Registration in Italy of BIRTHS OF MINORS occurring abroad
(Last updated: 17/09/2026)
Civil Registry Office
Email: statocivile.sanfrancisco@esteri.it
Jurisdiction: Central and Northern California, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, U.S. Territory of American Samoa, U.S. Territory of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Johnston Atoll, Wake Island, Midway Islands. (click here)
Registration in Italy of BIRTHS OF ADULTS occurring abroad (click here)
NEW PROVISIONS REGARDING THE TRANSMISSION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
Law no. 74 of May 23, 2025, which converted, with amendments, Decree-Law no. 36 of March 28, 2025, introduced significant restrictions on the transmission of Italian citizenship and, consequently, on the procedure for registering the birth certificates of minors born abroad.
The new legislation introduced the principle whereby a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is deemed never to have acquired Italian citizenship, unless one of the conditions set forth in Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992 applies.
AUTOMATIC ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY MINOR CHILDREN BORN ABROAD TO ITALIAN CITIZENS
A minor born abroad to an Italian citizen parent is considered an Italian citizen from birth ONLY IF at least one of the following conditions is met:
- On the date of birth, the minor holds exclusively Italian citizenship, meaning that the minor neither holds nor is entitled to acquire any other citizenship.
The documentation submitted must therefore demonstrate that the minor neither holds nor is entitled to acquire any citizenship other than Italian citizenship.
Please note that persons born in the United States generally acquire U.S. citizenship at birth under the principle of jus soli.
- On the date of the minor’s birth, a first- or second-degree ascendant (parent/grandparent) holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship.
The application for registration must be accompanied by appropriate documentation conclusively demonstrating that, at the time of the minor’s birth, at least one parent or grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship or, if the parent or grandparent died before the minor’s birth, held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of death.
The responsibility for providing valid proof that no other citizenship was acquired, issued by the competent authorities of all countries in which the ascendant may have resided, rests exclusively with the applicant.
Self-declarations concerning the absence of any other citizenship will not be considered sufficient.
For further information regarding documentation proving the exclusive possession of Italian citizenship by parents/grandparents (click here)
- A parent, including an adoptive parent, who is an Italian citizen resided in Italy for at least TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child’s birth or adoption.
The Italian citizen parent who acquired Italian citizenship must demonstrate that he or she resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child’s birth or adoption.
For purposes of this requirement, only the period of residence in Italy after the acquisition of Italian citizenship is relevant.
The responsibility for providing appropriate documentation proving such residence rests exclusively with the applicant.
For further information regarding documentation proving residence in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child’s birth or adoption: (click here)
IF ANY ONE OF THE THREE REQUIREMENTS ABOVE IS MET, THE APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF THE BIRTH MAY BE SUBMITTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCEDURES DESCRIBED HERE: (click here)
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ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY BENEFIT OF LAW
IF NONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH UNDER POINTS 1, 2 OR 3 ABOVE IS MET, THE MINOR IS NOT AN ITALIAN CITIZEN FROM BIRTH, BUT MAY ACQUIRE ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY BENEFIT OF LAW IN THE CASES PROVIDED FOR UNDER THE APPLICABLE LEGISLATION.
NEW CASES OF ACQUISITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP ABROAD BY MINOR CHILDREN OF ITALIAN CITIZENS WHO DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSMIT ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
A minor born abroad to an Italian citizen by birth who cannot be considered automatically an Italian citizen because none of the conditions set forth in Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992 applies may acquire Italian citizenship by benefit of law, provided that the following requirements are jointly met:
- At least one parent is an Italian citizen by birth.
Therefore, this provision does not apply where the parent acquired Italian citizenship by naturalization, marriage, benefit of law, reacquisition, or iuris communicatione.
The responsibility for providing appropriate documentation proving that the parent is an Italian citizen by birth rests exclusively with the applicant.
For further information regarding documentation proving the parent’s Italian citizenship by birth, (click here)
- Both parents (including the non-Italian parent), or the legal guardian, submit a declaration of intent to acquire Italian citizenship WITHIN THREE YEARS of the minor’s birth or of the subsequent date on which filiation, including adoptive filiation, from an Italian citizen is established.
Procedures for submitting the DECLARATION OF INTENT: (click here)
IMPORTANT:
• A minor who acquires Italian citizenship by benefit of law is not an Italian citizen from birth nor an Italian citizen jure sanguinis.
Pursuant to Article 15 of Law No. 91/1992, Italian citizenship takes effect on the day following the date on which all conditions prescribed by law have been met.
- Upon reaching the age of majority, a person who acquired Italian citizenship pursuant to Article 4, paragraph 1-bis, of Law No. 91/1992 may renounce Italian citizenship if he or she holds another citizenship.
TRANSITIONAL PROVISION FOR PERSONS WHO WERE MINORS ON MAY 24, 2025
A transitional provision was also introduced pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 1-ter, of Decree-Law No. 36/2025, converted with amendments by Law No. 74/2025 and subsequently amended. This provision allows certain persons who were minors on May 24, 2025, to acquire Italian citizenship by benefit of law.
The declaration may be submitted when all of the following conditions are met:
- the person concerned was under the age of 18 on May 24, 2025, the date on which Law No. 74/2025 entered into force;
- the person concerned is the child of an Italian citizen by birth falling within the cases provided for under Article 3-bis, paragraph 1, letters a), a-bis) and b), of Law No. 91/1992, namely, a person recognized as an Italian citizen on the basis of an administrative or judicial application submitted by 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) on March 27, 2025, or on the basis of an application submitted pursuant to an appointment communicated by the Consular Office or Municipality by that same date;
- the declaration of intent to acquire Italian citizenship is submitted by 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) on MAY 31, 2029.
Please note that, in both cases, since this constitutes acquisition of Italian citizenship “by benefit of law”, the minor will not acquire Italian citizenship from the date of birth, but rather from the day following the parents’ declaration at the Consulate General.
If a person who was a minor on May 24, 2025, reaches the age of majority before May 31, 2029, he or she must personally submit the declaration by the same deadline.
IMPORTANT:
This transitional provision also concerns the acquisition of Italian citizenship by benefit of law.
An application for a first passport may be submitted to the Passport Office only after the Civil Registry Office has forwarded the birth certificate to the competent Italian Municipality for registration. The certified email sent by the Civil Registry Office to the Municipality, on which the parents will be copied, will serve as proof that the birth certificate has been forwarded. Applications for birth registration and passport applications submitted together will be returned to the sender.