Italian citizenship for children, filiation, and adoption

Compare citizenship recognized from birth with prospective child acquisition, the three-year declaration, the 2029 transition, filiation, and adoption.

Is recognition from birth the same as a child declaration?

No.

A child may already be Italian from birth if the child satisfies the citizenship-at-birth rules and a current Article 3-bis exception.

A child who does not satisfy those rules may instead acquire citizenship prospectively through a declaration under Article 4.

The legal start date and the effect on future children are different.

What is the ordinary Article 4 route?

A foreign or stateless minor may have a route when a parent is an Italian citizen by birth. Law 91/1992, Article 4

There are 2 main branches.

The three-year declaration

The parents or guardian can make the declaration within three years after:

• the child's birth,
• the later establishment of filiation, or
• adoption.

The three-year period applies from 1 January 2026. Ordinary Article 4(1-bis)(b) declarations and the related protected-minor declaration class filed from that date are free. The €250 contribution does not apply to these declarations. Budget Law 199/2025, Article 1(513)-(514)

The two-year residence branch

The declaration can also be followed by two continuous years of legal residence in Italy.

The residence belongs to the child. It is not the separate Article 3-bis(d) residence exception concerning the parent before the child's birth or adoption.

What is the protected-parent transition?

A separate transition runs until 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029. Law 26/2026 coordinated text

The person must have been under 18 on 24 May 2025. The parent must be Italian by birth and protected through Article 3-bis:

• (a), a qualifying complete filing,
• (a-bis), a qualifying communicated appointment, or
• (b), a qualifying court filing.

Do not extend this transition automatically to a parent relying only on the current exclusive-citizenship or two-year-residence exceptions in (c) or (d).

If the parent case is pending or refused, the child's route also needs review.

What if the person becomes an adult before filing?

The transition can still matter. Current guidance allows a person who reaches majority before filing to make the declaration personally, provided the statutory transition conditions were met.

You still need to prove:

• age on 24 May 2025,
• the parent's Italian-by-birth status,
• the parent's protected class, and
• filing by the 31 May 2029 deadline.

What if filiation was established later?

Legal filiation matters, not DNA alone.

If filiation to an Italian parent is established while the person is a minor, Article 2 and Article 3-bis may apply. Law 91/1992

If filiation is first established when the person is already an adult, the person may have a one-year period to elect Italian citizenship. The date the acknowledgment or judgment became legally effective or final can decide that deadline.

Late or disputed parentage, surrogacy, donor conception, and foreign judgments need specialist review.

What if the child was adopted?

A foreign minor adopted by an Italian can acquire under Article 3.

But a foreign adoption still needs to be:

• valid under the applicable law,
• recognized in Italy,
• effective while the person was a minor, and
• transcribed where required.

A foreign-born adoptee who holds another citizenship still faces Article 3-bis.

An adult adoptee does not use the automatic minor-adoption rule. A separate residence-based naturalization route may apply after the required period in Italy.

What if the parent acquires citizenship later?

Article 14 concerns collective acquisition by a minor child when a parent acquires or reacquires citizenship.

After the 2025 reform, the child generally must:

• cohabit with the parent, and
• have two continuous years of legal residence in Italy at the parent's acquisition or reacquisition.

If the child is under two, residence since birth may replace the two-year period.

This is not an automatic route for a child living abroad.

Which records should you collect?

Start with:

1. the child's full birth record,
2. the parent's Italian citizenship basis,
3. proof that the parent is Italian by birth where Article 4 requires it,
4. acknowledgment or final court records,
5. the adoption order and Italian recognition or transcription,
6. custody, guardianship, and consent records,
7. Italian residence and cohabitation records, and
8. evidence of the parent's protected filing for the 2029 transition.

The main point: first decide whether the child is being recognized from birth or acquiring citizenship now. Then apply the dates and evidence for that route.