Naturalizing as Italian After 10 Years: Full 2026 Process
Última actualización: May 19, 2026
Non-EU foreigners who have lived legally in Italy for at least 10 continuous years can apply for Italian citizenship by naturalization under Article 9, letter f of Law 91/1992. The process is run by the Ministero dell'Interno through the local Prefettura, requires a B1 Italian certificate, proof of income, clean criminal records, and an unbroken residency history.
Last updated: May 19, 2026
Who Qualifies After 10 Years (and Who Qualifies Sooner)
The 10-year track is the default route for non-EU adults with no Italian family ties. The clock starts from the date you were first registered as a legal resident in an Italian comune (anagrafe registration), not from when you first entered Italy on a visa or tourist stay.
Shorter residency paths exist for specific categories:
Applicant category | Years of legal residence required |
|---|---|
Non-EU citizen (standard) | 10 |
EU citizen | 4 |
Stateless person | 5 |
Recognized refugee | 5 |
Adult adopted by Italian citizen | 5 |
Foreigner born in Italy | 3 |
Direct-line ascendant of an Italian citizen | 3 |
1st/2nd generation descendant of Italian citizen who moves to Italy (Law 74/2025) | 2 |
A frequent point of confusion: beneficiaries of subsidiary protection or humanitarian protection are not treated as refugees for this purpose. They must complete the full 10 years.
Marriage to an Italian citizen is a different legal route entirely (Article 5 of Law 91/1992), with its own residency and language rules. If that applies to you, see our separate guide on Italian Citizenship Through Marriage.
The Residency Requirement in Detail
The 10 years must be continuous and legal. In practice, this means:
- You held a valid permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) throughout the period, with no expired gaps that were not regularized.
- You were registered with the anagrafe (municipal population registry) of your comune without interruption. A cancellazione (deregistration) by the comune, even if administrative, can break your residency chain.
- You maintained actual physical presence in Italy. Italian guidance expects at least 183 days per year in country, and for applications submitted in 2026 the cumulative absence over the five years preceding the application should not exceed roughly 10 months.
If your anagrafe registration is interrupted, the Prefettura can issue a preavviso di rigetto (notice of intent to reject), and you have only 10 days to respond with evidence. This is one of the most common reasons strong applications fail, so request a certificato storico di residenza early to confirm your timeline is clean.
Income and Tax Requirements
Naturalization is not a means-tested benefit, but Italy wants evidence that you can support yourself without recourse to public assistance. You must demonstrate sufficient taxable income over the three tax years preceding your application.
Minimum thresholds (annual gross taxable income):
- Single applicant: €8,263.31
- Applicant with dependent spouse: €11,362.05
- Add €516.46 per additional dependent child
You prove this with three years of CUD/CU or Modello 730/Redditi tax returns. Self-employed applicants submit their partita IVA filings. Income from a non-Italian source counts only if it was declared to the Agenzia delle Entrate.
If one year falls short, the Prefettura may still consider the average across the three-year window, but you should not bank on it. Falling below the threshold is the second most common rejection cause after broken residency.
The B1 Italian Language Requirement
Since Decree-Law 113/2018, every naturalization applicant under Article 9 must prove Italian proficiency at CEFR level B1 or above. A self-declaration is not accepted. You need a certificate from one of the four bodies in the CLIQ (Certificazione Lingua Italiana di Qualità) consortium:
- Università per Stranieri di Perugia (CELI)
- Università per Stranieri di Siena (CILS)
- Università Roma Tre (Roma Tre)
- Società Dante Alighieri (PLIDA)
A university degree obtained in Italian also satisfies the requirement, as does completion of certain integration courses.
Exemptions:
- Holders of an EU long-term residence permit (carta di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo) issued after 2011.
- Applicants who signed and completed the Integration Agreement (Accordo di Integrazione).
- Following Constitutional Court Judgment No. 25/2025, applicants who cannot acquire Italian because of disability, serious illness, or age-related cognitive limitations are exempt. Medical documentation is required.
The B1 test covers reading, listening, writing, and speaking. The speaking portion is conversational rather than academic. Most applicants who have lived in Italy for a decade pass on the first attempt, but those who worked in expat or English-language bubbles often underestimate the writing section.
Document Checklist
Gather these before you open the online application. Foreign-issued documents must be apostilled (or legalized at the Italian consulate of the issuing country) and translated by a sworn translator (traduzione giurata) in Italy.
- Valid passport and current permesso di soggiorno
- Birth certificate, apostilled/legalized and translated
- Criminal record certificate from your country of origin and from any other country where you have resided in the last 10 years (validity: 6 months from issue)
- Italian criminal record extract (the Prefettura usually pulls this directly, but check locally)
- Certificato storico di residenza covering the full 10-year period
- Three most recent Italian tax returns (CU, 730, or Redditi PF)
- B1 language certificate from a CLIQ-recognized body
- Receipt of the €250 application fee (postal account no. 809020, intestato a "Ministero dell'Interno-DLCI", causale "cittadinanza")
- €16 marca da bollo paid via PagoPA
- Family status documents if applying with a spouse or dependents
Keep digital scans (PDF, under the portal's size limits) ready. The portal will reject blurry or oversized files.
