Applications filed before 27th March 2025 at 23:59 (Italian time) or submitted in person at this Consular Office via an appointment slot communicated to the applicant by 27th March 2025 at 23:59 (Italian time), complete of all required documentation, will be validated as per previous regulation.
Essential requirement
The main Italian ancestor, who migrated abroad, must have been born in Italy after 17th March 1861 (date of the proclamation of the Reign of Italy) or following their place of birth had been annexed to the Reign of Italy. Exceptionally, applications for citizenship by descent will be accepted even if the Italian ancestor was born before 17th March 1861, provided they died after that date.
Acquiring Italian citizenship through maternal line is possible only if descendants of Italian women were born after 1st January 1948.
NB: Italian women married to a foreign citizen before 1st January 1948 automatically lost Italian citizenship, following the automatic acquisition of citizenship by marriage by law of the husband’s country of nationality.
Example: an Italian woman married to a British citizen on 31st December 1947 automatically acquired British citizenship and lost her Italian citizenship at the same time (RE-ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP FOR FORMER ITALIAN CITIZENS)
Automatic loss of Italian citizenship and interruption of line of descent
If any of the ancestors voluntarily acquired another nationality before the birth or while the next descendant was still minor, and in any case before 15th August 1992, they automatically lost Italian citizenship and interrupted the line of descent (artt. 7, 8, 12 Law n. 555/1912, Circolare Ministero dell’Interno n. 43347, 03/10/2024).
Procedure
Applications for citizenship by descent should be submitted at the consular office of the applicant’s country of permanent residence. On the day of the appointment, the applicant must submit all the documents in original, duly legalised by apostille and translated into Italian. This office reserves the right to request additional evidence and supporting documentation at the appointment when assessing the case. The original documents requested have no expiration date and will not be returned.
Family members of Italian citizens already recognized via this office
Applicants, who are resident in this consular district and whose family members have already been recognised Italian by descent through this Consulate General, should contact the Citizenship office via email (cittadinanza.londra@esteri.it ) one month before their appointment, to provide personal data and details of the family members already recognised as Italian. New applicants who fall into this category can simply present photocopies of all the originals already in our possession, in addition to the other original documents required to assess their individual application.
Consular Fee
Applications for citizenship by descent are subject to a fee of 600 EURO (Consular fees – Consolato Generale d’Italia Londra). The payment must be made in pounds exclusively by British debit card on the day of the appointment. Please note that the payment is NON-refundable, regardless of the outcome of the application.
Documents to submit at the appointment: