Applications under article 9 of the Italian citizenship law of 1992 require proof of “legal residence”. The period must be uninterrupted, and can vary from three years in the case of a person who has a parent or grand-parent who was born Italian, to a maximum period of 10 years which needs to be proved by a non-EU national.
In law n. 572/1993, which gives guidance on the new citizenship law, legal residence was defined as:
“a person shall be consisdered to be legally resident in Italy if they have satisfied the conditions and the procedures required by regulations in relation to entry and stay of -non-Italians and of those relating to registration at the Anagrafe.”
Caselaw developed in the administrative courts, the TAR and Consiglio di Stato have repeatedly underlined that legal residence can only be proved by providing a certificate of registration as a resident at the Anagrafe.
This does not quite tally with actual practice. Many non-Italians who have lived and worked in Italy, Rome in particular, whether as Embassy staff on “mission” from their home country or for international organisations such as IFAD, FAO and WFP may also be considered lawful residents of Italy and may apply for Italian citizenship.
Instead of a certificate of residence, on arrival in Italy they are provided with an ID card issued by the Ministero degli Affari Esteri. The MAE Card exempts holders from the requirement of having to register their residence with the local authorities (Registrazione della Residenza Anagrafica with the Comune). The MAE Card can be used in all dealings and transactions where the residence registration is required, including an application for Italian citizenship.
In the online application for Italian citizenship, it is recommended by the Home Office to attach in the space designated for a “generic document”, documentation which shows the period of lawful residence, where the person could not register at the Anagrafe because of being a UN staff member for example. Although the system is not helpful in that it allows one document to be uploaded, information which would be useful for a claim are:
- information relating to income which is exempt from having to be declared in Italy (FAO IFAD, Embassy salaries)
- confirmation of dates spent as employee of international organisations in Italy
- copy of MAE card