Step-by-Step: How to Apply
Applications are submitted exclusively online. There is no paper option and no in-person filing at the Prefettura for the initial submission.
- Get your SPID or CIE. You need either a Sistema Pubblico di Identità Digitale account or an active Carta d'Identità Elettronica with PIN to access the portal.
- Complete prerequisites. Pass the B1 exam and request the certificate. Order your foreign criminal record and birth certificate well in advance; apostille and translation can take 2 to 3 months.
- Pay the €250 fee to the Ministry of the Interior's postal account and the €16 marca da bollo through PagoPA. Keep both receipts as PDFs.
- Access the Portale ALI at portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it. Select "Cittadinanza per residenza (Art. 9)" and fill in the application (Modello B).
- Upload all documents in the requested format. Double-check that translations are attached to their originals.
- Submit and note your protocol number (K-number). This is how you track your file.
- Attend the Prefettura appointment when summoned. You will bring originals for verification and may be asked clarifying questions in Italian.
- Wait for the decree. Approval comes as a Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica, transmitted to your comune.
- Swear the oath of allegiance. Within 6 months of being notified, you must take the giuramento at your comune. Citizenship takes effect the day after the oath. Minor children living with you acquire citizenship automatically.
Fees and Processing Time
Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Application fee (Art. 9-bis, Law 91/1992) | €250 |
Revenue stamp (marca da bollo) | €16 |
B1 exam fee (varies by provider) | approx. €100 to €160 |
Sworn translation (per document) | approx. €60 to €120 |
Apostille on foreign documents | varies by country |
Note: the widely-cited €600 fee that appeared in news coverage of the 2025 Budget Law applies to citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis) filed at consulates or comuni, not to naturalization by residency. The naturalization fee remains €250.
Legal processing time: 24 months from submission, extendable to 36 months for complex cases, under the rules applicable to applications filed from December 19, 2020 onward.
Actual processing time in 2026: typically 24 to 36 months, with some prefectures running closer to 4 years for high-volume jurisdictions like Rome, Milan, and Turin. If the legal deadline lapses without a decision, you can file a silence-rejection challenge before the TAR (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale).
Common Pitfalls
- Anagrafe gaps. Even a few weeks of deregistration can reset the 10-year clock. If you move comune, register at the new one within 20 days and check both certificates align.
- Travel overruns. Long stays abroad for work or family can put you below the 183-days-per-year expectation. Keep boarding passes and entry stamps.
- Old criminal records. A minor conviction or pending procedimento penale can block approval. Disclose proactively rather than hoping the Prefettura misses it.
- Translation shortcuts. Self-translated or non-sworn translations are rejected. Use a traduttore giurato registered with an Italian tribunale.
- B1 certificate from the wrong body. Only CLIQ-recognized certificates count. A generic language school certificate, even from a respected school, will not work.
- Missing the oath window. If you do not swear within 6 months of notification, the decree lapses and you must reapply.
- Wrong residency category. If you might qualify under a shorter path (refugee, EU long-term resident with Italian family ties, descendant under Law 74/2025), apply under that, not under the 10-year rule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Italy allow dual citizenship?
Yes. Since Law 91/1992 entered force on August 16, 1992, Italy permits dual and multiple citizenship. You do not need to renounce your original nationality unless your home country requires it.
Do years on a student permit count toward the 10?
Yes, provided you were continuously registered with the anagrafe and held valid permits. Time on tourist visas, working holiday schemes outside the residency framework, or undocumented periods does not count.
Can I apply if I am on the Elective Residence Visa?
Yes, if you have maintained the visa and anagrafe registration for the full 10 years and meet the income threshold. Many ER visa holders do qualify; see our Italy Elective Residence Visa guide for the underlying residency requirements.
What happens if my application is rejected?
You will first receive a preavviso di rigetto with the reasons. You have 10 days to file written observations and supporting evidence. If the final decision is still negative, you can appeal to the TAR within 60 days.
Do my children become Italian when I do?
Minor children who are legally residing with you at the time of your oath acquire citizenship automatically. Adult children must apply on their own.
Can I move out of Italy after applying?
Not safely. The Prefettura can request updated residence certificates at any point before approval. Leaving the anagrafe during the procedure typically triggers a rejection.
Is the 10-year rule changing?
Proposals to extend the residency requirement and to tighten language rules have surfaced in Parliament periodically. As of May 2026, the 10-year threshold under Article 9 is unchanged. Reforms in 2025 (Law 74/2025) focused on iure sanguinis and the new 2-year descendant path, not on the standard naturalization route.
What about other European naturalization paths?
If Italy proves too slow, some applicants compare other Southern European routes. Portugal, for instance, has a different residency-based system; see our Portugal D7 Visa Requirements for one common entry point.
Reaching the oath ceremony after a decade of paperwork is a real achievement, and the difference between a smooth file and a rejected one usually comes down to Italian-language fluency: reading the Prefettura's letters correctly, handling the interview, and passing the B1 with margin to spare. If you're still building toward that level, try Migaku to study Italian directly from the news, shows, and books you already consume.