Citizenship by marriage / civil union

Consulate General of Italy in Melbourne

How to apply for ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP by MARRIAGE

1. Who can apply, and what are the essential requirements?

Only the spouses of Italian citizens residing in either Victoria and Tasmania are eligible to apply. The applicant must have been married to an Italian citizen for at least 3 years (this term is reduced by half if the couple has children together).

• The Italian spouse must be registered with AIRE and their file must be complete and up to date. More details can be found in the AIRE section of our website.
• The application cannot be submitted if the marriage has not been registered in Italy. Applicants must first contact the relevant Italian “Comune” (in person, by post, e-mail, or through a third party) to get an "Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio” (true copy of the marriage record). Not to be confused with a simple marriage certificate, this document is issued in Italy and contains a unique code as proof of registration. (form to request certificate to the Italian Comune).

2. What documents are required?

•  Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio (true copy of the marriage record) from Italy;
• A photocopy of your current passport;
• Full birth certificate, complete with parents' details, issued by the authorities of the country of birth and stamped with an "Apostille" or legalised (depending on the country). Applicants born in Australia can obtain a full birth certificate from the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDMO), and have it stamped with an Apostille (this is done by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and translated into Italian. The “Apostille” is not required for the translation.
• A certification of proficiency of Italian language equal to level B1 of the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFRL) grading system. In Melbourne such certifications are available at the Italian Institute of Culture. The only exception to this requirement is granted to those who graduated from an Italian High School, either public or accredited by the Italian Ministry of Education.
• National Police Clearance, issued by the competent judicial authorities or police, stating the existence or absence of criminal records or pending proceedings against the applicant. This certificate is required for each and every country in which the applicant has lived since turning 14 years old, with the exception of Italy. The certificates must cover the entire duration of the period in which the applicant has resided in that country, must be legalised with an Apostille by the relevant authority (in Australia it is done by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and translated into Italian from the original language (consecutive translations are not accepted). The “Apostille” is not required for the translation. Applicants who have changed their surname by marriage must ensure that the certificate covers both surnames (maiden and married).
• Receipt of bank transfer for the amount € 250 (two hundred and fifty Euro), non refundable, to be wired to the following bank account:

 3. Application guidelines and time frames

• Since August 1^st 2015, applications to obtain Italian citizenship by marriage (pursuant to art. 5 of Law 5 February 1992 no. 91) have to be submitted on-line through the web portal of the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs. Therefore Italian consular and diplomatic offices abroad can no longer provide information or book appointments to apply for Italian citizenship by marriage in person.
• When registering themselves to the web portal, the applicants must enter their personal details, which must match those on the birth certificate or name change certificate of the applicant, regardless of what is shown on their other documents (passport, driving license, etc.).
• On the left hand side of the screen, the "CITTADINANZA (CITIZENSHIP)" section contains:
  • "COMPILA E INVIA LA DOMANDA (FILL IN AND SEND APPLICATION)" to submit the application for citizenship;
  • "VISUALIZZA STATO DELLA DOMANDA (SHOW PROGRESS OF APPLICATION)" to periodically check the progress;
  • "PRIMO ACCESSO ALLA DOMANDA (FIRST ACCESS TO THE APPLICATION)," to check the application after submission;
  • "COMUNICAZIONI (CORRESPONDANCE)", where administration messages appear, relating to the submitted application.
• Carefully fill in all the fields on the form "AE" and upload all documents listed in the previous section (2), after scanning all pages front and back (except blank pages) in PDF format.
• Applications may be SAVED, MODIFIED, CANCELLED and eventually SENT for Consular pre-approval. Once sent, the application cannot be changed. If any mistakes are made on the form, including typing errors, the Consulate General will reject the application and the applicant will be have to resubmit it.
• Once the application has been submitted, print out the form by clicking on the icon "PDF" next to the link which appears as: "Modello AE - Cittadini Stranieri residenti all'Estero - Art.5 - richiesta per matrimonio con cittadino italiano”. The PDF icon will appear after the application has been completed and sent.
• After an initial review of the application the Consulate General may:
  • accept,
  • request additional documentation / corrections, or
  • reject it, if it contains typos and/or when the accompanying documentation is wrong and cannot be rectified. If the application is rejected, the applicant will need to apply again, with a correct and complete application, repeating the whole procedure from the beginning.
• Following pre-approval of the application, the applicant will be contacted by the Consulate General and asked to bring the originals of all documents which were already uploaded to the web portal of the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs, together with a print out of the form "AE". Additional documents will need to be signed and administrative fees to be paid in cash. The Italian spouse must also be present.

