Italian citizenship and the EU long-term permit – staying in Italy for good after the 2025 reform
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Five years with a permit can earn you the EU long-term residence permit, and ten years – four for EU citizens – Italian citizenship. The 2025 reform rewrote citizenship by descent, and the Constitutional Court upheld it in April 2026. Here is what applies to you.
The 2025 reform – Decree-Law 36/2025, converted by Law 74 of 23 May 2025 – rewrote Italian citizenship by descent, and the Constitutional Court upheld it on 30 April 2026. Since 1 January 2026, parents who are Italian by birth have three years, not one, to declare a child born abroad.
For most newcomers the first step is the EU long-term residence permit, a national route handled by the Questura (police immigration office). Until then, request each renewal of your permesso di soggiorno (residence permit) at least 90 days before expiry – the rule since 22 May 2026.
Who can get the EU long-term residence permit in Italy?
You can apply after at least five years with a valid permit. Absences do not break the five years if each is under six consecutive months and they total no more than ten months. Time on short-term permits does not count, and study, medical-care, temporary-protection and pending-asylum stays do not qualify.
| Requirement | What applies in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Income, single applicant | At least the annual assegno sociale (social allowance): €7,101.12 (€546.24 a month over 13 months) |
| Income with two or more children under 14 | At least double: €14,202.24 |
| Family members included | Sufficient family income and suitable housing |
| Italian | A2 test, unless exempt |
| Refugees and subsidiary protection | Years count from the asylum application; no housing document |
Source: Normattiva – Legislative Decree 286/1998, art. 9; INPS; Polizia di Stato, read 23 September 2026.
Your comune (municipality) certifies suitable housing with a certificate of idoneità alloggiativa, and procedures differ. In Turin you book on 011 011 24300 (Monday to Friday, 8:30–12:00); the certificate is issued within 120 days, costs two €16 revenue stamps and is valid for one year.
Applying, costs and what the permit gives you
Apply with the post-office kit, or without it through a participating comune or a patronato (welfare advice office). The permit must be issued within 90 days and is valid for ten years for adults, five for minors; the status is permanent, and the card is a valid identity document.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Permit contribution (minors and protection holders exempt) | €100 |
| Revenue stamp (marca da bollo) | €16 |
| Electronic card | €30.46 |
| Poste Italiane fee | €30 |
Source: Polizia di Stato, read 23 September 2026.
The permit lets you enter Italy without a visa, do any work except jobs reserved to citizens, and access social benefits, public housing and the Assegno Unico child benefit (part 9); it also spares you the B1 proof for citizenship. You lose it after 12 consecutive months outside the EU or more than six years outside Italy.
Do you need the A2 Italian test?
Yes, unless you are exempt. You request the test online from the prefettura (prefecture) of the province where you live, which calls you within 60 days. It is computer-based and you need 80 per cent to pass; after a fail you must wait 90 days to retake it.
No test is needed with an A2-or-higher certificate from the universities for foreigners of Siena or Perugia, Roma Tre or the Società Dante Alighieri, a CPIA (adult-education centre) A2 certificate or an Italian secondary-school diploma. Others exempt include university students in Italy, people who entered as highly qualified workers or researchers, children under 14 and international protection holders.
EU citizens: permanent residence without a permit
As an EU citizen you never need a permesso di soggiorno. After five years of continuous legal residence you gain permanent residence, which you lose only after more than two consecutive years away. On request, your comune issues an attestazione di soggiorno permanente (permanent residence certificate) within 30 days – in Turin for a €16 stamp plus €16.52.
How do you get Italian citizenship by residence or marriage?
Citizenship is governed nationally by Law 91/1992. Residence must be legal and uninterrupted – continuous registration at the anagrafe (registry office), with no periods abroad.
| Your situation | Legal residence needed |
|---|---|
| Non-EU national | 10 years |
| EU citizen | 4 years |
| Stateless person or recognised refugee | 5 years |
| Subsidiary or humanitarian protection | 10 years |
| Parent or grandparent is or was Italian by birth | 2 years (3 before 24 May 2025) |
| Born in Italy | 3 years (new since 24 May 2025) |
| Spouse or civil partner of an Italian | 2 years in Italy after the marriage, or 3 years from the marriage if living abroad; halved with children |
Source: Normattiva – Law 91/1992; Ministry of the Interior; Prefettura di Reggio Emilia, read 23 September 2026.
You also need B1 Italian, shown by an Italian school qualification or a recognised certificate such as CILS (Siena), CELI (Perugia) or PLIDA (Dante Alighieri). EU long-term permit holders, integration-agreement signatories and – since Constitutional Court judgment 25/2025 – people with serious learning limitations are exempt; EU citizens and family-permit holders are not.
