Country guide · Italy

Italian citizenship by marriage, step by step

Citizenship-by-Descent.com·Last reviewed November 2026

Educational information only — not legal advice. Always verify with the relevant authority, consulate or registry office.

If you’re married to an Italian citizen and live outside Italy, you can apply for Italian citizenship three years after the wedding, or after 18 months if you have children together. You don’t need to live in Italy, and Italy doesn’t ask you to give up your current citizenship. The two things that hold most people up are the B1 Italian certificate and paperwork: the marriage has to be registered in Italy first, and every background check has to be fresh.

This is a separate route from citizenship by descent. If you have Italian ancestry yourself, read the Italian citizenship by descent guide first: it may be the faster way in, even though the 2025 law narrowed it.

The rules at a glance

  • Living outside Italy: apply 3 years after the marriage.
  • Living in Italy: apply after 2 years of legal residence in Italy following the marriage.
  • With children: both periods are halved, to 18 months or 1 year. The law says children “born or adopted by the spouses”; the New York consulate says “minor children”.
  • Language: Italian at B1, with a certificate from a recognized body.
  • Fee: EUR 250.
  • Decision time in law: 24 months, extendable to 36.
  • Dual citizenship: allowed. Italy doesn’t ask you to give up your current citizenship.

Who qualifies

Under Article 5 of Law 91/1992, you can apply if:

  • your spouse or civil-union partner is an Italian citizen;
  • enough time has passed: 3 years since the wedding if you live abroad, or 2 years of legal residence in Italy after the marriage if you live there, halved with children;
  • the marriage is still in place when the decision is made: no divorce, annulment or legal separation; and
  • none of the criminal or security grounds for refusal applies to you (see below).

If your spouse became Italian after you married, the clock starts on the date they became Italian, not on your wedding day. The New York consulate gives this example for a spouse who naturalised. The same logic matters for spouses who claimed by descent: your eligibility depends on your spouse actually being Italian, so if their own citizenship is still being recognised, wait until it is.

Married to an Italian before 27 April 1983? A foreign woman who married an Italian man before that date became Italian automatically under the old law, so this route isn’t for her. The Boston consulate asks people in this situation to contact it directly.

The marriage must be registered in Italy first

If you married outside Italy, the marriage has to be transcribed in the civil register of your spouse’s Italian comune before you apply. For a spouse living abroad, that normally means they’re enrolled in AIRE, the register of Italians abroad, and have asked their consulate to send the marriage to their comune. Allow time for this: you need an Italian extract of the marriage record for the application, and you can’t get one until the transcription is done.

The B1 Italian certificate

Since December 2018 everyone applying through marriage must prove Italian at B1 level, the middle of the European scale: you can handle everyday conversations, describe experiences and give simple reasons. The New York consulate, for example, accepts only these certificates:

  • CILS (Università per Stranieri di Siena)
  • CELI (Università per Stranieri di Perugia)
  • PLIDA (Società Dante Alighieri)
  • CertIt (Università Roma Tre)
  • Ce.Co.L. (Università per Stranieri di Reggio Calabria)

A school diploma or university degree from an Italian institution also counts. You’re exempt if you hold an Italian EU long-term residence permit or signed Italy’s integration agreement as a resident, or since a 2025 Constitutional Court ruling, if age, illness or disability seriously limits your ability to learn a language, certified by a public health facility.

Book the exam early. The certificate is usually the slowest part to arrange from abroad, and the CILS and CELI sessions run only on set dates. Our language requirements guide compares Italy’s test with other countries.

Documents

The Italian consulate in New York, for example, lists these. Other consulates publish their own lists, so check the one for the area where you live:

  • your long-form birth certificate, apostilled, translated into Italian, with the translation certified;
  • a copy of your passport;
  • an extract of the Italian marriage record (estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio) from your spouse’s comune, issued within the last 6 months. A certificato di matrimonio isn’t accepted;
  • criminal record checks issued within the last 6 months: for US residents, an FBI background check plus state checks for your state of birth and your current state; and police certificates from any other country you’ve lived in since age 14. Foreign records need an apostille and an Italian translation;
  • your B1 certificate, or proof that you’re exempt; and
  • the receipt for the EUR 250 fee.

