Renunciation of Italian citizenship
Italian citizenship is not lost by accident. Since 1992 the only way an Italian citizen gives it up is a declaration of renunciation, made in person before the civil status officer, by a person who lives abroad and holds another citizenship. The declaration is rare, it is irrevocable in its effects, and it is sometimes made for reasons which turn out to be mistaken. This page sets out who can renounce, how, and what follows.
Who can renounce
Article 11 of Law 91/1992 allows a citizen who resides abroad, or who establishes residence abroad, and who holds, acquires or reacquires a foreign citizenship, to renounce the Italian one. Two further cases exist. Under article 14 a person who acquired citizenship as a minor through a parent can renounce it on reaching majority, if he holds another citizenship. Under article 3 an adult adoptee whose adoption is revoked for a cause attributable to the adopter can renounce it, if he holds or reacquires another citizenship. In every case the condition is the same: the person must not become stateless.
A minor cannot renounce, and nobody can renounce on a minor’s behalf. The children of a person who renounces keep their Italian citizenship.
Why people ask, and what they should know first
The United Kingdom has never required a person to give up a previous citizenship in order to become British. A naturalisation as a British citizen leaves the Italian citizenship intact, and an Italian who became British at any time since 16 August 1992 holds both. The requests we receive come from other situations: a person who wants to end the obligations of the AIRE registration, a family which believes a second citizenship complicates an inheritance or a tax position, or a person who acquired citizenship as a minor and never felt it his own. In each case the consequences deserve to be set out before the declaration is made.
- The renunciation takes effect from the day after the declaration. It does not act for the past, and it does not cancel the citizenship of the children, who remain Italian and can transmit it.
- A person who renounces loses the right to live and work in Italy and in the European Union as an Italian, and the right to a passport. The reacquisition is possible under article 13, but only by establishing residence in Italy.
- Tax residence does not depend on citizenship. An Italian citizen who lives in the United Kingdom and is registered in the AIRE is not resident in Italy for tax purposes on that basis, and the renunciation changes nothing in that respect.
- The registration in the AIRE is an obligation which follows from the citizenship. The renunciation ends it, and so does nothing else.
Procedure and documents
The declaration is received by the consulate of the district of residence. The consulate verifies the identity, the residence abroad and the foreign citizenship, and asks for the following.
- Birth certificate, issued by the comune where the birth is registered or transcribed.
- Certificate of Italian citizenship, or the consular record of the registration.
- Proof of the foreign citizenship: the British passport or the certificate of naturalisation or registration.
- Proof of residence in the consular district.
- The contribution of 250 euro payable to the Italian State under article 9-bis of the law.
The declaration is signed before the consular officer, recorded in the citizenship register and transmitted to the comune, which annotates the birth record. From that moment the person is a foreign national for Italy and is removed from the AIRE. A person who later wishes to recover the citizenship must establish residence in Italy and make a declaration of reacquisition within one year, or live in Italy for one year, under article 13. The reopened window for reacquisition until 31 December 2027 does not apply to those who renounced after 15 August 1992.
Before you renounce, send us the reason. In most of the cases we see the problem has another solution, and the renunciation would remove a status which cannot be recovered from abroad.