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Italian Citizenship for a minor child

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Italian Citizenship for a minor child

ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY MINOR CHILDREN BORN ABROAD TO ITALIAN CITIZENS.

There are two ways to pass citizenship to a minor child: by beneficio di legge (acquired by law) OR automatically.

BY BENEFICIO DI LEGGE

This applies to minor children born abroad to a parent who is an Italian citizen by birth — but who does not automatically pass on Italian citizenship. The child can still become an Italian citizen through a process called “acquisition by law” (beneficio di legge) if one of the following options applies.

Option 1: Registration submitted within one year of the child’s birth (or adoption) 

ALL of the following requirements must be met:

  • At least one parent is an Italian citizen by birth AND
  • Both parents submit a formal statement of intent to acquire Italian citizenship for the child within a year of the child’s birth, or within a year of the date when the ties of filiation with the Italian parent(s) or adoptive parent(s) is legally established.

Option 2: Residency Path, where the parent(s) submit(s) a declaration of intent (dichiarazione di volontà) and they reside in Italy for 2 consecutive years. 

In both cases, the statement of intent must be submitted in person at the Consulate by both parents during a scheduled appointment by the Citizenship office. If you believe you qualify for this option based on the regulations outlined above, you must first book an appointment by emailing the Citizenship Office of your consulate of reference. 

Acquisition of Italian citizenship takes effect from the day after the statement of intention is submitted and accepted.

GRACE PERIOD: Legally binding statement by both parents, submitted by May 31, 2026 without obligation to move to Italy for two years 

All of the following requirements must be met:

  • The child was a minor on May 24, 2025(the day DL 36/25 was signed into Law 74/2025) AND
  • At least one of the parents is an Italian citizen by birth whose citizenship was recognized based on an administrative or judicial procedure submitted by 11:59 PM (Rome time) on March 27, 2025, or based on an appointment offered to the applicant by that same date and time (Art. 3-bis, par. 1, letters a, a-bis, b Law 91/92); AND
  • The parents submit a statement of intent for the child to acquire Italian citizenship by May 31, 2026. If the child, who was a minor on the date of May 24, 2025, becomes an adult in the meantime, they must personally submit the declaration by May 31, 2026.

In the above cases of acquisition by law, citizenship is NOT granted from birth, but it takes effect the day after the statement is submitted at the Italian Consulate.

AUTOMATICALLY 

A minor born abroad to Italian parents is automatically considered an Italian citizen only if at least one of the following conditions is met:

  1. At the time of birth, the minor can exclusively acquire Italian citizenship, meaning they cannot hold or acquire any other citizenship, such as through ius sanguinis, ius soli, citizenship by option, etc. 

Individuals born in the United States acquire U.S. citizenship by ius soli, that is, by virtue of being born on U.S. territory.

  1. At the time of the minor’s birth, a first or second-degree ancestor(parents/grandparents) holds (or held, at the time of their death) exclusively Italian citizenship.
    The application for registration must include documents that incontrovertibly demonstrate that, at the time of the minor’s birth, one of the parents or grandparents was exclusively an Italian citizen (or was at the time of death, if they passed away before the minor was born).
    The responsibility of providing valid proof of non-naturalization from the relevant authorities of all countries where the ancestor may have resided lies solely with the applicant. Any self-declaration regarding the non-possession of other citizenship will not be accepted.
  2. The Italian parent has resided in Italy for at least 2 continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth of the child.
    The Italian parent who acquired citizenship through marriage, residence, or legal benefit must demonstrate they have resided in Italy for at least 2 continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth of the child. The residence in Italy of the Italian citizen prior to acquiring Italian citizenship, as well as the residence in Italy of the foreign parent, is not relevant. Any self-declaration regarding residency will not be accepted.
    The responsibility of providing valid proof of residence lies solely with the applicant.
    For more information about the documentation proving residence in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the date of the child’s birth 

Registering your child’s birth certificate means that the child will also be automatically registered in AIRE. There is no need to request a separate AIRE registration for your child.

 

(Source: Website of the General Consulate of Italy in New York)