Italy has a lot to offer foreigners looking to settle down there, especially given the diversity of ways to become citizens. There are numerous ways to obtain an Italian passport, and the choice should be selected based on the applicant’s nationality and the circumstances surrounding their immigration to Italy.
Nationals are not required to have a visa to enter 190 nations to work and live there.
How to get the passport
The following options are available to foreign nationals who desire to come to Italy and get a passport:
- via permanent residence, which is the quickest route to citizenship in terms of paperwork
- through descent, provided that at least one parent is or was an Italian citizen who emigrated
- by birth, children of foreign nationals who are legally residing in Italy will receive Italian citizenship
- via marriage, which is another quick method to get an Italian passport
- via investment, this final choice was made specifically for non-EU residents and appropriate for investors
Italian passport through residency
One of the most popular ways to get a passport is through residency. Since all kinds of candidates must first reside in Italy for various amounts of time before applying for citizenship, the process is essentially the same for both EU and non-EU people.
Italy’s government offers a variety of visas for non-EU nationals who want to move here for a variety of reasons, making it very easy to obtain a residence permit there. When it comes to foreign nationals living outside of the European Union, the work permit is one of the most popular.
For EU residents, the legal residency requirement for Italy is 4 years before they are eligible to apply for it. The living time is set at 10 years for non-EU nationals. The term “naturalization” also applies to this process.
Citizenship by descent in Italy
It is worthwhile to strive to get citizenship through one’s relatives for foreign citizens having Italian ancestry. However, before beginning the process of obtaining Italian passports, one must be aware of a few things.
If at least one of them is or was an Italian citizen, then one may apply for the passport by descent if:
- the father or the mother
- either the maternal or the paternal grandfather
- the paternal or maternal great-grandfather
The foreign national must also be aware of the citizenship by descent provisions of the Italian Immigration Law and confirm that they are eligible to apply for it in this manner.
If their bloodline has Italian origins, persons born in any country in the globe are eligible for citizenship by descent. However, all official documents that certify their provenance must be obtained in certified copies by the applicant.
The main benefit of obtaining a passport in this manner is that non-EU individuals do not have to wait the required 10-year time to do so.
Obtaining an Italian passport through marriage
A foreigner may become an Italian citizen by marrying an Italian national. Before the governments of these nations issue citizenship, there are several prerequisites to fulfill, just like when applying for an Italian passport through residency. Which are:
- the foreign spouse must have spent two years residing in Italy
- If married abroad, foreign couples must have lived together for three years
- Italian Embassy or Consulate must have recorded marriage abroad
If the child or children of the couple are Italian nationals, these requirements may be less stringent. The foreign spouse now needs to speak Italian at a B1 level to receive an Italian passport through marriage.
Documents required to obtain citizenship in Italy
The papers needed will vary depending on how the foreign national chooses to finish the relocation process when applying for the passport. As was already indicated, it is easier to prepare the paperwork for immigration to Italy based on the permanent residence because most of the required documents may be easily obtained from the Italian government. One of these documents to witness the living necessities for moving to Italy permanently is proof of a job or perhaps owning a business in Italy.
When applying for a passport by descent, the application file must include documentation of ancestors’ past or present citizenship. These can entail submitting different requests to the Italian government.
