I know, I know. It's a long, time-consuming, nerve-wrecking process.
But getting your Italian citizenship is so worth it.
Let's see the main benefits of becoming an Italian citizen together:

1) full right to healthcare
2) possibility to work and live freely in any other EU member State (as from 2021, British people will no longer be considered European citizens)
3) you keep your passport and nationality

Sounds good! Can I apply then?
If you want to know if you're eligible, check out this posts.

Basically, you need to prove that you have an Italian ancestor and that no one, in the lin up to you, renounced their Italian citizenship (more info here, here and here).

Another option is applying for Italian citizenship through marriage: you must have been living in Italy for 2 years. If ou have children, it's 1 year. See here for a longer blog post on precisely this topic.

The last option is naturalization.
This is for people who have lived in Italy continuously for at least 3 to 10 years, depending on several factors. If you're a EU national, for example, it's 4 years. If you're not, it's 10.

Of course, in all these cases you'll need your documents to be translated and certified in court. If you need help with this, just reach out!

Are you living in the UK and married to an Italian citizen? Then this post is for you.

The spouse of an Italian citizen living outside of Italy can apply for Italian citizenship 3 years after the date of the marriage or after 18 months if the couple has children. Provided there is no separation or divorce, citizenship will be granted if the marriage lasts until the signing of the Decree.

Applicants who have their main residence in the United Kingdom must have a valid residence permit issued by the UK Home Office, and their Italian spouses must be registered as resident in this Consular district (AIRE) and state in their application clearly that the foreign spouse is living in the UK, specifying the address for both spouses.
​
You can submit an application for Italian citizenship even if you are in a civil union!

Fees: There is a fee of € 250 for each application or declaration of intent, acquiring, reacquiring or renouncing Italian citizenship.

Time:  48 months from the date of application. 

How to apply:  ONLY ONLINE by applicants legally registered as resident in the UK, whose Italian spouse is registered with AIRE in this Consular area through a dedicated web portal managed by Ministero dell’Interno https://cittadinanza.dlci.interno.it
Please note: the website is in Italian. 
The applicant’s details FAMILY NAME – NAME - DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH need to be consistent with the details on the birth certificate. Women must enter the maiden name.


When the application is submitted, the system will create two items:
1) Application summary
2) Application submission id number
Once the application is checked by this Consulate, it will be either:
1) Accettata  - Accepted
2) Rifiutata – Rejected

Due to the number of applications received by this office, delays in the application’s check are possible. Please bear in mind that the expiration date of the criminal records will be based on the actual date of the upload of the document online. 

SUCCESS! NOW WHAT?
Once the application is checked, the applicant will receive feedback via email through the ALI website. If the application is accepted the system will generate a K10/C reference number.

Accepted applications will receive an invitation via email to contact the Consulate via email to agree on a date in which to deliver the originals of the application documents. On the day of the appointment, the applicant must bring all the originals as uploaded on the website. The documents will be checked during the appointment and will not be returned, except for the Passports and residence permit. The applicant will have to pay following fees (by cash or British Debit Card only) in British Pounds Sterling only:
Euro  14.00    art. 24 - Legalisation of the applicant’s signature on the application
Euro  10.00   art. 71 – Certification copy of the applicant’s passport
Euro  13.00   art. 72A  Confirmation that a translation into Italian complies with its English original.
Following the original documents submission the citizenship process will be managed by Ministero dell’Interno. The applicant will be able to check the progress of the application directly through the Ministero dell’Interno website.

REJECTION!!!! NOW WHAT?

