Italian citizenship by marriage: what are the requirements?

04 Ott 21

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The citizenship process is a very complex path to follow, but if Colin Firth did it, why wouldn’t you? He got his Italian citizenship after being married to film producer Livia Giuggioli in 1997. Here below you will find some tips that will help you know whether you can apply for Italian citizenship by marriage or not.

First of all, you need to know that the spouse or partner of an Italian citizen that has been resident for at least 2 years and who has a valid residence permit can apply for Italian citizenship after 2 years from the date of marriage/civil union, which become one year if the couple has children (also adopted). Instead, if the spouse above mentioned resides abroad, he/she can apply for citizenship after 3 years frame the date of marriage or civil union, reducing to 18 months if there are children involved.

What about same-sex couples? Can they apply for citizenship? Of course, they can! The application can be made 2 years after the marriage if residing in Italy or 3 years after if residing abroad. Moreover, the Italian spouse must be registered with AIRE (registry of Italian citizens living abroad – kept by Italian Consulates).

Some other requirements you may need are the language test and your criminal records.

The test requires you to demonstrate that you hold at least a B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). However, if you have a long-term EU residence permit or you are already living in Italy and comply with the Integration Agreement provisions or you have a qualification from an Italian state school or state-recognized private school, are exempt from this requirement.

In relation to your Criminal Records certificate, you need to ask your country of origin or the country(ies) where you have resided to issue this kind of document, proving that you are not a problem for public or national safety.

Things change if you married a man before 1983, but why? Because any woman who married an Italian man up until April 27, 1983, obtained Italian citizenship in an automatic from the date of the marriage.

Last but not least: do not split before citizenship adjudication! Citizenship by marriage can only be applied if the couple is still married or joint in a civil union and the bond is still in effect at the time of adjudication.

In a nutshell, these are some basic requirements you must always have in mind if you deal with Italian citizenship application by marriage.

This post was written by Log_Italy_Certificates_General
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