RELOVA JOURNAL

Blog/Published April 30, 2026 · Updated September 19, 2026

How to Get an Italian Citizenship by Naturalization in 2026

By Anna Moore

Italian citizenship by naturalization in 2026: residency years by category, the B1 language test, income requirements, and realistic processing timelines.

Naturalization is the residency-based route to Italian citizenship, and it is a genuinely different process from jure sanguinis descent claims — there is no ancestral paperwork chain to assemble here, no apostilled foreign birth certificates to hunt down. What naturalization demands instead is time actually spent living in Italy, a demonstrated command of the language, and a clean, well-documented residence history. Italy grants citizenship by naturalization after ten years of continuous legal residence for most third-country nationals, which is on the longer end compared with many EU peers. That headline period shrinks considerably in specific circumstances: four years for citizens of other EU member states, two years for people who were born in Italy and have lived there since, and five years for recognized refugees or stateless persons. Spouses of Italian citizens have their own separate, shorter track — commonly cited around two years of marriage-based residence in Italy (or three years if resident abroad), though this route has its own procedural quirks and is worth confirming against current Ministry of Interior guidance rather than assuming the general residency figures apply.

The language and income bar

Language proficiency is a hard requirement, not a soft preference: applicants generally need to demonstrate at least B1-level Italian, verified through a recognized certificate such as CILS or CELI, or an equivalent qualification accepted by the Ministry. This tends to be the step foreign applicants underestimate most — B1 is genuinely conversational, well past "get by on holiday" Italian, and studying for the certificate exam is worth building into your naturalization timeline a year or more in advance rather than treating it as a formality near the end.

Income requirements are the other consistent sticking point, and they are less forgiving than many applicants expect. Prefecture briefings commonly cite an income threshold in the region of roughly €8,500 per year for a single applicant, with higher combined thresholds for households with a spouse or dependent children — the exact figures vary somewhat by prefecture and are worth confirming locally, since Italy's naturalization process is administered at the provincial level and local practice can differ. What matters in practice is documenting stable, verifiable income across the full residency period, not just at the moment of filing — gaps in employment or unclear self-employment records are a common reason files get returned for additional evidence.

Fees, processing time, and the paperwork reality

The government application fee itself is modest, hovering around €250, which surprises people used to the much higher fees charged for some other countries' citizenship applications. What is not modest is the wait: Prefettura processing queues commonly stretch two to four years in backlog-heavy provinces, and that estimate is for a complete, clean file — any missing document or discrepancy can add months while it is corrected and resubmitted. This is where naturalization differs most sharply from descent claims: because there is no ancestral document chain, the paperwork burden instead falls on your own residence history — every residence permit renewal, every address change, every gap needs to be accounted for and supported with documentation, since gaps or inconsistencies are a common reason applications stall in review.

Dual citizenship and family transmission

Italy permits dual citizenship without requiring naturalizing applicants to renounce their existing nationality, which removes one common source of hesitation for people weighing the decade-long residency commitment. Once naturalized, a parent transmits Italian citizenship to their minor children under standard Italian nationality law, meaning naturalization is often a family decision rather than a purely individual one — worth factoring into timing if you have children who would benefit from citizenship being established earlier rather than later. For the broader context of building a life in Italy while working toward naturalization, see the Move to Italy guide, which covers the residence permits, healthcare registration, and housing steps that come before the citizenship clock even starts running.

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