In short. You can renounce Italian citizenship if you live (or are about to live) abroad and already hold another citizenship, by a formal declaration normally made at the Italian consulate, with a €250 contribution plus a consular fee. Italian citizenship is lost by law in only a few cases, and acquiring another citizenship on or after 16 August 1992 does not normally cost you the Italian one. Revocation is different: it concerns people who acquired citizenship and have a final conviction for specific terrorism offences.
You may be wondering whether an expired passport, years abroad or a second nationality can cost you Italian citizenship. As a rule they cannot: the law lists only a few cases. This guide explains how renunciation, loss and revocation differ, the procedure, the costs and what changes afterwards.
Reviewed 1 November 2026. This guide describes the general rules; it is not personalised advice and does not cover the other country’s rules. Practice varies from one consulate to another.
What is the difference between renunciation, loss, revocation and non-acquisition?
They are four different situations. For every way of acquiring and losing Italian citizenship, see the page on the types of Italian citizenship.
| Situation | How it works | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Renunciation | A voluntary choice: a formal declaration, and you must hold another citizenship | Art. 11; art. 14; art. 3(4); art. 4(1-ter) |
| Loss by law | Happens without any declaration from you, only in the listed cases | Art. 12; art. 3(3) |
| Revocation | Decree of the President of the Republic after a final conviction for terrorism, for people who acquired citizenship | Art. 10-bis |
| Non-acquisition | Not a loss: a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship, with exceptions | Art. 3-bis |
For the Constitutional Court (judgment 63/2026), art. 3-bis is an original bar to acquisition, different from revocation and loss. Descent rules are in the guide on Italian citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis).
Who can renounce Italian citizenship, and who cannot?
Under art. 11 of Law 91/1992, someone who holds, acquires or reacquires a foreign citizenship keeps the Italian one but may renounce it if they live, or move their residence, abroad. Both conditions must be met: you already hold another citizenship (consulates ask for proof, for example a passport) and you live, or are moving, outside Italy.
Art. 11 sets no age, but the consulate pages of Lugano, Cologne and Berlin reserve this renunciation to adults. The law also provides for rarer cases:
- art. 14: someone who became Italian as a minor because they lived with a parent who acquired or reacquired citizenship may renounce as an adult if they hold another citizenship (Lugano and Cologne: no time limit);
- art. 4(1-ter): the same applies to people who became Italian through the declaration in art. 4(1-bis), introduced in 2025;
- art. 3(4): an adult adoptee whose adoption is revoked for a reason attributable to the adopter, and who holds or reacquires another citizenship, may renounce within one year of the revocation.
When is Italian citizenship lost without renouncing it?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls these cases automatic loss, because no declaration from you is needed:
- art. 12(1): you accepted a job or public office with a foreign state, a foreign public body or an international organisation that Italy does not belong to, or performed military service for a foreign state, and you do not leave the post within the period set after the Italian Government’s formal notice (intimazione);
- art. 12(2): during a war with a foreign state you accept or keep a job or public office with it, perform military service for it (without being obliged to) or voluntarily acquire its citizenship; the loss takes effect when the state of war ends;
- art. 3(3): the adoption that gave you citizenship is revoked for a reason attributable to you, and you hold or reacquire another citizenship.
An expired passport, failure to register with AIRE (the register of Italians resident abroad) and a long stay abroad are not on the list. Since 16 August 1992, acquiring another citizenship does not, as a rule, cost you the Italian one either (art. 11), subject to international agreements: see the guide on dual citizenship in Italy. Earlier rules differed (the Paris consulate explains that Law 555/1912 made the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship a cause of loss; according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs circular no. 9/2001, the loss also required a move of residence abroad), so if your case stems from an earlier acquisition, ask a professional.
How do you renounce Italian citizenship: where, with which documents and at what cost?
If you live abroad, you make the declaration at the competent consulate. The consulate of Barcelona and the vice-consulate of Arona (Tenerife) add that, if you live in Italy, it is made before the ufficiale di stato civile (civil registrar) of your municipality. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs page does not describe that case, so ask the municipality or the consulate first. In outline:
- Check the requirements: another citizenship, residence abroad and, according to the consulates, adult age.
- Gather the documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists the birth certificate from the Italian municipality where the birth is registered or transcribed, the certificate of Italian citizenship, proof of the foreign citizenship and, if required, proof of residence abroad. Consulates add items: Italian identity documents, translated and apostilled foreign documents (London, Edinburgh; see the guide on apostille and legalisation) or two witnesses who understand Italian (Sydney, Arona).
- Pay the contribution. Art. 9-bis(2) sets €250 for declarations of renunciation, paid by bank transfer to the Ministry of the Interior (Berlin and Edinburgh: not payable at the consulate). Consulates ask to see the receipt at the appointment.
- Book an appointment and sign. Cologne, Berlin and Sydney, for example, require you to attend in person by appointment, usually requested by email. A consular fee is also due for the deed: €50 in the consular fee table updated from 1 January 2025 (art. 4(b)), paid in ways that depend on the consulate.
None of the pages consulted says how long the procedure takes or when the renunciation takes effect: ask the consulate before you sign. Art. 15, which sets the effect from the following day, covers only acquisition and reacquisition.
What is revocation of citizenship and when can it be ordered?
