Adoption adulti — 7-year residence (Art 9 c.1 lit.b)

IT-NAT-05 is the wholly exceptional, discretionary pathway to Italian citizenship under Article 9, comma 2 of Legge 5 febbraio 1992, n. 91. Citizenship may be granted to a foreigner who has rendered eminent services to Italy ("abbia reso eminenti servizi all'Italia") or where an exceptional state interest arises ("quando ricorra un eccezionale interesse dello Stato"). The two limbs are distinct: the first rewards distinguished, publicly recognised contributions — in fields such as sport, culture, academic or scientific achievement, diplomacy, or civil bravery — while the second is broader still, allowing a grant purely because Italian political, strategic, cultural, or economic interests make it expedient, with no predicate service to Italy required.

Unlike every Art 9 c.1 pathway, this route imposes no residence period, no B1 language certification, no income threshold, and no Art 6 criminal-record gate as preconditions, and carries no renunciation requirement. The grant is purely political-discretionary at the apex of the executive.

The procedure is not initiated by the applicant. It is triggered by a nomination from a credible external body — for example CONI or a sports federation in athletic cases, or a university or learned society in academic cases. The Minister of the Interior, acting jointly with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, brings the proposal forward; the full Consiglio dei Ministri (Cabinet) must deliberate by formal vote; the Consiglio di Stato is then consulted on formal-legal aspects; and finally the President of the Republic signs the decree (DPR) granting citizenship. This is a markedly higher procedural burden than Art 9 c.1, which requires only a DPR after consulting the Consiglio di Stato, without the Cabinet vote. The new citizen takes the oath of fidelity (juramento di fedeltà) within six months of notification under Art 10.

The pathway is non-justiciable on the merits: the Consiglio di Stato (Sezione III, sentenza n. 8364/2023) confirmed that whether eminent services were rendered or an exceptional state interest exists is a political-discretionary judgment that administrative courts cannot review. Judicial review extends only to formal procedural compliance and whether the matter falls within the scope of Art 9 c.2 at all; there is no appeal on substantive merits. Dual nationality is permitted. The route remains in active use, granted approximately several times per year for genuinely exceptional cases.

• Art 9 c.1 lit.f Legge 91/1992 establishes the default 10-year legal-residence requirement for naturalisation of third-country nationals (stranieri extra-UE); the applicant must hold continuous residence (permesso di soggiorno + residenza anagrafica) for 10 years prior to application, and apply via the SicitWeb portal managed by DLCI.

• Art 9 c.1 lit.d Legge 91/1992 reduces the naturalisation residence requirement to 4 years for citizens of other EU Member States; this pathway operationalises Italy's transposition of Directive 2004/38/EC via Dlgs 30/2007.

• Art 9 c.1 lit.e Legge 91/1992 reduces the naturalisation residence requirement to 5 years for stateless persons and recognised refugees; this pathway operationalises Italy's duties under the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (Italy ratified 1962-12-03).

• Formal nomination by a credible, relevant public body. The proposal must come from an external institution or recognised public figure — for example CONI or the competent national sports federation in sports-merit cases, or a university, academy, or learned society in academic and cultural cases. Operational guidance describes the trigger as "una proposta avanzata da enti, personalità pubbliche, associazioni ecc. che comprovino una diffusa valutazione circa la sussistenza dei requisiti previsti dalla legge in capo all'eventuale destinatario." A request directed to the Ministero dell'Interno without credible institutional backing has near-zero practical prospect.
• Substantive evidence of the eminent service or state interest. The nomination should be supported by publicly evidenced documentation of the distinguished, recognised contribution relied upon — for instance, records of international sporting achievement and competition-eligibility relevance, or evidence of exceptional and internationally recognised academic, cultural, scientific, diplomatic, or civic contribution to Italy. The assessment is inherently qualitative, so the documentation must demonstrate a widely shared recognition of the merits claimed.

Identity and civil-status records

• Valid identity / travel documentation for the prospective recipient.
• Civil-status records (such as a birth certificate) as needed to identify the individual and, where relevant, to establish any historical connection to Italy (for example Italian family origin) that supports the merit claim. Foreign public documents should be legalised by apostille under the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 (the Convenzione dell'Aja del 5 ottobre 1961), to which Italy is a party.

After the grant

Once the Council of Ministers has deliberated, the Council of State has been consulted, and the President of the Republic has signed the decree, the recipient is notified through the standard notification framework. The oath of allegiance (giuramento di fedeltà) is then taken within six months of notification under Art 10 of Legge 91/1992, unless the decree itself exempts the oath.

