Adult children born from unmarried parents, or whose parents married after their births, can be recognised as natural child by an Italian parent, through a formal deed of parental recognition or court order (art. 2, c. 2, Law n. 91/1992).
Said recognised children, when adult, can acquire Italian citizenship by descent. The same must present a formal application for an ‘elezione di cittadinanza’, within one year from the finalisation of the parental recognition, with the competent Italian authority of their permanent place of residence. If the year time will pass, they will not have the right to ever apply for Italian citizenship.
The parental recognition must be formalised together by both the Italian parent and the child, either with a Notary Public in Italy, or the Notary Office of the competent Italian consular missions. For more details on the procedure done at this Consulate General, please check our website.
Potential applicants resident within our consular district, who have already been issued with a decree of recognition of paternity/maternity and wish to submit an ‘elezione di cittadinanza’, should send an email to this Citizenship office (cittadinanza.londra@esteri.it) for more details on the procedure, by specifying:
– Name, surname, place and date of birth of the applicant
– Address and proof of residence in the United Kingdom of the applicant
– Copy of the parental recognition Notary deed or court order
– Name, surname, place and date of birth of the applicant’s Italian parent
– Copy of a valid ID document of the applicant’s Italian parent