According to the prefecture of Reggio Emilia, you need taxable income of at least €8,263.31 alone, €11,362.05 with a dependent spouse and €516 more per dependent child, in your tax returns for the three years before you apply. The application includes, among other documents, the B1 certificate, the receipt for the €250 fee and a digital revenue stamp.
For applications filed since 20 December 2020, the decision is due within 24 months, extendable to 36. You then swear the oath within six months of notification and are Italian from the next day. Your minor children become Italian with you only if, by then, they have lived legally in Italy for two continuous years, or since birth if younger. Italian law does not make you give up your original nationality.
Italian citizenship by descent: what changed in 2025?
Under new article 3-bis of Law 91/1992, anyone born abroad who holds another citizenship is deemed never to have acquired Italian citizenship – even if born before the reform – unless one of these applies: an application filed, an appointment communicated or a court case filed by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025; a parent or grandparent who holds, or held at death, only Italian citizenship; or a parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years after becoming Italian and before your birth.
In judgment 63/2026 the Constitutional Court rejected the Turin Tribunal's challenges: the rule is an original bar, not a revocation, and does not affect people already recognised or who had applied. In court, oath and witness evidence are not admitted.
| Situation | What you do | Deadline or fee |
|---|---|---|
| Minor on 24 May 2025, parent Italian through the 27 March 2025 cut-off | Parents' declaration | By 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029 (was 31 May 2026) |
| Child of an Italian citizen by birth | Parents' declaration, then two continuous years' legal residence in Italy – or declaration within three years of birth | Three years since 1 January 2026 (was one); no €250 fee |
| Lost citizenship by 15 August 1992; born in Italy or resident there two continuous years | Reacquisition by declaration | 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2027; €250 at a consulate, per the Foreign Ministry |
| Recognition by descent, where still possible | Consulate, or your comune if you live in Italy | €600 per adult |
Source: Normattiva – Law 91/1992 and Decree-Law 36/2025; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Città di Torino, read 23 September 2026.
In Italy, your comune handles recognition: Turin charges the €600 per adult through PagoPA within 45 days of registering your residence, plus a €16 stamp, and decides within 180 days. Through the mother, citizenship passed only to children born after 1 January 1948.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Count your years with a valid permit and check your absences | Now |
| 2 | Request each renewal at least 90 days before expiry | Until you qualify |
| 3 | Book the A2 test, or collect an exempting certificate | Before the long-term application |
| 4 | Send the long-term kit, with a housing certificate if family is included | After five years |
| 5 | For citizenship: B1 certificate, three years of tax returns, €250 receipt | Once you have the years |
| 6 | Parents of minors under the transitional rule file the declaration | By 31 May 2029 |
Source: Normattiva, Ministry of the Interior and Polizia di Stato, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Normattiva – D.Lgs. 286/1998 (Testo unico immigrazione), art. 9, c. 1 · normattiva.it
- INPS – Assegno sociale (scheda) · inps.it
- Polizia di Stato – Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo · poliziadistato.it
- Ministero dell'Interno – Test di conoscenza della lingua italiana · interno.gov.it
- Polizia di Stato – Questura di Catanzaro: nuovi costi dal 9 giugno 2017 · questure.poliziadistato.it
- Città di Torino – Attestazione di soggiorno per cittadini comunitari · comune.torino.it
- Ministero dell'Interno – Cittadinanza; Normattiva L. 91/1992 · interno.gov.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 9 (text in force from 24-5-2025) · normattiva.it
- Prefettura di Reggio Emilia – Cittadinanza per residenza · prefettura.interno.gov.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 9.1; MAECI Citizenship page · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 5; MAECI Citizenship page · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 9-ter; Ministero dell'Interno DLCI · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 9-bis (text in force from 1-1-2026); aggiornamenti all'atto · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 10; Città di Torino · normattiva.it
- Città di Torino – Ottenere la cittadinanza per residenza o matrimonio · comune.torino.it
- MAECI – Citizenship; Normattiva L. 91/1992 art. 14 · esteri.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 11; MAECI – Citizenship · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – DL 36/2025, art. 2 and aggiornamenti · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 3-bis (text in force from 24-5-2025) · normattiva.it
- Corte costituzionale – Comunicato 30 aprile 2026 (sentenza n. 63/2026) · cortecostituzionale.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 4 (text in force from 1-1-2026); DL 36/2025 art. 1 c. 1-bis (original text) · normattiva.it
- Normattiva – L. 91/1992, art. 17 (text in force from 24-5-2025); MAECI · normattiva.it
- MAECI – Citizenship; Città di Torino – Riconoscimento jure sanguinis · comune.torino.it
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.