Note on fees and language: It is unsettled whether the €250 contributo and the B1 language requirement that apply to Art 9 c.1 applications also apply to Art 9 c.2 grants; the statutory structure suggests they attach to c.1 applications, and operational practice appears not to impose them on c.2 grants. A B1 certificate should not be submitted as a prerequisite without first confirming current DLCI (Direzione Centrale per i Diritti Civili, la Cittadinanza e le Minoranze) practice.

• Legge 132/2018 Art 14 amended Art 9-bis Legge 91/1992 raising the contributo for Art 9 naturalisation and Art 5 marriage applications from €200 to €250 — the €250 threshold remains operative as of 2026-04-23.

• Legge 132/2018 Art 14 also inserted Art 9-ter into Legge 91/1992, establishing 48-month maximum processing time for Art 9 naturalisation applications; subsequent Legge 50/2023 (Cutro conversion) adjusted this framework to 24 months standard + 12 months proroga = 36 months structured with operational efficiency measures.

• Art 10 Legge 91/1992 requires the applicant to swear a juramento di fedeltà (oath of fidelity to the Constitution + Republic) before an Italian officer within 6 months of decree notification; failure to take the oath renders the decree ineffective — this is a mandatory closing step for all Art 9 + Art 5 acquisitions.

1. External proposal / nomination — The procedure begins when a credible public institution or recognised body (for example, CONI or a sports federation in sports cases; a university, academy, or learned society in academic cases) submits a nomination to the Minister of the Interior. There is no applicant-side filing window; the timeline starts only once a substantive, publicly-evidenced nomination is lodged.

2. Ministry of the Interior review — The Ministro dell'Interno reviews the nomination and decides whether to co-propose the grant jointly with the Ministro degli Affari Esteri.

3. Council of Ministers (Consiglio dei Ministri) deliberation — The full Cabinet must vote to deliberate on the grant. This collective executive act is recorded in a numbered Comunicato del Consiglio dei Ministri, published on governo.it.

4. Council of State (Consiglio di Stato) consultation — After Cabinet deliberation, the Consiglio di Stato is formally consulted on the formal-legal aspects of the grant (its review does not extend to the merits).

5. Presidential Decree (DPR) — The President of the Republic signs the Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica granting citizenship.

6. Notification and oath — The grant is notified through the standard framework (PagoPA Piattaforma Notifiche Digitali, in use from 1 February 2024). The recipient must take the oath of allegiance (giuramento di fedeltà) within 6 months of notification under Art 10 Legge 91/1992, unless the DPR itself exempts the oath.

Expected frequency and overall duration

This pathway is used on the order of several times per year for genuinely exceptional cases, rather than as a continuously processed application stream. Recent recorded grants illustrate the cadence at the Cabinet stage: CdM n. 174 del 14/05/2026 and CdM n. 175 del 22/05/2026 were deliberated roughly a week apart in May 2026. Because each grant turns on the timing of the nominating body, the Cabinet's agenda, and presidential signature, no reliable end-to-end processing-time estimate can be given; applicants and nominators should treat the timeline as indefinite and outcome-dependent rather than fixed.

• Ministero dell'Interno — DLCI (Dipartimento per le Libertà Civili e l'Immigrazione), through its Direzione Centrale per i Diritti Civili, la Cittadinanza e le Minoranze, is the central administrative authority responsible for the citizenship file. It reviews the nomination and determines whether to advance the proposal jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Prefetture (Prefettura della Provincia / UTG) act as the territorial authorities, handling intake and, where applicable, the integration interview (colloquio di integrazione).
• Consolati italiani serve the diaspora for applicants resident abroad.
• Comune di residenza — Sezione Stato Civile registers the grant and administers the oath of allegiance (giuramento) under Art 10 of Legge 91/1992.

The online portal for citizenship matters is the Ministry of the Interior's cittadinanza.dlci.interno.gov.it (Sportello Telematico). Operational guidance is issued by the DLCI Direzione Centrale through its circolari.

Decision-making chain (Art 9 c.2)

Unlike ordinary Art 9 c.1 grants, the special-merit pathway requires a collective executive decision before the presidential decree is signed:

1. External proposal / nomination — the procedure is not initiated by the applicant. It is triggered by a credible nominating body (e.g., CONI and the relevant sports federation in athletic cases, or a university, academy, or learned society in academic cases) addressed to the Minister of the Interior.
2. Ministero dell'Interno review — the Minister of the Interior assesses the nomination and decides whether to co-propose the grant with the Minister of Foreign Affairs (di concerto con il Ministro degli Affari Esteri).
3. