LumenDoes a child born in Italy to foreign parents get Italian citizenship?
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Being born in Italy does not by itself make a child of foreign parents Italian. Under Italian law, a foreigner born in Italy who lived there legally without interruption until turning 18 becomes a citizen by declaring it within one year of their 18th birthday. Otherwise, citizenship can be granted after three years of legal residence.
Key facts
| What | The law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen at birth | A child of an Italian mother or father; a child born in Italy only if both parents are unknown or stateless, or the child doesn’t take the parents’ citizenship under their country’s law | L. 91/1992, art. 1.1 |
| At 18, by declaration | Born in Italy, legal residence without interruption until adulthood, declaration within one year of turning 18 | L. 91/1992, art. 4.2 |
| Where to declare | Civil registrar of the municipality of residence; consulate if living abroad | L. 91/1992, art. 23.1 |
| By grant, at any age | Born in Italy and legally resident for at least three years | L. 91/1992, art. 9(1)(a-bis) |
No automatic citizenship from birth in Italy
Italian citizenship passes mainly through parents. The law makes a child born in Italy a citizen at birth only when both parents are unknown or stateless, or when the child does not take the parents’ citizenship under the law of their country (art. 1). The ministry’s overview calls this a residual possibility of acquiring citizenship by birth on the territory.
The declaration at 18
Article 4.2 says a foreigner born in Italy who has lived there legally without interruption until coming of age becomes a citizen by declaring the wish to acquire Italian citizenship within one year of that date. The declaration is made to the civil registrar of the municipality where the person lives (art. 23.1).
The three-year route
If the declaration route doesn’t apply, article 9(1)(a-bis) allows citizenship to be granted to a foreigner born in Italy who has been legally resident there for at least three years. This is a grant by decree, like other citizenship by residence, and the ministry’s page lists it among the art. 9 cases.
Related questions
- Citizenship by residence for other foreigners: 10 years for non-EU nationals (art. 9(1)(f)).
Sources
- Legge 5 febbraio 1992, n. 91, art. 1 (Normattiva, text in force) checked 2026-10-25
- Legge 5 febbraio 1992, n. 91, art. 4 (Normattiva, text in force) checked 2026-10-25
- Legge 5 febbraio 1992, n. 91, art. 23 (Normattiva, text in force) checked 2026-10-25
- Ministry of the Interior, Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration: Concessione della cittadinanza italiana per residenza (art. 9), quoting art. 9(1)(a-bis) checked 2026-10-25
- Ministry of the Interior, Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration: Cittadinanza (overview page) checked 2026-10-25
Change history
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This is general information, not legal advice, and Lumen is not a law firm. Rules change and offices differ: check the official sources above before you act. Found something wrong or out of date? Write to support@lumen.observer.