Italy · Università per Stranieri di Siena

Italian citizenship B1 practice: the CILS B1 Cittadinanza

Italy has no citizenship knowledge test. Law 91/1992 asks for Italian at level B1, and the CILS B1 Cittadinanza is the exam the Università per Stranieri di Siena wrote for citizenship applicants. Here are ten practice questions with the answers, and everything Siena publishes about the paper.

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What the CILS B1 Cittadinanza asks of you

The four abilità and what each is worth

What Siena has not published

  • The score that passes an abilità. The criteri di valutazione give the maximum, 12 for each abilità and 48 in all, and the Centro CILS requires every abilità to be passed, but none of Siena's pages prints the threshold.
  • A single total duration. Siena gives the time of each part, not one figure for the whole exam.
  • Whether a centre adds a charge of its own to the 100 euro fee. Siena does not say, so ask the centre before you pay.
  • The 2027 sittings. The Università per Stranieri di Siena has not published them yet. They appear on cils.unistrasi.it when it does, and Belong Italy does not guess them from the pattern.
It is a short list. The Centro CILS publishes the four abilità, the points, the durations, a sample paper with its audio and answer keys and the marking criteria, all free on cils.unistrasi.it.

The next sittings

CILS B1 Cittadinanza sits about six times a year, and each centre can close registration earlier when its seats fill. CELI, PLIDA and CERT.IT have their own calendars. The 2027 dates appear on cils.unistrasi.it when the Università publishes them.

Practice

10 sample questions, with answers

Two from each of the five chapters of Belong Italy’s bank, in Italian as the real exam is set, with an English translation underneath. They drill one abilità only, comprensione della lettura e riflessione grammaticale, the reading and grammar part. Listening, writing and speaking cannot be practised by picking an option, and none of these questions tries to.

Each question has three options and one right answer, which is the bank’s own format and not a copy of the paper’s tasks: the real reading part is a true or false test and a gapped text. The right answer is marked.

  1. Question 1 · Comprensione della lettura: testi regolativi (Reading: official and regulatory texts)

    COMUNE DI SAN DONATO UFFICIO ANAGRAFE L'ufficio riceve il pubblico dal lunedì al venerdì dalle 8.30 alle 12.30. Il martedì lo sportello è aperto anche dalle 15.00 alle 17.00. Il sabato l'ufficio resta chiuso.

    Quando può andare allo sportello una persona che lavora tutte le mattine?

    MUNICIPALITY OF SAN DONATO REGISTRY OFFICE The office is open to the public from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 12.30. On Tuesday the counter is also open from 15.00 to 17.00. On Saturday the office stays closed. When can a person who works every morning go to the counter?

    • Il martedì pomeriggio (On Tuesday afternoon) ✓ correct answer
    • Il sabato mattina (On Saturday morning)
    • Ogni giorno dopo le 15.00 (Every day after 15.00)
  2. Question 2 · Comprensione della lettura: testi informativi (Reading: informative texts)

    Da sabato scorso il quartiere Prati Nuovi ha una nuova pista ciclabile. Il percorso è lungo tre chilometri e collega la stazione al parco comunale. Il sindaco ha spiegato che l'obiettivo è ridurre il traffico nelle ore di punta. Lungo la pista sono stati piantati venti alberi.

    Che cosa collega la nuova pista ciclabile?

    Since last Saturday the Prati Nuovi neighbourhood has had a new cycle path. The route is three kilometres long and connects the station to the town park. The mayor explained that the aim is to reduce traffic at peak times. Twenty trees have been planted along the path. What does the new cycle path connect?

    • La stazione e il parco comunale (The station and the town park) ✓ correct answer
    • Il municipio e la scuola (The town hall and the school)
    • Il parco e l'ospedale (The park and the hospital)
  3. Question 3 · Analisi delle strutture: il verbo (Structures: verbs, tenses and moods)

    Scusate, ___ voi i genitori di Luca?

    Excuse me, ___ you the parents of Luca?

    • siete (presente of essere, you plural) ✓ correct answer
    • sete (not a verb form, 'sete' means thirst)
    • siate (congiuntivo of essere, not used here)
  4. Question 4 · Analisi delle strutture: la frase (Structures: articles, prepositions, pronouns and connectives)

    ___ studente nuovo arriva in classe domani mattina.

    ___ new student arrives in class tomorrow morning.

    • Il (masculine singular article used before most consonants)
    • Lo (masculine singular article used before s plus consonant) ✓ correct answer
    • L' (elided article, used before a vowel)
  5. Question 5 · Lessico della vita quotidiana e dei servizi (Everyday and public-service vocabulary)

    Il documento che permette a un cittadino straniero di restare regolarmente in Italia per un periodo stabilito si chiama ___.

    The document that allows a foreign citizen to stay legally in Italy for a set period is called ___.

    • permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) ✓ correct answer
    • carta d'identità (identity card)
    • codice fiscale (tax code)
  6. Question 6 · Comprensione della lettura: testi regolativi (Reading: official and regulatory texts)

    COMUNE DI VERONA CAMBIO DI RESIDENZA Chi si trasferisce in una nuova abitazione deve presentare la dichiarazione di residenza entro venti giorni dal trasferimento. La dichiarazione si può consegnare allo sportello, spedire per posta o inviare per via telematica. Occorre allegare la copia di un documento di identità valido.

    Entro quanto tempo va presentata la dichiarazione?

    MUNICIPALITY OF VERONA CHANGE OF RESIDENCE Anyone who moves into a new home must submit the declaration of residence within twenty days of the move. The declaration can be handed in at the counter, sent by post or sent electronically. A copy of a valid identity document must be attached. By when must the declaration be submitted?

