How long does it take to get Italian citizenship? Like any other country, years.
The shortest path is usually through family: a parent, child, or spouse. Perhaps a grandparent, but Italy changed the laws in 2025 to block citizenship via great-grandparents. You can no longer get citizenship through bisnonno or bisnonna.
Law No. 74 of May 23, 2025
This limited citizenship by descent to two generations: parent or grandparent born in Italy. Great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents are no longer considered, with the rules entering into force on March 29, 2025. If you filed before March 27, 2025, your application is considered based on the previous laws.
Also important to note that your ancestor must have exclusively held Italian citizenship at the time of death. If grandpa set sail for America, moved happily to Brooklyn, and became an American citizen, you might not qualify. You also might not qualify if your Italian ancestor renounced their Italian citizenship.
You married an Italian citizen.
As of writing this in July 2026, citizenship by marriage requirements require passing a B1 Italian language exam, and you must be married to an Italian citizen for at least:
- 2 years living in Italy, no children. This was my path.
- 1 year living in Italy, with children.
- 3 years abroad, no children.
- 1.5 years abroad, with children.
That means you qualify, and you can start applying, which can still take years.
And a heads-up: there’s a pending draft law (DDL S. 1450/2025) currently in the Italian Senate that would eliminate the abroad pathway entirely, requiring all marriage citizenship applicants to be legally resident in Italy. As of May 2026 it hasn’t passed, but this might be on the horizon.
But you found a way to qualify. Congrats! Even that can take up to four years.
Once Italy officially accepts your citizenship application, they have up to two years to process it. That’s just the size of the pile your application will be on. But before they’ll even accept it, you need every document in perfect order. That preparation phase alone can take months or years, especially if you are tracking down previous names, Italian birth certificates, or getting criminal background checks for yourself and your family from every country you’ve ever lived in.
It took me six months and multiple rejections just to get my paperwork accepted. Some rejections were for reasons that made no sense to me. But Italian bureaucracy loves precision, and you must dance to their music. And my paperwork was simple! Just me. No parents, children, or anybody else applying for citizenship with me.
It sounds like some expensive lawyers might be able to move things a little quicker, but the system is often a black box without guarantees. I had no notifications, updates, or contact of any type between when they accepted my paperwork in July 2025 and when I was granted the citizenship in June 2026. My friends expecting Italian citizenship in 2026 or 2027 filed in 2025.
I knew an American who was suing to get his Italian citizenship faster.
Tell me you’re not Italian without telling me you’re not Italian. If you qualify, you will get your citizenship. It might just take years. Suing the Italian government is not going to move your file to the top of the pile.
If you’re applying for Italian citizenship, go in with patience, get your documents right the first time, and find someone who knows the process. That’s one of many things we help people with.
The first call is always free. Ci vediamo!