My child was born abroad to an Italian parent. What is the deadline?

There are two windows and both are free. For a child born abroad on or before 24 May 2025 to a parent who is Italian by birth, the declaration of will must be made by 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029; for a child born after that date, the declaration must be made within three years of the birth.

If you are reading a page that says 31 May 2026, it predates the extension made by Law 26 of 28 February 2026.

The two windows

Child born abroad on or before 24 May 2025

A declaration of will by the parent, under the transitional rule, by 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029. The original deadline was 31 May 2026 and was extended by three years by Law 26 of 28 February 2026, converting the Decree-Law 200/2025 deadline-extension package.

If the child reaches eighteen inside the window, the young adult makes the declaration personally, by the same deadline.

Child born abroad after 24 May 2025

A declaration within three years of the birth. The window began as one year and was extended to three by the 2026 budget law. Failing that, the child can acquire citizenship through two continuous years of legal residence in Italy after a declaration.

What it costs

The declaration, since 1 January 2026free

The fee that used to apply, per child250 euros

Refunds for fees paid during 2025none

The €250 charge was abolished with effect from 1 January 2026. Families who paid it in 2025 were not reimbursed.

Who can use this route

The parent must be an Italian citizen by birth. A parent who became Italian by naturalisation, by marriage or by benefit of law cannot use this track for their child.
A parent recognised under the 2025 transitional conditions counts, so a parent whose own recognition came through a pre-cutoff filing, a confirmed appointment or a court case can make the declaration for a child.
The declaration is made in person before the civil-status officer, at the consulate or at an Italian comune, and is entered in the citizenship register.

A separate rule that catches people out

Article 14, for children of a parent who acquires citizenship

Where a parent acquires or reacquires Italian citizenship from 24 May 2025 onward, their minor children now acquire it only if the child has resided in Italy for at least two continuous years, or since birth if younger, and lives with the parent at the date of acquisition. Living abroad, the old automatic effect no longer follows.

That is a different provision from the declaration route above, and confusing the two is the most common mistake in this corner of the law.

What is uncertain

Whether these windows survive unchanged. In 2026 alone the rules for minors moved twice: the budget law changed the post-2025 window and the deadline-extension law moved the transitional deadline by three years. A budget law each December is the natural vehicle for further change, in either direction.

Sources, checked on 7 September 2026

Article 4 of Law 91/1992 as amended, and the transitional provision in article 1 of Decree-Law 36 of 28 March 2025 as converted by Law 74 of 23 May 2025.
Law 26 of 28 February 2026, converting Decree-Law 200 of 2025: extension of the declaration deadline from 31 May 2026 to 31 May 2029.
2026 budget law: extension of the window for children born after 24 May 2025 from one year to three years, and abolition of the €250 per child charge from 1 January 2026 with no refunds for 2025 payments.
Article 14 of Law 91/1992 as amended, on minor children of a parent who acquires or reacquires citizenship from 24 May 2025.
Consular notices restating the extended deadline, issued during 2026 by Italian posts including São Paulo, Washington, Marseille, Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi.

One next step, and we are not selling it

This route is free, short, and handled at the counter. Contact your consulate or the comune, ask for the appointment for a declaration of will for a minor, and bring the parent's proof of citizenship by birth and the child's birth record, translated and legalised as that office requires.

We publish this page because it is true, not because there is anything here for us. If your own adult line is the open question, that is a different page.

The adult eligibility question

The child's declaration needs no product, ours included.