{"id":7950,"date":"2026-08-28T07:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/servizi-consolari-e-visti\/servizi-per-il-cittadino-straniero\/citizenship-new-web-section\/cittadinanza-per-matrimonio-o-unione-civile\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T03:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T01:49:17","slug":"cittadinanza-per-matrimonio-o-unione-civile","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/servizi-consolari-e-visti\/servizi-per-il-cittadino-straniero\/citizenship-new-web-section\/cittadinanza-per-matrimonio-o-unione-civile\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizenship by marriage or civil union"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">The Consulate General of Italy in Brisbane is competent to receive applications for citizenship by marriage only from persons residing in Queensland or the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n<p>On this page:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Legal background<\/li>\n<li>Requirements<\/li>\n<li>Documents<\/li>\n<li>Procedure\n<ul>\n<li>Stage 1 \u2013 Registration and submission of the application<\/li>\n<li>Stage 2 \u2013 Consular verification<\/li>\n<li>Stage 3 \u2013 Assessment and processing timeframes<\/li>\n<li>Stage 4 \u2013 Decree, notification and oath<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Costs<\/li>\n<li>Contacts and useful links<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Legal background<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In accordance with current legislation, which requires knowledge of the Italian language, information relating to citizenship by marriage is provided in Italian.<\/p>\n<p>Those applying for Italian citizenship by marriage or civil union must be aware of their duties towards the Italian Republic, first and foremost adherence to national values and irreproachable conduct.<\/p>\n<p>The acquisition of Italian citizenship by a foreign or stateless spouse who has married an Italian citizen on or after 27 April 1983 is currently governed by Law no. 91 of 5 February 1992 (articles 5, 6, 7 and 8) and subsequent amendments.<\/p>\n<p>Applications for Italian citizenship may also be submitted by a foreign citizen who has entered into a civil union with an Italian citizen, registered in the civil status records of the relevant Italian municipality (Legislative Decrees 5, 6 and 7\/2017).<\/p>\n<p>The foreign spouse\/civil union partner may acquire Italian citizenship upon application, provided the requirements set out in current legislation are met, as explained in the following sections.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Legal references:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Law no. 123\/1983<\/li>\n<li>Law no. 91\/1992 and Presidential Decrees no. 572\/1993 and no. 362\/1994<\/li>\n<li>Law no. 94\/2009<\/li>\n<li>Law no. 76\/2016 and Legislative Decrees no. 5, 6 and 7\/2017<\/li>\n<li>Law no. 113\/2018 and Law no. 132\/2018<\/li>\n<li>Law no. 130\/2020 and Law no. 173\/2020<\/li>\n<li>Law no. 36\/2025 and Conversion Law no. 74\/2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> Requirements for applying for citizenship<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Residence within the consular district:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The applicant must submit the application to the diplomatic-consular office with jurisdiction over their place of residence, exclusively through the dedicated online application system (see below: Point 4, Procedure, Stage 1 \u2013 Registration and submission of the application).<\/p>\n<p>The Italian spouse\/civil union partner must be resident and duly registered with the Registry of Italians Residing Abroad (A.I.R.E.) of the relevant consular district, and must live at the same address as the applicant for citizenship. If this is not the case, both spouses must provide documentation demonstrating the reason (e.g. work, children&#8217;s schooling, medical treatment, or other) that determines or has determined the need for separate residences.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Time limits for submission:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The application may be submitted three years after the marriage\/civil union was celebrated, if the Italian spouse is a citizen by birth (iure sanguinis). If the Italian spouse acquired citizenship after the marriage (for example, through residence in Italy), the three-year period runs from the date the spouse was naturalised. The three years are reduced to one and a half years if the spouses have children who were born or adopted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Registration and validity of the marriage\/civil union:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If the marriage\/civil union took place abroad, it must have already been registered with a municipality (Comune) in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>The marriage\/civil union bond must remain valid and stable until the decree granting citizenship is adopted. For citizenship to be granted, the marriage\/civil union must not have been dissolved through legal separation or divorce by the date the decree is adopted. However, the death of the spouse after the citizenship application has been submitted does not result in forfeiture of the benefit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Criminal record:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No convictions by Italian judicial authorities for offences carrying a penalty of more than three years&#8217; imprisonment.