Law No. 74 of May 23, 2025, has reopened the terms for the reacquisition of citizenship for former citizens born in Italy or who have been resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years and who lost their citizenship no later than August 15, 1992, pursuant to Article 8, Nos. 1 and 2, or Article 12 of Law No. 555 of 1912 (naturalization in a foreign country, renunciation of citizenship following the involuntary acquisition of foreign citizenship, minor children living with a parent who lost citizenship). The possibility of reacquisition does not apply to those who renounced Italian citizenship (or lost it for other reasons) starting from August 16, 1992.
The declaration of reacquisition by the former citizen can be submitted between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2027.
Procedure for the Declaration
Before making the declaration, the applicant must:
a) Provide valid identification issued by the authorities of the country of their current citizenship;
b) Submit complete and authentic documentation demonstrating:
i. Full personal details (via a birth certificate; if born abroad, it must comply with the requirements for transcription in Italy, be legalized, and translated);
ii. For those born abroad only, residence in Italy for at least two consecutive years (via historical residence certificate);
iii. Former possession of Italian citizenship (via historical citizenship certificate);
iv. The cause of citizenship loss (through documentation proving acquisition of foreign citizenship and, where applicable, renunciation of Italian citizenship: naturalization certificate; documents issued by foreign authorities must be duly legalized and translated);
v. The effective date of loss of citizenship (generally proved by the documents in point iv).
c) Pay a consular fee of €250.
The declaration must be made personally by the applicant at the Consular Office.
ONCE ALL REQUIREMENTS AND DOCUMENTATION ARE VERIFIED, APPLICANTS MAY CONTACT THE CONSULATE TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS: consolato.adelaide@esteri.it
Effects of the Declaration
From the day following the declaration, the former citizen reacquires Italian citizenship. The reacquisition has no retroactive effect: from the day of citizenship loss until the declaration is made, the individual is considered a foreign national for all legal purposes.
Reacquiring citizenship entails regaining rights and duties typical of Italian nationals, such as:
a) The obligation to register with the civil registry;
b) The obligation to update one’s civil status (e.g., by providing a marriage certificate, documents related to the dissolution of previous marriages, etc.);
c) The right to be included on electoral rolls;
d) The right to obtain a passport and identity card.
Please note that with the conversion law (Law No. 74/2025), Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992 has been amended: Reacquisition of citizenship by a person residing abroad no longer automatically extends to their cohabiting minor child, if that child is also residing abroad. To obtain citizenship, the minor must have resided in Italy with the reacquiring parent for at least two years prior to the reacquisition. Therefore, children (whether minors or, even more so, adults) who reside abroad and were born before their parent reacquired Italian citizenship do not automatically acquire Italian citizenship as a result. However, if the parent was originally an Italian citizen by birth, a child born before the reacquisition may still obtain Italian citizenship through residence in Italy (under Article 4, paragraph 1, letter c, or Article 9, paragraph 1, letter a, of Law No. 91/1992).
REACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY RESIDENCE
The person who has relinquished their Italian citizenship by becoming a naturalized Australian prior to 16/08/1992, may reacquire Italian citizenship following one of two possible avenues, which differ only in the time needed for the reacquisition.
With the first option, you may be able to reacquire citizenship within days or a few weeks, whilst with the second option you will have to wait at least one year, depending on the processing time of the Italian Municipality.
- First option: you must sign a declaration at the Consulate and will then need to take up residence in Italy within 12 months from the date of the declaration.
- Second option: you take up residence in a Municipality in Italy without making any declaration and you will then need to wait 365 days.
In both cases the Italian Municipality of residence is the authority that will finalise the reacquisition process.
Detailed instructions are provided in the specific document HOW-TO reacquiring Italian citizenship.