Citizenship by Marriage

Naturalization by marriage, or citizenship by marriage there has been a change in regulations recently. Then let's go from the beginning.

The first requirement is to be married to italian citizen or Italian citizen. It seems obvious for now BUT it's not so much so, after all the question I answer most here in the office is "...and for my spouse?"  The first thing to know is: it is I NEED TO BE Italian FIRST and then pass this right on to my spouse.

There are some details for the process. If the couple in question is resident in Brazil or any other country abroad it is necessary to wait 3 years from the date of civil marriage for at least 2 Years. In both cases, if the couple has children in common, the deadline falls to 18 Months, that is, for half.

In cases of homoaffective unions it is possible yes, getting Italian citizenship from your spouse, just like it does with heterosexual couples. After being approved by the Italian parliament on 11 may 2016 Law 76 (https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2016/05/21/16G00082/sg ) for same-sex couples, the spouse will have the same rights and can therefore live quietly in Italy or in any of the 27 countries with the visa special stay for these cases. This visa is called ‘ Permission di soggiorno per motivi familiari.

Since we speak of law: the law which the law governing the right to citizenship by marriage is Article 5 of Italian law no. 91/92. The changes on the prerequisites are of the decree 113/218, (also called Decree Salvini), Law 132 of 01/12/2018.

Before I talk about the requirements necessary, it is important to emphasize that naturalization by marriage is not a right acquired from the spouse and that the Italian authority may reject the request, in very rare cases. When? The Italian naturalization application by marriage may be refused if the spouse has been convicted in some cases specific crimes or for reasons of public security. It's necessary, therefore that the certificate of criminal record is presented in all countries in that the spouse has already lived.

Another requirement is that marriage celebrated abroad is recognized in Italy, that is, already transcribed for the city books (commune) italian origin. So, for example, if you got married in Brazil, like 99% of the cases we have, it needs to be transcription of marriage in Italy requested. This request is made through the Italian Consulate of your jurisdiction.

After this procedure it is possible get an Italian marriage certificate (from the wedding celebrated in Brazil, but transcribed no communes italian) which will serve for the process of naturalization.

So, uh, so Check List!

  1. Marriage certificate “stratto per riasunto dell’atto di matrimonio” provided by the Italian Commune (original) and recent (6 months);
  2. Full birth certificate content the spouse concerned;
  3. Certidão de antecedentes criminais da Polícia Federal com menos de 3 meses de emissão;
  4. Cópia simples (sem autenticação) do passaporte brasileiro (somente a página da fotografia);
  5. Cópia simples (sem autenticação) de documentos que atestem a residência, em nome do cônjuge postulante ou comprovante de declaração do imposto de renda do mesmo, do ano vigente (parte onde consta o endereço);
  6. Pagamento SWIFT e impressão do comprovante de envio;
  7. Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana 


A NOVIDADE NADA agradável é esse último item. Além dos requisitos mencionados, você também deve comprovar o conhecimento da língua italiana nível B1. Ou seja, a pessoa que requer a cidadania pelo casamento deverá ter o domínio intermediário da língua devidamente comprovado através de um certificado emitido por uma instituição reconhecida, em geral no Brasil aplicam-se CILS e CELI.

 

Quanto tempo demora a cidadania por casamento?


Since December 1, 2018 the deadline that the Italian authority has to complete the procedure has gone from 2 to 4 years. It is important to note that this period does not refer to the exact time. A naturalization may be granted before, although quite unusual, but if the the procedure exceeds the legal deadline it is possible to appeal to the Court Administrative. Watch the following video to better understand the process.


Finally, as you saw: the process of Italian citizenship by marriage is like the course of a river, full of curves, but navigable. Good luck!