Act No. 91 of 5 February 1992, Citizenship

Article 1

(a)children whose father or mother are citizens;

(b)persons born in the territory of the Republic both of whose parents are unknown or stateless, or who do not have the citizenship of their parents under the law of the State to which the latter belong.

2. Children found in the territory of the Republic whose parents are unknown shall be deemed citizens by birth in the absence of proof of their possession of any other citizenship.

Article 2

2. If a person whose filiation is recognized or declared is of full age, he or she shall retain his or her citizenship status, but may declare, within one year of such recognition or judicial declaration, or of the declaration that foreign legislation has effect, that he or she chooses the citizenship determined by the filiation.

3. The provisions of this article shall also apply to children the paternity or maternity of whom cannot be declared, provided their right to maintenance has been judicially recognized.

Article 3

2. The provision of paragraph 1 shall also apply to persons adopted prior to the date of entry into force of this Act.

3. If the adoption of an adopted person is revoked by that person, he or she shall loose Italian citizenship, provided he or she possesses or has reacquired another citizenship.

4. In other cases or revocation the adopted person shall retain Italian citizenship. However, if the adoption is revoked while the adopted person is of full age, he or she may, within one year of such revocation, renounce Italian citizenship, provided he or she possesses or has reacquired another citizenship.

Article 4

(a)if he or she actually performs military service for the Italian State, having previously expressed the wish to acquire Italian citizenship;

(b)if he or she obtains public employment in the service of the State, including service abroad, and declares the wish to obtain Italian citizenship;

(c)if, having reached full age, they have had legal residence for at least two years in the territory of the Republic and declare, within one year of attaining their majority, that they wish to obtain Italian citizenship.

2. Aliens born in Italy who have been legally resident in Italy up to the attainment of their majority shall become citizens if, within one year of that date they declare the wish to obtain Italian citizenship.

Article 5

Article 6

(a)conviction of one of the offences referred to in volume two, title I, chapters I, II and III of the Criminal Code;

(b)conviction of an offence not involving criminal intent for which the law provides a statutory penalty of not less than three years of imprisonment with hard labour; or sentencing for a non-political offence to more than one year of imprisonment by a foreign judicial authority, where the conviction is recognized in Italy;

(c)the existence, in the case concerned, of proven intent prejudicial to the safety of the Republic.

2. Recognition of the foreign judicial decision shall be requested by the public prosecutor of the district in which is situated the civil registry office where the marriage is registered or recorded.This request shall be solely for the purposes referred to in paragraph 1, subparagraph (b).

3. Rehabilitation of the person concerned shall cause cessation of the preventive effects of the conviction or sentencing.

4. The acquisition of citizenship shall be suspended until communication of the final judgement if criminal proceedings are brought for one of the offences referred to in paragraph 1, subparagraph (a) and subparagraph (b), first part, and for such time as recognition of the foreign judgement referred to in paragraph 1, subparagraph (b), second part, has not taken place.

Article 7

2. The provisions of article 3 of Act No. 13 of 12 January 1991 shall apply.

Article 8

2. An Order rejecting the application may not be made if a period of two years has elapsed since the date of submission of the application accompanied by the prescribed documentation.

Article 9

(a)aliens whose father or mother or one of whose direct ascendants in the second degree have been citizens by birth, or who were born in the territory of the Republic and who, in both these cases, have been legally resident in the territory for at least three years, subject to the provisions of article 4, paragraph 1, subparagraph (c);

(b)aliens of full age who have been adopted by an Italian citizen and who have been legally resident in the territory of the Republic for at least five years after their adoption;

(c)aliens who, for at least five years, have been in the service of the State, including service abroad;

(d)citizens of a State member of the European Community who have been legally resident for at least four years in the territory of the Republic;

(e)stateless persons who have been legally resident for at least five years in the territory of the Republic;

(f)aliens who have been legally resident for at least ten years in the territory of the Republic.