    • Entro venti giorni dalla firma del contratto di affitto (Within twenty days of signing the rental contract)
    • Entro venti giorni dal trasferimento nella nuova abitazione (Within twenty days of moving into the new home) ✓ correct answer
    • Entro venti giorni dalla richiesta del certificato (Within twenty days of asking for the certificate)
  7. Question 7 · Comprensione della lettura: testi informativi (Reading: informative texts)

    Il Museo della Ceramica di Valdoro è aperto dal martedì alla domenica, dalle 10 alle 18. Il lunedì resta chiuso. L'ingresso costa sei euro, ma è gratuito per i bambini sotto i dodici anni e per gli studenti universitari. Le visite guidate si svolgono ogni sabato alle 15.

    Chi entra gratis al museo?

    The Ceramics Museum of Valdoro is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 to 18. On Monday it stays closed. Admission costs six euros, but it is free for children under twelve and for university students. Guided tours take place every Saturday at 15. Who gets into the museum free?

    • Gli anziani sopra i settant'anni (People over seventy)
    • I bambini sotto i dodici anni e gli studenti universitari (Children under twelve and university students) ✓ correct answer
    • I visitatori del lunedì (Monday visitors)
  8. Question 8 · Analisi delle strutture: il verbo (Structures: verbs, tenses and moods)

    I miei vicini ___ due macchine e un garage.

    My neighbours ___ two cars and a garage.

    • avono (regularised form, not Italian)
    • anno ('year', the h is missing)
    • hanno (presente of avere, they have) ✓ correct answer
  9. Question 9 · Analisi delle strutture: la frase (Structures: articles, prepositions, pronouns and connectives)

    Per la scuola ho comprato ___ zaino nuovo.

    For school I bought ___ new backpack.

    • uno (indefinite article before z, s plus consonant, ps, gn) ✓ correct answer
    • un (ordinary masculine indefinite article)
    • una (feminine indefinite article)
  10. Question 10 · Lessico della vita quotidiana e dei servizi (Everyday and public-service vocabulary)

    Ogni contribuente in Italia ha un codice personale di sedici lettere e cifre che serve per il lavoro, la banca e le tasse: si chiama ___.

    Every taxpayer in Italy has a personal code of sixteen letters and figures used for work, the bank and taxes: it is called ___.

    • marca da bollo (revenue stamp)
    • codice fiscale (tax code) ✓ correct answer
    • tessera sanitaria (health card)
These questions are written by Belong Italy at the level of the B1 Cittadinanza. They are not the Università per Stranieri di Siena’s questions and they can contain mistakes. Siena’s own sample paper, with its audio and answer keys, is free on cils.unistrasi.it: work through it too.

That was ten. There are 440 more.

450 questions for the reading and grammar abilità, in five chapters Belong Italy wrote, with a daily five, chapter drills, a mistakes deck and a progress screen. The other three abilità, listening, writing and speaking, are listed in the app with no questions behind them, so you see the whole exam and which part you are training.

No mock paper, here or in the app: three-option questions cannot reproduce a paper whose reading part is a true or false test and a gapped text. The questions are written by Belong Italy, not by the Università per Stranieri di Siena.

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Common questions

The CILS B1 Cittadinanza, point by point

Is there a citizenship test in Italy?

No. Article 9.1 of Law 91/1992 asks for Italian at level B1 of the Common European Framework, for the residence and marriage routes, and nothing else. There is no test of history, the Constitution or civic life. The CILS B1 Cittadinanza is a language exam, the one the Università per Stranieri di Siena wrote for citizenship applicants.

How is the CILS B1 Cittadinanza marked?

Four abilità (ascolto, comprensione della lettura e riflessione grammaticale, produzione scritta and produzione orale), each out of 12 points, 48 in all. Every abilità has to be passed, and on this paper a passed abilità is not kept: fail one and the whole exam is sat again at a later session. Siena does not print the score that passes an abilità.

What does it cost and when can I sit it?

100 euro, in Italy and abroad, paid to the sede d'esame where you register. There are six sittings in 2026: 19 February, 14 April, 16 June, 22 July, 21 October and 3 December. Registration for 21 October closed on 21 September 2026. For 3 December, Siena's deadline is 24 October 2026, and a centre can close earlier.

Does it have to be the CILS?

No. A B1 or higher from another recognised body counts as well. The prefecture guidance names CELI from Perugia, PLIDA from the Società Dante Alighieri and CERT.IT from Roma Tre beside CILS. The CILS B1 Cittadinanza is the paper written for this one purpose.

Does the certificate expire?

Not at present, in the Centro CILS's own words, and Law 91/1992 sets no expiry for it. It has to be attached when you file the citizenship application.

Who does not need the certificate?

Holders of a long-term EU residence permit, people who signed the accordo di integrazione and, since sentenza 25/2025 of the Corte costituzionale, people whose capacity to learn a language is seriously limited by age, illness or disability, on a public health service certificate. An Italian school diploma can be attested instead of a certificate.

The B1 is one requirement out of 4

Citizenship by residence also asks for 10 years of legal, continuous residence on the general route, sufficient declared income and a clean record, each with its own rules on time abroad and timing.

See all Italian citizenship requirements

Rules as of 1 October 2026 (snapshot 2026.1), from the Ministero dell'Interno.

More on the CILS B1 Cittadinanza

The five chapters the questions come from

Belong Italy’s own grouping of the reading and grammar abilità. Siena publishes the shape of the exam, not a list of topics, so these chapters are not Siena’s.

Questa pagina in italiano