Italy

Naturalisation by residence for descendants (Art. 9, Law 91/1992). If an Italian-born parent or grandparent no longer gets you citizenship by descent, Italy will naturalise you after 2 years of legal residence instead of the usual 10 (cut from 3 by Law 74/2025); EU citizens need 4 years.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Naturalisation by residence for descendants (Art. 9, Law 91/1992)

Italian citizenship by decree. It is not a residence permit: you first need an ordinary way into Italy (elective residence, self-employment, the investor visa, EU free movement) to accumulate the years.

Who qualifies

A foreign national whose father, mother or grandparent was an Italian citizen by birth may be granted citizenship after at least 2 years of legal residence in Italy, down from 3 since Law 74/2025 (a foreigner born in Italy who has lived there lawfully since still needs 3).
Integrazione Migranti (Ministry of Labour): Law 74/2025 converting DL 36/2025, the main changes, Art. 9(1)(a), Law 91/1992 as amended
A citizen of an EU member state may be granted citizenship after at least 4 years of legal residence in Italy, the option for a descendant who already holds another EU nationality but cannot show the Italian-born parent or grandparent.
Law 91/1992 on citizenship, Art. 9(1)(d)
Residence must be continuous and registered (anagrafe plus a valid permesso di soggiorno throughout), with adequate income, no serious convictions and, since Law 132/2018, a B1 Italian certificate. Citizenship is granted by presidential decree on the Interior Ministry’s proposal; it is discretionary, not a right.
Ministero dell’Interno, concessione della cittadinanza per residenza ex art. 9

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

It could fit.

If an Italian-born parent or grandparent no longer gets you citizenship by descent, Italy will naturalise you after 2 years of legal residence instead of the usual 10 (cut from 3 by Law 74/2025); EU citizens need 4 years.

Every option that fits your family

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Time: 2 years of residence (4 for EU citizens), then commonly 2–4 years for the Ministry to decide; 5–7 years from arrival to passport is normal in practice.
Cost: About $300–800: the €250 contributo, B1 certificate, translations and apostilles, on top of whatever the underlying residence permit costs.
The hard part: It is discretionary and slow, and the clock only runs on unbroken registered residence; a gap or an informal stay restarts it. And you still need a separate permit to live in Italy for those years.

Citizens by 2032.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
Residence begins
No permit term of its own; the clock runs on legal residence.
2029
Apply for citizenship
With a language test.
2032
Citizenship
The decision usually takes 24–36 months.

Language: Italian at B1, shown by a certificate from an approved body (or an Italian school or university qualification).
Time away: Residence must be legal, continuous and unbroken, with registration at the town hall (anagrafe) throughout. Any period registered as living abroad, or struck off as untraceable, breaks the clock.
Two passports: Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Since Law 74/2025, two years of registered legal residence (not three) for a child or grandchild of an Italian citizen by birth; you still need another permit to live there, and the decision can take up to 36 months.

The law behind these dates

Living there.

Time you must spend there: Continuous registered residence for the qualifying years; long absences break it.
Tax: Naturalisation itself changes nothing; you are already an Italian tax resident on worldwide income after 183 days a year or anagrafe registration, under whatever regime (flat tax, impatriati) your residence option carries.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Establish registered residence in Italy under an ordinary option, then file the Art. 9 application online with the Ministry of Interior once the 2 (or 4) years are complete.Open libertaciviliimmigrazione.dlci.interno.gov.it ↗

Postern can’t run this for you yet.

The official application forms, submission and recovery specification are not complete. Postern cannot run this application yet.

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