<\/li>\n<li>No convictions by foreign judicial authorities to a penalty of more than one year for non-political offences.<\/li>\n<li>No convictions for crimes against the personality of the State, and no grounds preventing the grant on the basis of the security of the Republic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Knowledge of the Italian language<\/strong> to a level no lower than B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Payment of the fees and charges<\/strong> indicated in the Documents and Costs sections.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Documents required for the citizenship application<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An extract of the birth certificate or equivalent document, in original, ideally issued no more than six months prior, from the country of birth, complete with all personal details (including parents&#8217; names), duly legalised\/apostilled and translated into Italian.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For Australian birth certificates, the applicant must submit an original birth certificate issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, finalised with an apostille, together with the translation, which must also bear an apostille.<\/p>\n<p><em>Please note:<\/em> if the accuracy of the translation has not already been certified by the sworn translator, the applicant must attend the relevant Consulate to have the document finalised BEFORE submitting the application through the Portal.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Police (criminal record) certificates from the country of origin, from any third countries of residence (from age 14 onwards) \u2013 except Italy \u2013 and from the countries of which the applicant holds citizenship, in original, issued no more than six months before the application is submitted, duly legalised\/apostilled and translated into Italian.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The applicant is exempt from submitting the police certificate from the country of origin only if they left that country before turning 14 and no longer hold its citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>For Australian police certificates, the applicant must submit a National Police Certificate issued by the Australian Federal Police (certificates issued by private companies are not accepted), apostilled and translated, with the apostille also affixed to the translation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Receipt of payment of the 250\u20ac fee payable to the Ministry of the Interior, following the method indicated in the &#8220;Costs&#8221; section.<\/li>\n<li>Identity document: a photocopy of the passport or a valid foreign identity card (pages showing personal details, photograph, and issue and expiry dates).<\/li>\n<li>A copy of the full marriage certificate, or an extract summary from the marriage register, to be requested from the competent Italian municipality where the record is registered, ideally issued no more than six months prior.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Please note:<\/strong> EU citizen applicants may make use of self-certification under Presidential Decree 445\/2000. The Consular Office will verify what has been declared.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A certificate of knowledge of the Italian language, no lower than level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Only the following certifications are accepted:\n<ul>\n<li>PLIDA, issued by the Societ\u00e0 Dante Alighieri<\/li>\n<li>CertIt, issued by Roma Tre University<\/li>\n<li>CILS, issued by the University for Foreigners of Siena<\/li>\n<li>CELI, issued by the University for Foreigners of Perugia<\/li>\n<li>Co.L, issued by the University for Foreigners of Reggio Calabria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In Queensland, the accredited certifying bodies are the Societ\u00e0 Dante Alighieri of Brisbane and the Italian Language Centre.<\/p>\n<p>Other certifications from the above bodies, or from other institutions, are not accepted and cannot be used.<\/p>\n<p>The following applicants, however, are <strong>not required<\/strong> to submit proof of Italian language knowledge:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Foreign nationals (even if resident abroad) who have signed the Integration Agreement under article 4-bis of Legislative Decree no. 286\/1998 (Consolidated Immigration Act).<\/li>\n<li>Holders of an EU long-term residence permit under article 9 of the same Consolidated Act (even if resident abroad), only if issued by the Italian authorities. EC long-term resident permits are treated as equivalent to EU permits, for language purposes, only if issued after 9 December 2010. Residence permits for family reasons, or those issued by other States, are not valid.<\/li>\n<li>Those who have obtained a qualification issued by a public or state-recognised educational institution acknowledged by the Ministry of Education, University and Research and\/or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The course of study must have been conducted in Italian.<\/li>\n<li>Individuals with significant limitations in their ability to learn a language due to age, illness or disability, certified by a public healthcare institution, pursuant to Constitutional Court Ruling no. 25\/2025.