Article 9 of Law 91/1992 sets ten years as the rule for non-EU nationals and shorter periods for named groups: four for EU citizens, five for refugees and stateless people, three for people born in Italy and, since Law 74/2025, two for people whose parent or grandparent was an Italian citizen by birth. The spouse of an Italian citizen applies under article 5, counted from the marriage. Citizenship by descent is the recognition of a citizenship already held, not naturalisation, and it runs through consulates, comuni and courts.
- General ten year route
- The path under Law 91/1992 article 9(1)(f) for non-EU nationals outside the shorter lists. It asks for ten years of legal, continuous, registry-recorded residence immediately before the application, a B1 certificate from a recognised body, declared income above the thresholds for the three preceding years and a clean record. You apply online through the Ministry of the Interior's portal, pay the 250 euro contribution and a 16 euro stamp. The Ministry must decide within 24 months, extendable to 36. Citizenship is granted by decree and you take the oath within six months of notification. Italy lets you keep your original nationality, no renunciation is asked.
- EU citizen four year route
- Law 91/1992 article 9(1)(d) cuts the residence period to four years for EU citizens. Every other condition applies in full: the residence must be legal, continuous, registry-recorded and immediately prior to the application, and the B1 certificate, the income thresholds and the clean record apply as on the general route. The application, the 250 euro contribution and the 24 to 36 month decision window are the same.
- Italian descent two year route
- Law 91/1992 article 9(1)(a), as amended by Law 74/2025, sets two years of legal residence for a person whose parent or second-degree ascendant in the direct line was an Italian citizen by birth. It applies whether or not that ancestor later took another nationality, which makes it the main naturalisation door for descendants who fall outside the tightened jure sanguinis recognition. The B1 certificate, the income thresholds and the clean record apply in full, and the decision runs through the same administrative process as the general route.
- Born in Italy three year route
- Law 91/1992 article 9(1)(a-bis) sets three years of legal residence for a person born on Italian territory. The B1 certificate, the income thresholds and the clean record apply in full. Separately, article 4(2) gives a person born in Italy who has resided here legally and without interruption until age 18 the right to become Italian by simple declaration at the comune between their 18th and 19th birthday, no ministerial discretion involved. If that window applies to you, it is the stronger path, ask your comune.
- Refugee and stateless five year route
- Law 91/1992 article 9(1)(e) sets five years of legal residence for stateless people, and article 16(2) treats recognised refugees the same way. The B1 certificate, the income thresholds and the clean record apply as on the general route, and your recognition documents stand in for some certificates your country of origin would normally issue; the prefecture confirms which ones in your case.
- Marriage to an Italian citizen
- Under Law 91/1992 article 5, the spouse or civil-union partner of an Italian citizen can apply after two years of legal residence in Italy following the marriage, or after three years of marriage when living abroad, both halved when the couple has a minor child, born or adopted. The marriage must still stand when the decision is made. The B1 certificate applies, and unlike the residence routes there is no income threshold; the check is on your record and security profile, and refusal is possible only on those grounds. The decision window is 24 months, extendable to 36, and abroad you apply through the consulate.
- Citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis)
- Recognition of citizenship you already hold by descent, not naturalisation. Since Law 74/2025, in force 24 May 2025, recognition is limited to two generations: broadly, you qualify if a parent or grandparent was an Italian citizen who held only Italian citizenship, or a parent lived in Italy for two continuous years after acquiring citizenship and before your birth. In April 2026 the Constitutional Court upheld the 27 March 2025 transitional cut-off (sentenza n. 63/2026), expressly leaving the two-generation limit itself aside; in July 2026 it referred that question to the EU Court of Justice (ordinanza n. 147/2026) and suspended its own proceedings while it waits. Applications filed, or consular appointments confirmed, by 27 March 2025 are decided under the old unlimited-generation rules. Separately, people born in Italy who lost citizenship before 1992 can reacquire it by declaration until 31 December 2027. Since 1 January 2025, recognition applications carry a 600 euro fee. This card is a signpost: this route runs through consulates, comuni and courts, not through this tracker's residence clock.
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