How long does the Italian citizenship process take?

The timeline of your application depends on a few factors, but will generally take a few years from start to finish. We encourage you to reach out for a free consultation to know more and start the process early.

By descent - consular path

If you choose the consular path, you should account for 2-4 years between the time you reach out to us and the time you obtain Italian citizenship.

Italian consulates in the United States use an online booking system called Premot@mi, which you will need to use in order to book an appointment and apply for citizenship by descent. Most consulates currently have a wait time between 6 months and 2 years to get an appointment, and you can only apply via the consulate having jurisdiction for where you live. Once your application is submitted, it needs to be processed by the consulate within 24 months.

Gathering and preparing all the documents required usually takes a few months, depending on the individual circumstances. Starting that process while waiting for your consular appointment is a great way to be efficient and save time.

By descent - other paths

If you can prove that it’s virtually impossible to book an appointment with the consulate having jurisdiction over your case, you can petition for citizenship to an Italian court under the denial of justice principle. That will generally shorten the timeframe required to acquire citizenship, but will also come with the added cost of legal representation in Italy and slightly more stringent document requirements for the courts. You don’t have to be physically present in Italy to pursue that path. Note that this path is also required if your citizenship chain includes women whose next-in-line was born before 1948.

Lastly, another path available is to apply via a Town Hall in Italy. This option is only feasible if you are planning to move your residency to Italy and live there. It provides the shortest processing time, but also a number of residency, tax and other implications. A number of online entities advertise this option quite liberally, and you should be careful and skeptical about them.

At Burgundy Passport, we will help you make the best decision for yourself and guide you every step of the way, regardless of the path.

Through marriage

Many of the documents required for the citizenship application through marriage are considered valid by Italian authorities only within 6 months of issuance. That means that the Italian consulate responsible for your application will have to schedule an appointment within that time window in order to accept your application. It also means that once you start collecting documents, you need to move quickly!

Once the application is submitted at the consulate, your application will take up to 24 months to process.