You can find below the necessary steps to apply for Italian citizenship by marriage. For more information on the legal requirements for citizenship, please consult the web site esteri.it.
STEP 1 – Preparation of documents
Collect the following documents (in original):
- Extract of marriage certificate, which you will have to request from your Municipality in Italy;
- Birth certificate, indicating any changes of name / surname and the mother’s maiden name;
- Criminal certificate in bilingual format;
- Certificate of residence and family status (in Hebrew, “Tamzit rishum malé / murhav”);
- Certification proving knowledge of the Italian language at least equivalent to level B1;
- Receipt of payment of 250 euros, made by bank transfer to the postal current account belonging to the “ Ministero dell’Interno D.L.C.I. Cittadinanza ” (IBAN IT54D0760103200000000809020, BIC / SWIFT Code: BPPIITRRXXX) indicating as the reason for the payment “request for Italian citizenship of Mr / Ms [NAME] pursuant to Article 5 of Law 91/92 “.
Warning!
- The “criminal certificate” and the “residence and family status certificate” (Tamzit rishum male murhav) have a maximum validity of 6 months from the date of issue.
- Regarding the “criminal certificate”, if you were born or if you resided in Countries other than Israel, you will also need to present the criminal certificates issued by the Authorities of these countries.
- If you have changed your name or surname, you will need to add to your file a certificate by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, proving your name change registration. This requirement also applies to women who have kept their maiden name after marriage.
- All documents issued by the Israeli Authorities must be complete with “Apostille” (for more information on how to obtain an Apostille click here) and translated by one of our trusted translators.
- Documents issued by authorities of third countries, other than Israel, must be completed with “Apostille” or legalized by the local competent Italian Consulate, which we invite you to contact for more information, and list of translators into Italian.
- To prove a level of knowledge at least equivalent to level B1, you must have a qualification certificate issued by a public or joint educational institution or an attestation from a certifying body. At the moment, the certification institutions recognized by the Italian legislation are: the University for foreigners of Siena, the University for foreigners of Perugia, the ‘Roma Tre’ University, the ‘Dante Alighieri’ Society. In this regard, we point out that the Italian Cultural Institute of Tel Aviv is the seat of exams for both the University of Perugia (CELI) and the University of Siena (CILS) and periodically organizes preparatory courses to take the level B1 exam.
Step 2 – Verification and validation of the documents by the Consulate
- Check with the Consulate that the above documents are complete by sending a scan to the email address telaviv.sportello@esteri.it and specifying in the subject of the email that it concerns “citizenship by marriage”. Our staff will examine it and give you an appointment to validate the documentation.
- On the day of the appointment you will have to show up with all the documents referred to in “STEP-1“, your valid passport and cash to pay the consular fee.
Step 3 – Uploading the application on the portal of the Ministry of the Interior
Once the documents have been validated by the Consulate:
- Register on the portal of the Ministry of the Interior;
- From your “Personal Area” you can enter your request for Italian citizenship by marriage;
- Go to “Application Management”, fill in the AE form (in the “Documents” section) and upload the documentation referred to in “STEP-1”, duly stamped by the Consular Chancery.
Step 4 – Finalization of the procedure
Our staff will review the documents and check whether the upload of your application on the portal of the Ministry of the Interior is correct and will send you an email to book a new appointment, necessary for the completion of your application. On the day of your new appointment you will have to bring with you all the original documentation referred to in “STEP-1“, which will remain in the records of the Consulate, and the cash amount required for the payment of the consular fee.