ESSENTIAL NOTES FOR PROPER COMPLETION AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

•  The web portal of the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs is available only in Italian. Applicants who do not feel confident to proceed independently are strongly advised to be assisted by someone who is an Italian native speaker in order to fill in the form correctly and avoid mistakes that would lead to the rejection of the application and the need to resubmit it.
• All details included in the application (name, surname, date and place of birth) must be exactly the same as those listed on the birth certificate or change of name / surname certificate. For example:
  • If on the birth certificate the applicant appears as LOCKSMITH Archibald Ferguson, born in Carlton April 13 1975, but on his passport he appears as LOCHSMITH Fergy, born in Melbourne 13 April 1975, in this case, the applicant must fill out the fields with the spelling of the SURNAME, NAME(S), BIRTH DATE and BIRTHPLACE exactly as they are on the birth certificate, and not as they appear on the passport.
  • If the applicant's name or surname has changed, the applicant must also provide the relevant certificate, with "Apostille" and an official translation into Italian.
  • We strongly advise against the use of photographing documents with mobile phones or digital cameras. You need to use a scanner and scan all documents in PDF format carefully including, in the case of certificates
    • the original document;
    • the "Apostille" attached to the back or on a separate sheet, and
    • the translation of the document (for which an "Apostille" is never required).
• All documents must be originals and will not be returned. The documents handed in to the Consulate General will be sent electronically to the Central Citizenship Office in Rome, which is required by law to either grant or deny the citizenship within 48 months (4 years) from the date of submission of the request.
• Birth certificates and National Police Clearance certificates issued outside Australia must be stamped with an "Apostille" from the relevant authority of the issuing country, or legalised by the Italian Consular or Diplomatic representation in the country where the certificate was issued. Applicants are required to first verify the above, as an “Apostille” mistakenly attached by the Australian authorities on a document not issued in Australia would result in the rejection of the application. If the certificates to be submitted have been issued outside Australia and they are not in English, they must be translated from the local language into Italian and the translation must be certified as faithful to the original by the Italian Consular or Diplomatic representation in the country where the certificate was issued.
• Section no. 6 [of the Applicant Data (5/5)] is reserved for applicants who are stateless, i.e. who do not have the nationality of any country. If this application is completed by applicants in possession of any citizenship, the application will be rejected.
• The online form accepts up to 5 addresses of residence. Applicants who have changed address multiple times are advised to use the available space, while making sure to fill in all residence details from when they were 14 years old to the day of presentation.
• How do you get an apostille? How do you know if you need an apostille or a legalisation? Should the apostille be translated? And do the translations need an apostille? Apostille is a French word (the pronunciation is "a-po-stil") meaning "certification”. An apostille should never be translated and a translation should never bear apostilles. A certificate issued in a given country cannot be used in another country, unless it has been legalised either by apostille, or through full legalisation. The countries that are not signatory parties to the Hague Convention of 1961 on the abolition of legalisation (click here for a complete list) do not use the apostille. All certificates issued in these countries, together with their translations, require a full legalisation certified by the Italian consular or diplomatic representation in the country where the certificate was issued.
• In the State of Victoria, you can get an Apostille from the Notary Service of DFAT, Level 2, Collins Square, 747 Collins St - Docklands VIC 3008 - Ph. 1300 935 260. Since July 1^st 2015, the majority of Australian Consulates and Embassies abroad have been authorised to affix apostilles onto original documents issued by the Australian government.
• To get an official translation into Italian, a list of qualified translators is available on the website of NAATI, the Australian Association of Translators and Interpreters (www.naati.com.au).
• The Consulate General cannot be queried for information about the process of application, or give updates about applications already being processed, as the entire procedure is adequately explained on the above mentioned web portal, including procedures for monitoring the progress of the application.
• If the Consulate-General pre-approves the application submitted online, the applicant will be invited by e-mail to come in person to the Consular office to submit all original documents within 30 days. If the documents are sent by post, the application will be rejected and will need to be resubmitted.
• All foreign women who married Italian men before April 27^th 1983 acquired Italian citizenship automatically on the day of their wedding, as long as the relevant marriage certificate was duly registered in Italy. If the certificate was not registered in Italy, applicants will not have to follow the procedure described on this information sheet, but must book an appointment for RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP. At the appointment, the applicants must submit their marriage and birth certificates, both with Apostille and an official translation into Italian for the necessary registration in Italy. On this occasion, there is a charge of an administrative fee for the amount of 300 Euros, payable in cash in Australian dollars.