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Procedure<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>STAGE 1 \u2013 REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Applicants residing abroad must access the Ministry of the Interior&#8217;s citizenship application portal (https:\/\/portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it\/AliCittadinanza\/ali\/home.htm) using SPID digital identity or an electronic identity card (CIE). Applicants who do not have these tools must register on the portal using their email address and activate two-factor verification (TOTP), which requires installing an authentication app (such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator) on their smartphone and setting up the account within it. This procedure only needs to be carried out once, on first access. For all subsequent logins, it will be sufficient to open the authentication app and use the automatically generated TOTP code to complete the login. The Ministry of the Interior&#8217;s Help Desk service is available to support citizenship applicants and can be reached via the link present on all pages of the portal.<\/p>\n<p>Please note that the email address provided on the portal when submitting the online application constitutes the applicant&#8217;s chosen domicile (article 47 of the Italian Civil Code); it is therefore necessary to check this mailbox frequently, as all communications relating to the citizenship application \u2014 including requests for additional documents, summonses, notifications of decisions, etc. \u2014 will take place solely through the online system.<\/p>\n<p>Applicants must register their details with the utmost care, as these cannot be modified afterwards; in the event of an error, a new registration will need to be made using a different email address. In particular, applicants must enter the personal details shown on their birth certificate (including any annotations) and\/or on documents issued abroad by the competent foreign authorities (such as marriage certificates, identity documents, name\/surname change rulings, etc.). In the event of any discrepancies, the applicant must provide appropriate supporting documentation.<\/p>\n<p>All places of residence from the age of fourteen must be declared, with no undeclared periods of time.<\/p>\n<p>Special characters or diacritical marks (such as cedillas, acute or grave accents within a word, circumflex accents, etc.) must not be entered. An accent may only be entered on the final letter, using an apostrophe, if this also appears in the language of origin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STAGE 2 \u2013 CONSULAR VERIFICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Consular Office will be automatically notified once the application has been submitted and will carry out the necessary checks. The applicant will then receive, electronically through the Ministry of the Interior&#8217;s portal, a communication regarding the acceptance or rejection of their application.<\/p>\n<p>In the event of rejection, the application may be resubmitted, correcting the errors indicated in the rejection notice; the payment already made can be reused.<\/p>\n<p>In the event of acceptance, the applicant will be summoned electronically to the diplomatic-consular office for authentication of the signature on the citizenship application, for the submission of all original paper documents \u2014 including those already sent electronically through the Portal \u2014 and for payment of the applicable consular fees.<\/p>\n<p>All the above documentation will be kept in original by the diplomatic-consular office, with the exception of the identity document and the language certificate, for which a certified copy will be made, subject to the relevant payments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STAGE 3 \u2013 ASSESSMENT AND PROCESSING TIMEFRAMES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The assessment of the application and the final decision on the case fall exclusively within the competence of the Ministry of the Interior, within 24 months of the date the application is submitted, which may be extended up to a maximum of 36 months. If the assessment of the case concludes positively, the Ministry of the Interior will send the decree granting Italian citizenship to the diplomatic-consular office with jurisdiction over the applicant&#8217;s place of residence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STAGE 4 \u2013 DECREE, NOTIFICATION AND OATH<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The decree granting Italian citizenship will be notified to the applicant via the portal. At the time of notification, documents will also be requested to verify that the marriage bond remains in place, dated after the decree, such as (this list is not exhaustive):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The full marriage certificate issued by the competent Italian municipality (not the extract), and the corresponding foreign record.<\/li>\n<li>A police (criminal record) certificate from the applicant&#8217;s current country of residence, duly legalised and translated (see &#8220;Documents&#8221; section).