Italy: People who are married to an Italian are entitled to acquire citizenship (cittadinanza per matrimonio) . The qualification requirements vary whether the applicant is domiciled in Italy or abroad and whether the couple has children.
Italian citizenship can be acquired by marriage (cittadinanza per matrimonio) under the following conditions:
The spouse of an Italian citizen has been legally residing in Italy for two years
The spouse of an Italian citizen who has registered residenza for at least 2 years and holding a valid permesso di soggiorno, can apply for Italian citizenship after 2 years from the date of marriage, which is reduced to 1 year if the couple has children.
Example 1. George (U.S. citizen) married Claudia (Italian citizen) in January 2014 and they are legally residing in Italy since then. George can apply for Italian citizenship in January 2016.
Example 2. Marco (Italian citizen) married Mary (Australian citizen) in January 2014 and they are legally residing in Italy since then. They had a child in December 2014, born in Italy. Mary can therefore apply for Italian citizenship in January 2015.
The spouse of an Italian citizen residing abroad
The spouse of an Italian citizen who resides abroad can apply for Italian citizenship after 3 years from the date of marriage, reduced to 18 months if the couple has children.
Example 1. Sean (Australian citizen) married Giovanna (Italian citizen) in July 2014. They are legally residing abroad and they have a child born on January 2015. George can apply for Italian citizenship in January 2016.
Example 2. Ken (New Zealand citizen) married Claudia (Italian citizen) in July 2014. They are legally residing abroad. George can apply for Italian citizenship in July 2017.
Citizenship by marriage can only be applied for if the couple is still married and the marriage is still in effect at the time of adjudication. Applications by marriage can either be filed at the Italian Consulate or in Italy, provided that the applicant takes residency in Italy.
