Italian citizenship by declaration (benefit of law)

Article 4 of Law 91/1992 gathers the cases in which citizenship is acquired by a declaration of will, without a decree and without an oath, by a person who has a close link with Italy but is not Italian by descent. Until 2025 it concerned people living in Italy. The reform of 2025 added a paragraph which concerns families abroad directly: the minor child of an Italian citizen by birth, who is not Italian automatically, becomes Italian when the parents declare that they want it, within the time the law allows. For families in the United Kingdom this is now the main route for children born here.

The declaration for minor children

Under paragraph 1-bis of article 4, the minor child of a father or a mother who is an Italian citizen by birth acquires Italian citizenship if the parents, or the guardian, declare that they want it. The declaration takes effect in one of two ways. Either the minor is legally resident in Italy for at least two continuous years after the declaration, or the declaration is made within three years of the birth, or of the later establishment of the parentage, including by adoption. The three-year term was fixed by the Budget Law for 2026, Law 199 of 30 December 2025, which replaced the one-year term of the original text. The same law removed the contribution of 250 euro for declarations made from 1 January 2026.

Italian by birth means a parent who holds citizenship from birth: born in Italy to Italian parents, or born abroad and recognised by descent. A parent who became Italian by marriage, by naturalisation or under article 14 cannot make this declaration.

Both parents make the declaration, the British parent included, because it concerns the citizenship of their child. Where they do not declare on the same day, the term is met on the day the second parent declares. The child who acquires citizenship this way can renounce it on reaching majority if they hold another citizenship, under paragraph 1-ter.

The transitional rule until 31 May 2029

Children who were minors on 24 May 2025, the day the conversion law came into force, and whose parent is an Italian citizen by birth under article 3-bis, paragraph 1, letters a, a-bis or b, that is a parent whose application for recognition was lodged, whose appointment was fixed or whose court claim was filed by 27 March 2025, may be declared until 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029, whatever their age at the time of the declaration. The term, originally 31 May 2026, was extended by Law 26 of 28 February 2026, which converted decree-law 200 of 31 December 2025. A child who has come of age since 24 May 2025 makes the declaration in person.

Whether a family falls within the transitional rule or within the ordinary three-year term depends on how the Italian parent’s citizenship was established, and it is the first point we check. The three consulates in the United Kingdom apply the rule to the children of parents recognised by descent. They exclude the children of parents who became Italian by naturalisation, by marriage, under article 14 or under the special laws for the former Austro-Hungarian territories.

How the declaration is made in the United Kingdom

The Consulate General in London asks for the documents to be sent in advance, as a single PDF, to the citizenship office at cittadinanza.londra@esteri.it, with the subject line DICHIARAZIONE ACQUISTO CITTADINANZA MINORI. The office checks the file and, when it is complete, gives an appointment. Both parents attend and sign the declaration before the consular officer. At least one parent must live in the London district and be registered in the AIRE at the current address. Where the child lives in another district, the London consulate receives the declaration of the parent who lives in its district and the procedure is completed by the consulate of the child’s residence. The consulates in Manchester and Edinburgh publish their own instructions for their districts.

• The consulate’s application form, completed and signed.
• The child’s long-form British birth certificate, with a paper apostille from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and its official translation into Italian.
• Passports of both parents and of the child.
• Proof of the Italian parent’s citizenship by birth: the consular recognition, or the Italian birth certificate.
• Proof of address of both parents in the consular district, such as a council tax statement or a utility bill.
• Where the parents are married, the marriage must already be registered in Italy. Where they are not, both must appear as informants on the birth certificate, or the recognition of the child must be formalised at the consulate’s notary office first.

Citizenship is acquired from the day after the declaration, not from birth. The consulate transmits the deed to the comune for transcription, the child is registered in the AIRE, and the passport can then be requested. There is no fee for the declaration. The certificates, the apostille and the translation are the only costs.

The other cases of article 4

The first two paragraphs of article 4 apply only in Italy and are handled by the Ministry of the Interior through the comune. A foreigner or stateless person whose parent or grandparent was an Italian citizen by birth acquires citizenship by declaration if they serve in the Italian armed forces, take up public employment with the Italian State, or, on reaching majority, have been legally resident in Italy for at least two years and declare within one year of majority that they wish to become Italian. A foreigner born in Italy who has lived there legally and without interruption until majority acquires citizenship by a declaration made within one year of majority. These cases concern people who grow up in Italy, and we mention them so that the article is complete.

If your child was born in the United Kingdom and you are Italian by birth, send us the birth certificate, your own documents and the date of your recognition. The written assessment tells you whether the child is Italian already, whether the declaration is needed, and by when.