PLEASE NOTE:
IMPORTANT: Changes to the legislation on citizenship “ius sanguinis”
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For general information on Italian citizenship, please refer the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
CHANGES IN THE MATTER OF CITIZENSHIP (DL113/2018)
For the benefit of interested users, the main regulatory changes to the provisions in force regarding citizenship, introduced by Legislative Decree no. 113 of 4 October 2018 and subsequent conversion law (Law no. 132 of 1 December 2018), are summarized, and the reference to the relevant Circular of the Ministry of the Interior no. 0000666 of 25 January 2019 is included. (To view the text click here).
1. Naturalizations
– Procedural deadline.
The Ministry of the Interior has reiterated that the deadline for defining the procedures for granting citizenship pursuant to Articles 5 and 9 of Law no. 91 of 5 February 1992 is increased to forty-eight months from the date of submission of the application. This term applies to proceedings in progress, i.e. not yet concluded as of 5 October 2018 (date of entry into force of the aforementioned Decree no. 113), whether the previous two-year term has expired or not.
– Amount of the contribution.
The amended art. 9-bis of Law 91/92, also effective from 5 October 2018, has modified the amount of the contribution to which the applications and declarations of election, acquisition, reacquisition, renunciation or granting of Italian citizenship are subject, introduced by art. 1 of Law no. 94/2009, raising it from 200 (two hundred) euros to 250 (two hundred and fifty) euros. Therefore, for applications submitted from 5 October 2018 inclusive, not up to date with the payment, the integration of 50 (fifty) euros must be made.
– Language requirements.
The Ministry of the Interior has confirmed that adequate knowledge of the Italian language is a condition for the recognition of citizenship pursuant to Articles 5 and 9 of the law. This requirement applies from 4 December 2018 and therefore for applications submitted from that date. It is not, however, required for procedures initiated previously and already underway. At the moment, the following can be considered certifying bodies, as they belong to the unified CLIQ certification system (Certification of the Italian Language of Quality):
the University for Foreigners of Siena,
the University for Foreigners of Perugia,
the University of Roma Tre,
the Dante Alighieri Society.
Therefore, certifications issued by these bodies will be considered valid, possibly also in collaboration with local Italian Cultural Institutes.
– Abrogazione del silenzio-assenso.
Il d.l. 113 ha abrogato la disposizione dell’art. 8 comma 2 della Legge n. 91/1992, che precludeva il rigetto dell’istanza di conferimento della cittadinanza per matrimonio una volta decorso il biennio dalla presentazione della domanda. Pertanto non e’ piu’ configurabile il silenzio-assenso da parte dell’Amministrazione sulla istanza del cittadino straniero coniugato con cittadino italiano allo scadere del termine, mentre e’ fatto salvo il potere di diniego del nostro status civitatis, da parte del competente Dicastero, anche dopo lo spirare del limite temporale.
2. Recognitions iure sanguinis
No changes have been introduced with respect to the duration of the procedures for the recognition of citizenship iure sanguinis.
NOTE: If the Italian-born parent’s naturalization occurred during their child’s minor age, the transmission of the Italian citizenship is considered interrupted, unless proof of its re-acquisition according to art. 12 of Law 555 of 1912 is provide.