Our apostille guide and certified translation guide explain those steps.

Applying, step by step

  1. Get the marriage transcribed in your spouse’s comune, if you married abroad.
  2. Pass a B1 exam with one of the recognized bodies.
  3. Gather the documents. Order the criminal record checks last: they expire after 6 months.
  4. Pay the EUR 250 to the Interior Ministry and apply online on the Ministry’s citizenship portal. From abroad you can log in with an email address and an authenticator app; Italian residents use SPID or an electronic ID card. If you live abroad, your application goes to the consulate for the area where you live.
  5. Attend the consulate appointment. The consulate checks the file and asks you to bring the originals.
  6. Wait for the decree. The Interior Ministry decides, within 24 months by law, extendable to 36.
  7. Take the oath within 6 months of being notified of the decree. Bring a fresh long-form marriage record and fresh criminal record checks (for the US, FBI and state checks) dated after the decree. You become Italian the day after the oath.

The 6-month oath deadline is strict: the New York consulate says it allows no exceptions or extensions, and missing it means losing the right to citizenship.

Cost

  • EUR 250 government fee.
  • No stamp duty for applicants living abroad since 1 January 2025. Applicants in Italy still pay the EUR 16 digital stamp.
  • EUR 15 consular fee for the oath, plus consular fees for any certified copies and translations.
  • Your own costs: the B1 exam, apostilles, translations and background checks.

Grounds for refusal

Article 6 lets Italy refuse citizenship by marriage for:

  • a conviction for crimes against the Italian state;
  • an Italian conviction for a deliberate offence punishable by at least 3 years in prison;
  • a foreign conviction of more than 1 year for a non-political offence, once recognised in Italy; or
  • proven reasons of national security.

A pending prosecution suspends the case until it’s resolved. After a refusal you can apply again after 5 years.

Can you keep your current citizenship?

Italy doesn’t ask you to give up your current citizenship, and nothing in Law 91/1992 makes renunciation a condition. Whether you keep your other citizenship also depends on your other country’s law: some countries end citizenship when you voluntarily take another, so check yours. The US, for example, doesn’t: US law requires a voluntary act done with the intention of giving up US citizenship. Our Italian dual citizenship guide covers the details.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to be married to an Italian to apply?

Three years from the wedding if you live outside Italy, or two years of legal residence in Italy after the marriage if you live there. Both periods are halved if you have children born to or adopted by the two of you. The New York consulate describes this as 18 months for couples with minor children.

Do I have to live in Italy?

No. If you live abroad you apply after three years of marriage, through the Italian consulate for the area where you live. You never need to have lived in Italy.

What Italian level do I need?

B1 on the European scale, proven with a certificate from one of the recognized bodies (CILS, CELI, PLIDA, CertIt or Ce.Co.L.) or with an Italian school diploma or degree. A certificate from any other provider is not accepted.

How much does it cost?

The government fee is EUR 250, paid to the Interior Ministry. Since 1 January 2025 applicants living abroad no longer pay the EUR 16 stamp duty. Budget too for the B1 exam, apostilles, certified translations, criminal record checks from every country you've lived in, and consular fees, including EUR 15 for the oath.

How long does it take?

The law gives the authorities 24 months from the application, extendable to 36. There's no official figure for actual waiting times.

Do I have to give up my current citizenship?

Not for Italy. Law 91/1992 doesn't make giving up another citizenship a condition of naturalising by marriage, and Italy allows dual citizenship. Whether you keep your other citizenship also depends on your other country's law, so check yours.

Does a same-sex civil union count?

Yes. The Italian consulates handle the route as citizenship by marriage or civil union. A civil union formed abroad must be registered in the Italian partner's comune, just like a marriage.

What happens if we separate or divorce while the application is pending?

The application fails. Article 5 requires that there has been no divorce, annulment or legal separation when the decree is adopted, and the New York consulate says the marriage must still stand at the oath. If your spouse dies while the case is pending, that doesn't bar citizenship.

Official sources

Checked against these sources on 11 November 2026. Each consulate sets its own appointment process, so check the page of the consulate for the area where you live.