The naturalisation by right of residency in Italy is available to applicants who:
• Have lawfully resided in Italy for at least 10 years;
• Have a sufficient income;
• Have no criminal records;
• Are prepared to renounce their original citizenship, if need be
The ten-year requirement may be reduced:
• to three years if the applicant’s ancestors were Italian by birth (up to the second degree) and in case of foreign nationals born in Italy;
• to four years if the applicant is a national of a EU country;
• to five years if the applicant is stateless or a refugee, or he/she is over 18 years of age when he is adopted by an Italian national;
• to seven years for the adoptee of an Italian national;
• no residence requirement is necessary if the applicant has been employed abroad by the Italian Government for at least five years.
The application for naturalisation is to be addressed to the Italian President of the Republic and lodged at the Prefettura of the Province where the applicant is formally registered as resident in Italy. Please note that this is citizenship application cannot be filed with this Consular office. Applicants must contact the Italian authorities in Italy.