is acquired not from birth but from the day following the parents’ declaration.

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PLEASE NOTE

• The application is individual and must be submitted in person with required documentation, in particular the citizenship by descent application form, completed as per instructions on the form itself; this form must not be signed nor dated , it will be at the time of the appointment at the Consulate anb before one of our Consular Officials;

• If two or more family members wish to apply for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent from the same ancestor, whether simultaneously or at different times, it is sufficient to submit one set of documents concerning the ancestor and common descendants, provided all applicants reside in WA.

• Residents in WA whose family members obtained recognition of Italian citizenship at another Consulate or in Italy must still submit all original documentation regarding the ancestor.

• The Citizenship Office reserves the right to request additional documentation if the available information is insufficient.

• Gathering the documentation is the applicant’s responsibility.

• The procedure for verifying possession of Italian citizenship will be completed within 730 days, as per the Prime Ministerial Decree no. 33 of 17/01/2014, published in the Official Gazette no. 64 of 18/03/2014.

• The Consulate will send official communication by email regarding the outcome of the procedure and, if positive, forward the documentation to the Italian municipality for registration.

• All original documents will not be returned but kept on file by the Consulate.

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IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RESPOND BY EMAIL OR PHONE TO GENERAL INQUIRIES ABOUT PROCEDURES OR REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.

PLEASE REFER TO THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE RELEVANT WEB PAGES.

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RULES IN FORCE UNTIL 23:59 ITALIAN TIME ON MARCH 27, 2025

Applicants must submit the recognition application for Italian citizenship by descent, along with other consular services, directly at the Consular Office by appointment.

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CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT UNDER THE JUS SANGUINIS CRITERION

Article 1 of Law no. 91/92 states that a child born to an Italian father or mother already recognized as Italian under previous rules is an Italian citizen by birth.

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WARNING

• An Italian woman lost citizenship if she married a foreigner until 01/01/1948.

• An Italian woman transmits citizenship only after 01/01/1948.

Citizenship is transmitted from parent to child provided the Italian ancestor has never renounced citizenship or naturalized during the descendant’s minority.

To recognize citizenship by descent, it is necessary to prove:

• descent from an Italian ancestor (dante causa);

• the dante causa retained citizenship until the descendant reached adulthood or emancipation.

Proof of non-naturalization or naturalization date must be provided by certification from the competent foreign authority.

• Proof of descent must be documented by civil status acts (birth, marriage, divorce, death), with legalization and official translation as required.

Complete and proper documentation must accompany the application.

NOTE: If the dante causa naturalized before the birth or during the descendant’s minority, the citizenship transmission is interrupted.

No right to citizenship recognition exists in this case (see articles 8 and 12 Law no. 555/1912).

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APPLICATION FOR CITIZENSHIP RECOGNITION BY DESCENT

• ONLY adult citizens may submit citizenship recognition applications by descent. For minors, please refer to the relevant section (Birth).

• Applications can be submitted at this Italian Consulate in Perth ONLY by Australian citizens or citizens of other countries with Australian permanent residence visas residing in WA.

• Proof of residence in WA is required at the time of application.

• The application is individual, must be submitted in person by appointment (online booking system), and accompanied by required documents, in particular the citizenship by descent application form, completed as per instructions on the form itself; this form must not be signed nor dated , it will be at the time of the appointment at the Consulate anb before one of our Consular Officials;

• If two or more family members apply for recognition by descent from the same ancestor, submitting one set of documents is sufficient if all applicants reside in WA.

• Residents of WA whose relatives obtained citizenship recognition from another Consulate or Italy must still submit all original ancestor documents.

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DOCUMENTS TO BE PRESENTED ON THE APPOINTMENT DAY

For the DANTE CAUSA:

• full birth certificate issued by the Italian municipality

• marriage certificate, if applicable, with legalization and translation

• divorce decree, if applicable, with legalization and translation

• death certificate, if applicable, with legalization and translation

• certificate of “non-naturalization” or “naturalization,” if applicable, with legalization and translation

For the APPLICANT:

• the citizenship by descent application form, completed as per instructions on the form itself; this form must not be signed nor dated , it will be at the time of the appointment at the Consulate anb before one of our Consular Officials;

• birth certificate, with legalization and translation if required

• marriage certificate, if applicable, with legalization and translation

• divorce decree, if applicable, with legalization and translation

• proof of residence relevant to the citizenship recognition applicant

Australian documents must be apostilled and translated. For non-Australian documents, applicants must verify formal correctness with the competent Italian Consulate.

In exceptional cases, this Consulate may certify the translation if the foreign document is in English, the official language of the issuing country.

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COSTS

From January 1, 2025, all citizenship recognition applications by descent are subject to a consular processing fee of 600 Euros payable in local currency. Note: due to consular fee schedule changes and ministerial software updates, citizenship appointments by iure sanguinis are suspended from January 1 to January 15, 2025.

This is a mandatory contribution required by law for processing and does NOT guarantee a positive outcome and is NON-REFUNDABLE.

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NOTE WELL

• All documents must be originals and will not be returned.

• The Citizenship Office reserves the right to request further documentation if needed.

• Gathering documents is the applicant’s responsibility.

• The verification process will be completed within 730 days as per Prime Ministerial Decree no. 33/2014.

• The Consulate will notify applicants by email of the outcome and forward documents to the Italian municipality if positive.

No individual responses by email or phone will be given to general inquiries regarding procedures or documentation required for citizenship application.