Reacquisition of Italian Citizenship

Law no. 74 of 23 May 2025 has reopened, for a limited period, the possibility of reacquiring Italian citizenship for those who lost it before 15 August 1992 by acquiring a foreign citizenship. Reacquisition declarations can be submitted from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2027.

Who can apply

You can apply to reacquire citizenship if you meet both of these conditions:

• you were born in Italy, or you were resident in Italy for at least two continuous years (if you were born abroad);
• you lost Italian citizenship no later than 15 August 1992, for one of these three reasons:

1. You voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship (for example through naturalisation) and settled abroad.
2. You acquired a foreign citizenship without your own will (for example automatically, under the law of the host country) and subsequently renounced Italian citizenship, settling abroad.
3. You were the minor, unemancipated child of a parent who lost Italian citizenship, you shared a residence with that parent, and you acquired the citizenship of the same foreign State.

Who is excluded

You cannot access this procedure if you are in one of the following situations:

• you are a former citizen born abroad who has never resided in Italy for at least two continuous years;
• you lost Italian citizenship after 15 August 1992, for any reason;
• you lost citizenship for accepting employment with a foreign government or for entering the military service of a foreign power, and did not leave that employment or service despite being ordered to do so by the Italian government within a set deadline;
• you did not exercise, within one year of reaching the age of majority, the right to choose a single citizenship in the case of dual citizenship, as provided by law no. 123/1983 for minor children of an Italian citizen father or mother.

Important note: the reacquisition of citizenship by the former citizen is not automatically passed on to descendants (it is not possible to transfer citizen status to your children or grandchildren through this procedure).

Documents to submit

To prove that you meet the required conditions, you must bring to the consular appointment:

1. A valid identity document issued by the Authority of your current country of citizenship.
2. Birth certificate: if you were born abroad, it must be presented in the form required for registration in Italy, legalised and translated.
3. For those born abroad, a historical residence certificate issued by the relevant Italian municipality (Comune).
4. A historical citizenship certificate.
5. Documentation proving the cause and date of the loss of citizenship (you must prove the acquisition of the foreign citizenship and, where applicable, the renunciation of Italian citizenship: a naturalisation certificate, or, where provided for by local practice, a birth certificate accompanied by a citizenship certification and the title under which it was acquired; documentation issued by foreign authorities must be duly legalised and translated).

Please note: self-certifications under articles 46 and 47 of Presidential Decree 445/2000 cannot be used to prove any of the above. Original official documents are required.

How to book an appointment

To book an appointment, send an email to brisbane.cittadinanza@esteri.it, with the subject line: “RIACQUISTO di CITTADINANZA”.

The declaration of intent to reacquire citizenship:

• must be made in person, at the consular office, before the official responsible for civil status functions;
• does not require the presence of witnesses;
• is formalised on a form that the office will provide on the day of the appointment, which you will complete together with the consular officer.

On the same day, you will need to pay the consular fee, equivalent to 250 euros in Australian dollars, in cash or by credit or debit card.

When reacquisition takes effect

Under article 15 of law no. 91/1992, you do not reacquire citizenship retroactively, but only from the day after you make the declaration. This means that for the entire period between the loss of citizenship and the new declaration, you are considered a foreigner for all purposes under Italian law.

What reacquiring citizenship involves

Once you have reacquired citizenship, you will need to:

• register with AIRE (the Registry of Italians Residing Abroad);
• update your civil status records (for example, by reporting any marriages, or the documents by which previous marriages were dissolved).

You will also be entitled to:

• be included on the electoral rolls;
• apply for an Italian passport and identity card, by booking an appointment through the Prenot@mi Portal.

Effects on minor children

If you reacquire citizenship while living abroad, this does not automatically confer Italian citizenship on your minor children, even if they live with you. This is because a person who reacquires citizenship no longer holds it “by birth”, but “by reacquisition”. This means that it is not possible to apply for citizenship for minor children through the simplified procedure known as “by benefit of law”, which is reserved only for the children of citizens by birth.

To extend citizenship to a minor child living with you abroad, it is now necessary for the child to have lived with you in Italy for at least two years before your reacquisition. As a result, children — whether minors or adults — who live abroad and were born before your reacquisition do not automatically become Italian citizens.