2. By an Order of the President of the Republic made following consultation of the Council of State and consideration by the Council of Ministers, upon the recommendation of the Minister for the Interior and in agreement with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, citizenship may be granted to an alien who has rendered eminent services to Italy, or where its granting is in the special interest of the State.

Article 10

Article 11

Article 12

2. An Italian citizen who, during a state of war with a foreign State, has accepted or has not given up public employment or office, or has performed military service for such State where these are not obligatory, or who has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of such State, shall lose Italian citizenship upon cessation of the state of war.

Article 13

(a)if he or she effectively performs military service for the Italian State and has previously declared the wish to reacquire citizenship;

(b)if he or she enters or has entered public employment in an agency of the State, even abroad, and declares the wish to reacquire citizenship;

(c)if he or she declares the wish to reacquire citizenship and has established or establishes residence in the territory of the Republic within one year of such declaration;

(d)one year after the date on which he or she established residence in the territory of the Republic, provided citizenship has not been expressly renounced during that period;

(e)if, having lost citizenship for not having complied with the instruction to give up employment or an office accepted from a foreign State or public agency or from an international agency, or military service for a foreign State, he or she declares the wish to reacquire it, provided he or she has established residence for at least two years in the territory of the Republic and furnishes proof of having given up the employment or office taken up or the military service performed notwithstanding the instruction referred to in article 12, paragraph 1.

2. Citizenship may not be reacquired by a person who lost it under the provisions of article 3, paragraph 3, or of article 12, paragraph 2.

3. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, subparagraphs (c), (d) and (e), the reacquisition of citizenship shall not take effect if it has been prohibited by an Order made by the Minister for the Interior on serious and proven grounds, with the approval of the Council of State.Such prohibition may take place within one year of determination of the circumstances specified.

Article 14

Article 15

1. A stateless person who is legally resident in the territory of the Republic is subject to Italian law as far as the exercise of civil rights and the obligation to perform military service are concerned.

2. An alien who is recognized as a refugee by the Italian State in accordance with Italian law and international treaties is regarded as a stateless person for the purposes of the Present Act, save with respect to military service obligations.

1. A person who has lost Italian citizenship under articles 8 and 12 of Act No. 555 of 13 June 1912, or for not having made the choice provided for in article 5 of Act No. 123 of 21 April 1983, shall reacquire it if he or she makes a declaration to that effect within two years of the date of entry into force of the present Act.

2. The provisions of article 219 of Act. No. 151 of 19 May 1975 shall continue to apply.

Persons formerly resident in the territories which belonged to the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and who emigrated abroad prior to 16 July 1920 and their descendants in direct line, shall be treated, for the purposes of article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraph (a) as aliens of Italian origin or born in the territory of the Republic.

Article 19

Article 20

Article 21

Article 22

Article 23

2. The declarations referred to in paragraph 1 and the acts or procedures relating to the loss, retention or reacquisition of Italian citizenship shall be recorded in the registers of citizenship and an annotation concerning them shall be made in the margin of the birth certificate.

Article 24

2. The declarations referred to in paragraph 1 shall be governed by the same rules as the declarations referred to in article 23.

3. Any person who does not fulfil the obligations laid down in paragraph 1 shall be subject to an administrative fine of from 200,000 lire to 2 million lire.Prefects shall have competence to impose such administrative fines.

Article 25

Article 26

2. The obligation to exercise an option referred to in article 5, paragraph 2 of Act No. 123 of 21 April 1983 and in article 1, paragraph 1, of Act No. 180 of 15 May 1986 is hereby abolished.

3. Differing provisions of international treaties shall not be affected by the present Act.

Article 27

The present Act, to which shall be affixed the seal of the State, shall be printed in the Official Collection of the Laws and Regulations of the Italian Republic.It shall be the duty of all concerned to comply and ensure compliance with it as constituting an enactment of the State.