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Jure Matrimonii (citizenship by marriage)

ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP “JURE MATRIMONII”

Acquisition of Italian citizenship by marriage or Civil Union (same –sex-marriage) to an Italian citizen.

General Guidelines
ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MARRIAGE (Italian Citizenship Act n. 91/92, Art. 5)
An application for Italian citizenship through marriage must be submitted online by the applicant via the web portal of the Italian Ministry of the Interior: CIVES

The above-mentioned procedure does not apply to women who acquired Italian citizenship automatically when they married an Italian citizen before April 27, 1983, in which case, an appointment may be set up directly with this Consulate via email to: statocivile.boston@esteri.it.

Before submitting the online application via the portal of the Italian Ministry of the Interior, the applicant MUST contact this Consulate at: urp.boston@esteri.it

The foreign spouse of an Italian citizen may apply for Italian citizenship after 2 years of marriage if the couple resides in Italy or after 3 years of marriage if it resides abroad. These time frames are reduced by half if there are children born or adopted by the married couple.

  • If legal separation, divorce or death of the Italian spouse takes place before the issue of the Italian Ministry of Interior decree conferring the Italian citizenship, applicant lose his/her right to acquire nationality.

Pre-requirements to submit the ONLINE application

  • The marriage must have been already registered at the Comune in Italy
  • If the couple resides abroad, the Italian spouse must be registered at the Consulate as an Italian Citizen Residing Abroad – A.I.R.E.

List of Required Documents:

  • NOTICE : New regulation relating to the acquisition of Italian citizenship based on marriage to an Italian citizen (art. 5 Italian Citizenship Act n. 91 of February 5, 1992)

Art. 9.1 of Italian Citizenship Act n. 91 of February 5, 1992 has been modified. It is now mandatory for applicants wishing to acquire Italian citizenship, based on either article 5 or 9 of the aforementioned Citizenship Act , to have an adequate knowledge of the Italian language at a B1 (QCER) level.

Language proficiency must be proved by submitting one of the following documents:

– a diploma issued by an Italian public educational institution or equivalent institution, or

– a certificate issued by one of the certifying bodies belonging to the system known as CLIQ-Certificazione Lingua Italiana di Qualita’ (Quality Italian Language Certification) which are listed here below:

– the University of Siena for Foreigners

– the University of Perugia for Foreigners

– the University of Roma Tre

– the Dante Alighieri Society

Currently, only certificates at the B1 level issued by one of the above mentioned certifying bodies may be considered valid.

Non-Italians residing within the jurisdiction of this Consulate General may take the B1 level Italian language certification exam at the Dante Alighieri Society in Cambridge MA.

The calendar and information related to the exam are available on their webpage: Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts

  • Pursuant to Art. 14, of Italian Decree N.113, enacted on 4 October 2018, published in Official Gazette n.231 of the same date, effective October 5th, 2018, the FEE for applications or declarations of the selection, acquisition, reacquisition, renunciation or concession of Italian CITIZENSHIP, is of 250 euros. You may find below the bank account details for payment:For payment from the United States of America
    Beneficiary: CONTO CORRENTE POSTALE “MINISTERO DELL’INTERNO D.L.C.I. – CITTADINANZA”
    Bank: Poste Italiane SPA / BancoPosta
    Bank address: Viale Europa 175, Roma ITALIA
    Forward to: 34429
    IBAN code n. IT54D0760103200000000809020
    BIC/SWIFT Code of Poste italiane:
    – for International transfers: BPPIITRRXXX
    – for Eurogiro operations : PIBPITRA (only if performing bank transaction within Europe)
    Reference of payment: Please indicate: “ISTANZA DI CITTADINANZA PER MATRIMONIO DI [full name of the applicant (maiden name for women)]”.
    Should you need to shorten it, please use the following form: “IST. CITTAD. MATR. [full name of the applicant (maiden name for women)]”.NOTE: When using the IBAN number, no further recipient information is necessary. For payment in Italy
    C/C n. 809020
    intestato a: MINISTERO INTERNO D.L.C.I. – CITTADINANZA
    con causale: “Cittadinanza – contributo di cui all’art. 1, comma 12, legge 15 luglio 2009, n. 94”.
  • Certified full copy birth certificate of the applicant. The certificate must be legalized with an apostille (if the certificate is issued in the United States or in a country that recognizes the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961) and translated into Italian.

If the birth certificate is issued in a country that does not recognize the Hague Convention, the certificate and the translation must be legalized by the Italian Consulate where the documents are issued. PLEASE NOTE: The application must be filled out with the exact name appearing on the birth certificate.

  • Criminal record background check certificates issued by the relevant authorities of :
    1. the country/US State of birth (required if the applicant has retained the citizenship of Country of birth);
    2. every other country or US State where the applicant resided during the course of his/her life;
    3. FBI Clearance (Finger Print Form) to be requested from the address below. Please consult https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/identity-history-summary-checks for instructions on how to request it.FBI-Criminal Justice Information
      Service division D2, 100 Custer Hollow Rd.
      Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306It must also be apostilled by the Department of State in Washington, DC. Please consult https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/records-and-authentications/authenticate-your-document/office-of-authentications.html for more information. The original document must then be translated into Italian; finally, the original with apostille and translation must be authenticated at our office (and will have a cost equal to art. 72a on the Consular Fee List). Please note that the validity allowed for this Certificate is 6 months. If your application is NOT submitted AND considered complete within this time, you will need to re-submit this Certificate again.

Applicants who changed name in the course of their life (i.e. women who acquired their husband’s last name) shall apply for their background check certificates with all their names (AKA).
These certificates must be completed by an Apostille and translated into Italian. If the criminal record documentation is issued by a country that does not recognized The Hague Convention, all certificates and translations must the legalized by the Italian Consulate where the certificates are issued. The criminal record certificates have a validity of 6 months from the date of issue. They must be valid at the application date.

  • Valid Passport
  • Marriage certificate issued by the Municipality in Italy (Estratto dell’Atto di Matrimonio)

 

Important notes:

  • Translations of certificates issued outside the US must be obtained in the country of origin of the certificates. Certification of the translation must be obtained in the same country of issue. This Consulate cannot validate translations of documents issued in countries other than the US. This rule applies ALSO to certificates written in English. Double translations (original language into English then English into Italian) are also not permitted: the translation must be from the original language into Italian.
  • Birth Certificate and Background checks certificates are legalized for international use with the Apostille if the Country is a signatory to the 1961 “Apostille Convention”. Check the list of signatory countries here: http://www.internationalapostille.com/hague-apostille-member-countries/. For all other countries: the Italian Consular authorities in the Country or that have the Country within their jurisdiction must do the legalization.
  • If you are concerned that any of the above procedure may affect your current citizenship, you should contact the proper authorities.
  • Be informed that, once you completed the on-line application, your request in not completed yet. If your application is accepted, this Consulate General will contact you to schedule an appointment to present all your documentation in original, in person, at our location in Boston (600 Atlantic Avenue, 17 floor).
  • Be also aware that a consular fee must be paid on the day of the appointment by money order only (amount varies depending on the exchange rate of the day).

 

Information and forms:

• Apostille information

• List of translators