Rejected applications will receive a detailed feedback, please avoid asking for further information via the email address of this office. All communication must be through the website of Ministero dell’Interno.
PLEASE NOTE only accepted applications will receive an invitation to attend the Consulate.
​
There must be no discrepancies in the certificates submitted, in particular in relation to name, surname, date and place of birth of the applicant and the Italian spouse, that have to coincide in all the documentation.
DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO APPLY IN THIS CONSULAR DISTRICT TO BE UPLOADED ON THE ALI WEBSITE
1) QUALIFICATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE AT B1 LEVEL OF THE CEFR as specified in the following page in the paragraph REQUIREMENTS;
The following certificates must be issued within six months of the application:
2) ESTRATTO PER RIASSUNTO DELL’ATTO DI MATRIMONIO which must only be issued by the Italian Municipality where the Italian citizen is registered or by the Italian Municipality where it took place (the marriage certificate issued abroad on the day of the marriage ceremony is not acceptable). Please note that all marriages even those that took place abroad must be registered with an Italian Municipality (link with Stato Civile). Please make sure your marriage is registered before you make an application for Italian citizenship. This certificate must be issued within six months of the application.
3) FULL BIRTH CERTIFICATE of the applicant with annotations, if any, legalised and translated into Italian. For the translation and legalisation please see the website of the relevant Italian consulate in the Country of issue of the certificate. The legalisation is by means of an Apostille, if the Country signed the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961, if not it must be legalized by the Italian Embassy/Consulate in the country of issue. The translation into Italian, carried out by a translator, must be certified by the Italian Consulate/Embassy in the country where the certificate was issued or legalised by means of an Apostille (for the Italian Consulates and Embassies visit http://www.esteri.it/).This certificate must be issued within six months of the application.
4) CERTIFICATE OF NO CRIMINAL RECORDS FROM THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN/BIRTH AND ANY COUNTRY OTHER THAN ITALY where the applicant may have lived before moving to the U.K., starting from the age of 14. For the translation and legalisation rules please see the website of the relevant Italian Consulate in the Country of issue of the certificate. For all the Federal States the certificate of no criminal records must be issued by the Federal Police. In particular, for the United States, the “Police clearance” or the “Certificate of Criminal records” or “Certificate of good conduct” issued by the central authority of each State (not the county) and legalised by means of an apostille is required, as well as the F.B.I. clearance with the fingerprints, accompanied by a translation into Italian, and legalised by means of an apostille.
For Brazilian Nationals ask for “CERTIDAO DE ANTECEDENTES CRIMINAIS” issued by Policia Federal.
Indian Nationals can obtain this certificate from the High Commission of India in U.K. and obtain apostille from India.
For the translation and legalisation please see the website of the relevant Italian consulate in the Country of issue of the certificate. The legalisation is by means of an apostille, if the Country signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 if not it must be legalised by the Italian Embassy/Consulate in the country of issue. The translation into Italian, carried out by a translator, must be certified by the Italian Consulate/Embassy in the country where they were issued or legalised by means of an apostille.
These certificates are valid for six months and they have to be issued by the relevant foreign authority within 6 months of the application.
5) UK CRIMINAL RECORDS CERTIFICATE apostilled and translated into Italian (“Police certificate for immigration purposes” only) which you may obtain from acro.policecertificates@acro.pnn.police.uk. If this document has not been signed, ask for the signature of an ACRO official, that must be legalised by means of an apostille by The Legalisation Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, PO Box 6255, Milton Keynes MK10 1XX, Tel. 03700002244, e-mail: LegalisationEnquiries@fco.gov.uk  web-site: www.fco.gov.uk/legalisation. This service is only by post. Please have the certificate translated into Italian by an official translator (check list of translators: https://conslondra.esteri.it/consolato_londra/it/in_linea_con_utente/info_utili/info-utili.html) and bring the translation (already uploaded in the online application) with you the day of the appointment, it will be certified by this citizenship office. You can pay the fee for the certification with cash or UK debit card (for Consular fees see LINK with consular fees)*.
This certificate is valid for six months and must be issued within six months of the application.
6) RECEIPT OF PAYMENT OF 250 EURO FEE. THE FEE CANNOT BE PAID AT  THE CONSULATE BUT MUST BE PAID BY BANK TRANSFER
The bank transfer receipt must list:
Beneficiary Account Name: “MINISTERO DELL’INTERNO D.L.C.I. – CITTADINANZA”; address: Via Cavour 6, 00184 ROMA
- Reason for payment: Citizenship Application name and surname of the applicant;
- International Bank Account Number (IBAN code): IT54D0760103200000000809020;
- Receiving Bank Name: POSTE ITALIANE S.P.A.
- Receiving Bank BIC/SWIFT code: BPPIITRRXXX.
7) VALID APPLICANT’S UK RESIDENT PERMIT issued by the UK Home Office.
8) VALID ITALIAN SPOUSE’S PASSPORT - only the pages showing the photograph and signature.
9) VALID APPLICANT’S PASSPORT - only the pages showing the photograph and signature.

Just a short infographic today, by Audra de Falco, explaining how the Jure Sanguinis process works. Plus the full list of all.the.things. you need to do to get your Italian citizenship!

• 1. Determine if you qualify. (Sometimes you will not be able to do this step until after steps 5b or 2 are completed.)
  2. Determine the consulate at which you must (or can) apply.
  3. Make an appointment at that consulate. (Depending on the consulate, this step may be postponed until later in the process.)
  4. Determine which documents you will need to submit to the consulate.
  5. Obtain those documents.
  • a. Obtain documents (generally, vital records) from Italy for your ancestor(s) (or yourself, if applicable) who were born there.
    b. Obtain naturalization-related documents for your ancestors who emigrated from Italy.
    c. Obtain vital records from outside Italy for your ancestors and yourself.
    d. Obtain the full set of documents required for divorces, such as a certificate of no appeal.
    e. Obtain no records letters, court orders to release records, or alternative records in the case where vital records don't exist or can't be found.

6. Treat discrepancies on your documents.

• a. Determine which discrepancies require amendment.
  b. Amend documents.
  c. Write affidavits for minor discrepancies.
  d. Obtain letters from Italy (such as a "positivo/negativo") to resolve discrepancies.
  e. Obtain letters from vital record officers concerning discrepancies that cannot be amended.
  f. Obtain court orders to amend discrepancies or declare that a person named on one document is the same as that named on another (a "finding of one and the same," a.k.a. a "declaratory judgment").

7. Have documents translated into Italian.
8. Have documents issued from outside Italy apostilled. (This step can often be done concurrently with or before step 7, but sometimes a translation or its certification will require an apostille.)
9. Have documents issued outside the area that is covered by the consulate at which you are applying authenticated by the consulate(s) that does cover the area where they were issued. Consulates vary in the degree to which this is necessary.
10. Fill out forms for you and your ancestors indicating that you have never renounced your Italian citizenship. This step may often be done at the consulate. Such forms for your living Italian ancestors may need to be filled out (and had notarized) by your ancestors themselves.
11. Go to your appointment and apply for citizenship recognition. This step may be done earlier in the process, before all the previous steps are completed, but in that case you'll probably need to have a follow-up appointment.
12. If your application is not accepted, repeat the steps 3 through 11 until your application is accepted. Even if your application is accepted, there may still be missing documents or discrepancies requiring amendment. In that case also, repeat steps 3 through 11. In some cases you may be able to submit new documents without having to do so at a follow-up appointment.
13. When your application has been accepted and is deemed complete, wait for acknowledgment, from either the consulate or comune, depending on the consulate, that your birth has been registered in Italy and you may apply for a passport. This acknowledgment may come in form of a letter, an email, or a phone call, or be told to you in person.
14. Apply for your passport. Some consulates require you to obtain your own birth certificate from the comune where your birth has been registered in order for you to be able to apply for a passport, others merely require confirmation from the comune that your birth has been registered, and some allow you to apply for a passport as soon as they accept your application. Strictly speaking, this step is optional.