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Citizenship

General Principles

Italian citizenship is currently regulated by Law No. 91 of February 5, 1992 (and its implementing regulations, particularly the Presidential Decree No. 572 of October 12, 1993 and the Presidential Decree No. 362 of April 18, 1994) which, unlike the previous law, revaluates the importance of individual will and intention in the acquisition and loss of citizenship and recognizes the right to hold more than one citizenship at the same time.

A minor who is recognized as a natural child by an italian citizen is an italian citizen. The birth certificate must be presented by the parent to the Consulate, translated and legalized (see page legalization) to proceed with registration in Italy.

Italian citizenship can be obtained:

  • citizenship by descent for having Italian ancestors (principle of “jure sanguinis”);
  • citizenship by marriage with an Italian citizen (principle of “jure matrimonii”)
  • In addition to the Jure sanguinis and the jure matrimonii, based on the current legislation, the Italian citizenship can also be acquired under certain other circumstances. For more information, please refer to the page on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

1) RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP BY FILIATION (“IURE SANGUINIS”).

  • Italian citizenship is based on the principle of jure sanguinis (right of blood) whereby a child born to an Italian father or mother is an Italian citizen.
  • Citizenship is transmitted from parent to child without limitation of generation, even if born abroad, with the condition that none of the ancestors has ever renounced or lost Italian citizenship before the birth of their child (the acquisition of foreign citizenship before August 16, 1992 automatically results in the loss of citizenship under Article 8 of Law 555/1912).
  • A minor child cohabiting with the parent on the date the parent acquires or regains Italian citizenship.
  • Transmission of citizenship by maternal line through administrative channels is possible only for children born after January 1, 1948.

Documents to be presented to the Consular Office during the appointment

Residents of Lebanon who wish to apply to obtain Italian citizenship jure sanguinis will have to present themselves at the consular office of the Italian Embassy in Beirut, subject to an appointment scheduled through the online portal Prenot@Mi (https://prenotami.esteri.it/ ) with all the following original documents:

  1. Application form filled without the date and signature (application form iure sanguinis)
  2. Original birth, marriage and death certificates of the ancestor born in Italy (N.B. one must ask the Italian municipality (Comune) of birth for the “estratto per riassunto dell’atto di nascita”). If the Italian ancestor naturalized as a foreigner before the birth of the child, there is no entitlement to recognition of Italian citizenship.
  3. Original birth, marriage and death certificates of all descendants of the Italian ancestor, including the person concerned. If any of the ancestors have renounced Italian citizenship, one is not entitled to the recognition of Italian citizenship.
  4. Declaration issued by the competent Authorities of the foreign State of residence certifying that the Italian ancestor, at the time he emigrated from Italy, did not acquire the citizenship of the foreign State of emigration before the birth of the ascendant of the person concerned. In case of naturalization of another citizenship, the date of naturalization must be indicated in the declaration.
  5. Copy of passport.
  6. Certificate of residence or permit of stay for non-Lebanese.
  7. Counter value in U.S. dollars of €300.00, according to the quarterly exchange rate in the consular table. Please note that the payment should be done regardless of the outcome of the application and it is NOT refundable.
  8. All the above certificates (except those from the Italian municipality-Comune-) must be legalized and translated into Italian. For information regarding legalization of Lebanese civil status documents, you can consult the link page legalization. Original documents will not be returned.

The maximum time frame for completing the process of recognizing Italian citizenship iure sanguinis is 24 months.

2) ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MARRIAGE OR CIVIL UNION WITH AN ITALIAN CITIZEN

In accordance with the legislation in force, which requires knowledge of the Italian language, information relating to citizenship by marriage is provided in Italian.

Those who apply for Italian citizenship by marriage or civil union must be aware of their duties towards the Italian Republic, first and foremost adherence to national values ​​and irreproachable conduct.