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Acquisition of Citizenship by “benefit of law” (minor children born abroad)

A minor born abroad to Italian parents is considered an Italian citizen without the requirement of a “declaration of intent” only if at least one of the following conditions is met (it will be necessary, nonetheless, to apply for the registration of their birth certificate following the procedure described at this link: Birth – Consolato Generale d’Italia di Montreal):
    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.  
    2. 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.
    3. The Italian parent has resided in Italy for at least 2 continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth of the child.
If none of the conditions listed from 1 to 3 apply, the minor born abroad to Italian parents may still acquire Italian citizenship with a declaration of intent from the parents. In this regard, please read the information below carefully.

Acquisition of Citizenship by “benefit of law” (minor children born abroad)

In two cases, provided for by paragraph 1-bis of Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992 and Article 1, paragraph 1-ter of Legislative Decree No. 36/2025, minor children born abroad to a citizen parent who does not “automatically” transmit citizenship may acquire Italian citizenship.

The minor who benefits from this will not be a citizen by birth or iure sanguinis.

According to Article 15 of Law No. 91/1992, the minor does not acquire citizenship from the day of birth, but from the day after the conditions provided for by law are met.

A) In the first case (paragraph 1-bis of article 4 of law no. 91/1992) the following conditions must be jointly possessed:

  • one of the parents, even if he or she has another citizenship, is an Italian citizen by birth. Therefore, cases of citizens by naturalization pursuant to Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992 or “by benefit of the law” pursuant to Article 4 of Law No. 91/1992 or by marriage pursuant to Article 5 of Law No. 91/1992 or Article 10 of Law No. 555/1912 or by reacquisition pursuant to Articles 13 or 17 of Law No. 91/1992 or iuris communicatione (Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992) are excluded;
  • both parents (including the foreign parent) or the guardian submit a declaration of intent to acquire citizenship within one year of the birth (or from the subsequent date on which filiation from an Italian citizen is established or on which adoption by an Italian citizen is decided during the child’s minority). In the event of recognition of filiation at a later date by parents who are both Italian citizens by birth, the one-year term will run from the first recognition (because the first recognition already entails the transmission of citizenship). If, however, recognition by a foreign parent (or an Italian citizen not by birth but by another title) occurs first, the one-year term will be calculated starting from the recognition by the second parent who is a citizen by birth.

The declaration of intent to acquire citizenship must be formal and made in person, in the presence of Consular staff delegated to exercise civil registry functions, by appointment to be requested at montreal.cittadinanza@esteri.it  

If the parents do not make the declaration at the same time, the legal requirement is considered satisfied on the date on which the declaration of the second parent is submitted.

If the filiation (including adoptive) is established with respect to a single person (or if the other parent is deceased), the declaration of a single parent will be sufficient. In the case of establishment of legal residence of the minor in Italy, the declaration can also be submitted after the end of one year from birth, but the residence must last for at least two consecutive years after the declaration of intent to acquire citizenship submitted by the parents.

B) The second case (paragraph 1-ter of article 1 of Legislative Decree no. 36/2025) applies when all of the following conditions exist:

  • minors on the date of entry into force of conversion law no. 74/2025, i.e. persons who had not reached the age of 18 on 24 May 2025;
  • children of citizens by birth who are in the conditions set out in letters a), a-bis) and b) of Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992. In other words, the parents must be recognized as citizens on the basis of an administrative or judicial application submitted by 11.59 pm (Rome time) on March 27, 2025 or on the basis of an application submitted on the basis of an appointment communicated by the Consular Office or the Municipality by the same date;
  • the declaration of the parents or guardian must be submitted to the Consular Office by 31 May 2026. If the interested party, a minor on 24 May 2025, becomes an adult in the meantime, the declaration must be submitted by him personally within the same deadline.

The declarations must be made in person at the Consular Office, in front of consular staff delegated to Civil Registry functions, by appointment to be requested at montreal.cittadinanza@esteri.it  

It will also be necessary to attach an identity document of the applicant and the child, proof of residence in the consular district, in addition to the documentation listed in the relevant declaration form.

For Italian citizens registered with AIRE in the consular district of residence, the certificate of Italian citizenship by birth of the father or mother may be replaced by a declaration in lieu of certification.

According to article 9-bis of law no. 91/1992, the payment of the contribution in favour of the Ministry of the Interior of 250 euros applies, for each minor, by wire transfer, with any bank fees to be borne by the person arranging the transfer:

“Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I Cittadinanza”

Bank Name: Poste Italiane S.p.A.
IBAN: IT54D0760103200000000809020
Reason for payment: Acquisto cittadinanza a seguito di dichiarazione ex art. 9-bis L. 91/1992 (followed by the full name of the minor applicant)
BIC/SWIFT Code of Poste Italiane:  BPPIITRRXXX (for foreign wire transfer)
BIC/SWIFT: PIBPITRA (for EUROGIRO circuit operations)

The interested party, once he or she has become an adult, may renounce Italian citizenship acquired in the ways indicated above, with the sole condition that this does not result in a statelessness condition (the interested party may renounce Italian citizenship only if he or she has another citizenship).