Revocation is not your choice: the State orders it by decree of the President of the Republic on a proposal from the Minister of the Interior (art. 10-bis). It concerns citizenship acquired by marriage (art. 5), by grant (art. 9) or by the declaration of a foreigner born in Italy (art. 4(2)), after a final conviction for the terrorism and subversion offences listed in the provision (arts. 270-ter and 270-quinquies.2 of the Criminal Code; art. 407(2)(a)(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The provision refers only to citizenship acquired under those articles, not to citizenship by birth.
Under art. 9 of Decree-Law 48/2025, in force since 12 April 2025 and converted without amendments by Law 80/2025, the decree may be adopted within ten years of the judgment becoming final (passaggio in giudicato), and only if the person holds, or can acquire, another citizenship. The limit used to be three years, which some outdated consolidated texts still show: the decree-law prevails.
In mid-October 2026, Bill A.C. 2124-A was before the Chamber of Deputies. According to the Chamber’s dossier of 16 October 2026, the committee text would widen the list of offences leading to revocation and add a way to reacquire citizenship after revocation. It is not law and may change. If you receive a revocation decree, speak to a lawyer straight away.
What happens to minor children?
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a minor does not lose Italian citizenship if one or both parents lose it or reacquire a foreign citizenship. A minor cannot use the art. 11 renunciation (Lugano, Cologne, Berlin). Someone who became Italian as a minor together with a parent can renounce as an adult (art. 14) if they hold another citizenship. For acquisition, see the guide on Italian citizenship for minor children.
What changes after renunciation or loss?
- AIRE and documents. Loss of citizenship is one of the grounds for cancelling AIRE registration. Some consulates withdraw Italian passports and identity cards or ask for them back (Berlin, Washington).
- Union citizenship. Anyone holding the nationality of an EU Member State is also an EU citizen. If Italian is your only EU nationality, you lose Union citizenship with it; you keep it if you hold another Member State’s nationality.
- Entering Italy. Without another EU nationality the rules for non-EU nationals apply: for up to 90 days in any 180, whether you need a visa depends on your nationality (Regulation (EU) 2018/1806); longer stays need a national long-stay visa (type D). See the guides on the entry visa and the residence permit.
- Taxes. Citizenship is not among the tax-residence criteria of art. 2(2) of the Income Tax Code (TUIR, as replaced by Legislative Decree 209/2023), which looks at residence, domicile or presence in Italy for most of the tax period; for the tax effects of a move or renunciation, ask a tax adviser.
Can you reacquire Italian citizenship?
In many cases, yes. Art. 13 provides five situations in which someone who has lost citizenship can reacquire it, including a declaration followed by residence in Italy within one year. Reacquisition is excluded if you lost citizenship through an adoption revoked by your own fault (art. 3(3)) or in the war cases (art. 12(2)). In some cases the Minister of the Interior can block it within one year for serious and proven reasons, so the outcome is not a given. The special window in art. 17 (declarations from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2027) does not apply to people who renounced from 16 August 1992. For procedure and documents, see the guide on reclaiming Italian citizenship.
Frequently asked questions
Can I renounce Italian citizenship if I live in Italy?
As a rule, no. Art. 11 allows renunciation for people who live, or establish residence, abroad and hold another citizenship. If you are moving your residence out of Italy, ask the consulate or your municipality where and how to submit the declaration.
Does acquiring another citizenship make me lose Italian citizenship?
Since 16 August 1992, as a rule, no: art. 11 lets people who hold, acquire or reacquire a foreign citizenship keep the Italian one, subject to international agreements. Earlier acquisitions followed different rules, and the other country’s law also matters.
If I renounce, do my minor children lose Italian citizenship?
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no: a minor does not lose Italian citizenship if one or both parents lose it. Someone who obtained it as a minor together with a parent can renounce as an adult, if they hold another citizenship (art. 14), with no time limit stated.
Can I get Italian citizenship back after renouncing it?
Art. 13 provides for reacquisition by people who have lost citizenship, usually through a declaration and residence in Italy, but in some cases the Minister of the Interior can block it for serious and proven reasons. The outcome is not guaranteed. No official page consulted says whether a renunciation can be withdrawn.
Official sources
- Citizenship: loss, renunciation and reacquisition – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Law 91/1992, text of 24 May 2025 (art. 10-bis outdated) – Consulate General in Cologne (Italian text)
- Decree-Law 48/2025, art. 9 (Official Gazette no. 85) – Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italian text)
- Office II, Citizenship (revocation) – Ministry of the Interior (Italian text)
- Renunciation of Italian citizenship – Consulate General in Cologne (Italian text)
- Judgment no. 63/2026 on art. 3-bis – Constitutional Court (Italian text)
- Judgment in Tjebbes (C-221/17) on loss of nationality and Union citizenship – Court of Justice of the European Union
- Acquisition and revocation of citizenship (A.C. 2124-A), dossier – Chamber of Deputies (Italian text)
The sources were consulted on 1 November 2026. Consolidated texts and consulate pages may be older than the law, and procedures vary between consulates: always check the latest instructions of the competent office.
How can SH Immigration Specialists help?
We can help you check whether you meet the requirements for renunciation or reacquisition, prepare your documents and work out which office to contact. Legal advice, appeals and representation are handled by the lawyers of SH Immigration Specialists. The outcome depends on the competent authorities. For an assessment, contact us.
This content provides general information and does not constitute legal advice.
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