Italy Citizenship Study Guide 2026

What Italian citizenship really requires

Italy has no official civics or knowledge test for citizenship. The official rules list residence, language, a clean record and other conditions. The two most common routes for newcomers are citizenship by residence (naturalisation) and citizenship by marriage or civil union.

• Language: you must prove Italian at level B1 or higher with an approved certificate, such as CILS (Siena), CELI (Perugia), Cert.It (Roma Tre) or PLIDA (Dante Alighieri Society). Some people are exempt, for example holders of an EU long-term residence permit.
• Fee: each application needs a contribution of €250.
• Clean record: certain criminal convictions and security reasons can block an application.
• Oath: if your application is accepted, you swear loyalty to the Republic (giuramento). You become Italian from the day after the oath.

Other residence periods apply to some groups, such as people who have served the Italian State. Always check the official rules for your own case.

Citizenship by descent: the 2025 change

In 2025 Italy changed the rules on citizenship by descent (Decree-Law 36/2025, Law 74/2025). People born abroad who hold another citizenship no longer automatically become Italian through an Italian ancestor, except in specific cases, such as having a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship.

The Constitution and its founding principles

The Constitution of the Italian Republic was signed in Rome on 27 December 1947 by Enrico De Nicola, the provisional Head of State, and came into force on 1 January 1948. Its first 12 articles set out the founding principles.

Two rules protect the Republic itself. Article 139 says the republican form of government can never be changed by amendment. A final provision forbids reorganising the dissolved Fascist party in any form.

Changing the Constitution

Changing the Constitution is harder than passing an ordinary law (Article 138). Each chamber must vote on the change twice, with at least three months between the two votes, and the second vote needs an absolute majority of members. Within three months of publication, one fifth of the members of a chamber, 500,000 voters or five Regional Councils can ask for a confirmatory referendum. No referendum can be requested if the change passed with a two-thirds majority in both chambers in the second vote.

Rights and duties

The Constitution gives everyone basic freedoms and asks citizens to take part in public life.

• Free speech (Article 21): everyone may express their thoughts freely by speech, writing or other means.
• Assembly (Article 17): citizens may meet peacefully and without weapons.
• Religion (Article 19): everyone may practise their faith freely, alone or with others, in private or in public.
• Justice (Article 27): the death penalty is not allowed, and punishment must aim at re-education.
• Health (Article 32): health is a fundamental right, with free care for people in need.
• School (Article 34): school is open to all; at least 8 years of basic education are compulsory and free.
• Work (Articles 36, 37, 40): workers have paid annual holidays they cannot give up; working women have the same rights and the same pay for the same work as men; the right to strike is regulated by law.
• Business (Article 41): private economic initiative is free, but it must not go against the good of society.

Voting and taking part

All citizens, men and women, who have reached the age of majority can vote. The vote is personal, equal, free and secret, and voting is a civic duty (Article 48). Citizens may form political parties (Article 49) and send petitions to Parliament (Article 50).

• Popular initiative: at least 50,000 voters can propose a new law (Article 71).
• Repeal referendum: 500,000 voters or five Regional Councils can ask for a vote to repeal a law. It is valid only if more than half of those entitled to vote take part (Article 75). Laws on taxes, the budget, amnesty, pardons and the ratification of international treaties cannot be put to a repeal referendum.

Duties

• Be loyal to the Republic and obey its Constitution and laws (Article 54).
• Pay taxes according to your ability; the tax system is progressive (Article 53).
• Defending the homeland is a sacred duty of every citizen (Article 52).

Parliament, President, Government and courts

Italy is a parliamentary republic. The President of the Republic is Head of State; the Prime Minister leads the Government, which needs the support of Parliament.

Parliament

Parliament has two chambers, each elected for 5 years; the term can be extended only by law and only in case of war. Senators for life are the former Presidents of the Republic and up to five citizens appointed by the President for outstanding merit.

The President of the Republic

The President is elected by Parliament in joint session, joined by three delegates from each Region (one from Valle d'Aosta). A two-thirds majority is needed in the first three ballots; after that, an absolute majority is enough. The President represents national unity, commands the armed forces, can grant pardons, can dissolve Parliament and presides over the High Council of the Judiciary (CSM).

The Government

The President of the Republic appoints the President of the Council of Ministers (the Prime Minister) and, on their proposal, the ministers. The Government must win a vote of confidence in both chambers within ten days of forming.

The courts

The judiciary is independent from the other powers. The Constitutional Court checks that laws respect the Constitution. A third of its 15 judges are chosen by the President, a third by Parliament and a third by the highest ordinary and administrative courts.

Regions and local government

The Republic is made up of Municipalities (Comuni), Provinces, Metropolitan Cities, Regions and the State. Rome is the capital (Article 114).

Italy has 20 Regions. Five have a special statute that gives them more autonomy: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Valle d'Aosta. The other fifteen, such as Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio and Campania, are ordinary Regions.

Symbols and history

The flag

The green, white and red tricolour was first adopted in Reggio Emilia on 7 January 1797 by the Cispadane Republic. In 1947 the Constituent Assembly made it the flag of the Republic in Article 12.

The national anthem

The anthem is Il Canto degli Italiani, often called the Inno di Mameli after its first words 'Fratelli d'Italia'. Goffredo Mameli, a 20-year-old student and patriot from Genoa, wrote the words in 1847, and Michele Novaro wrote the music in Turin. It became the national anthem of the Republic in 1946.

The emblem

The emblem of the Republic was adopted in 1948. Its parts each have a meaning:

Key moments

• Vittorio Emanuele II was the first King of Italy. The Vittoriano monument in Rome is named after him and was opened in 1911, fifty years after Italy was united.
• On 4 November 1921 the Unknown Soldier (Milite Ignoto) was buried at the Altar of the Fatherland in the Vittoriano.
• On 28 June 1946 Enrico De Nicola was elected provisional Head of State. On 1 January 1948 he took the title of President of the Republic.
• Luigi Einaudi was President from 1948 to 1955.

Italy in Europe

Italy has been a member of what is now the European Union since 1 January 1958. It joined the euro area on 1 January 1999 and the Schengen area on 26 October 1997. As an EU country, Italy shares common rules with other member states on free movement, trade and many everyday matters.