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As at the date the decree is adopted, therefore, the marriage or civil union must not have been dissolved, nor must legal separation have occurred (separation ruling). However, the death of the spouse occurring after the citizenship application was submitted does not result in forfeiture of the benefit.<\/p>\n<p>Within six months of notification at the latest, the applicant will be summoned to the consular offices to take an oath of allegiance to the Republic and its laws. This six-month deadline is strict; once it has passed, the right to obtain citizenship will be lost.<\/p>\n<p>Payment of a fee is required, following the method indicated in the &#8220;Costs&#8221; section.<\/p>\n<p>The full marriage certificate must be requested from the Italian municipality in whose records the marriage is registered; the police certificate must be requested from the competent authorities in the country of residence and must comply with the requirements for legalisation\/apostille and translation, as explained in the &#8220;Documents&#8221; section.<\/p>\n<p>The applicant will take an oath of allegiance to the Italian Republic by reciting the following words:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>GIURO DI ESSERE FEDELE ALLA REPUBBLICA E DI OSSERVARE LA <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cortecostituzionale.it\/documenti\/download\/pdf\/Costituzione_della_Repubblica_italiana.pdf\"><em>COSTITUZIONE<\/em><\/a><em> E LE LEGGI DELLO STATO<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Italian citizenship will take effect from the day following the oath.<\/p>\n<p>The original birth certificate will be sent for registration to the relevant Italian municipality, together with the request for AIRE registration, the decree granting citizenship, and the record of the oath having been taken.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A fee of 250\u20ac payable to the Ministry of the Interior, to be paid via PagoPA when completing the application, or by bank transfer to the account indicated by the Ministry of the Interior (with the receipt to be uploaded to the online application), with any transfer costs borne by the person making the transfer:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Beneficiary: &#8220;Ministero dell&#8217;Interno D.L.C.I Cittadinanza&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Bank name: Poste Italiane S.p.A.<\/li>\n<li>IBAN: IT54D0760103200000000809020<\/li>\n<li>Payment reference: Citizenship application by marriage under art. 5, Law 91\/1992, and the applicant&#8217;s first and last name<\/li>\n<li>Poste Italiane BIC\/SWIFT code: BPPIITRRXXX (for international transfers)<\/li>\n<li>BIC\/SWIFT code: PIBPITRA (for EUROGIRO transactions)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Consular fee schedule items and corresponding amounts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Authentication of signature on the application: art. 24 \u2013 \u20ac20.00<\/li>\n<li>Legalisation of the translator&#8217;s signature: art. 69 \u2013 \u20ac24.00<\/li>\n<li>Certified copy of a valid identity document: art. 71 \u2013 \u20ac10.00 (if the document is not in Latin script, a translation is also required)<\/li>\n<li>Certified copy of the language certificate: art. 71 \u2013 \u20ac10.00<\/li>\n<li>Certification of the translation of civil status records and police certificates: art. 72A \u2013 \u20ac13.00<\/li>\n<li>Fee for the oath record: art. 8 \u2013 \u20ac15.00<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Contacts and useful links<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Find your Consulate:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/serviziconsolarionline.esteri.it\/ScoFE\/services\/consulate\/find-consulate.sco\">https:\/\/serviziconsolarionline.esteri.it\/ScoFE\/services\/consulate\/find-consulate.sco<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Submit your application to the Ministry of the Interior:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it\/AliCittadinanza\/ali\/home.htm\">https:\/\/portaleservizi.dlci.interno.it\/AliCittadinanza\/ali\/home.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Information on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/it\/servizi-opportunita\/italiani-all-estero\/cittadinanza\/\">https:\/\/www.esteri.it\/it\/servizi-opportunita\/italiani-all-estero\/cittadinanza\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Enquiries to the Consulate of Italy in Brisbane:<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:brisbane.cittadinanza@esteri.it\">brisbane.cittadinanza@esteri.it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/header>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Consulate General of Italy in Brisbane is competent to receive applications for citizenship by marriage only from persons residing in Queensland or the Northern Territory. On this page: Legal background Requirements Documents Procedure Stage 1 \u2013 Registration and submission of the application Stage 2 \u2013 Consular verification Stage 3 \u2013 Assessment and processing timeframes [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"parent":5888,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7950","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7950"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7951,"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7950\/revisions\/7951"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consbrisbane.esteri.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}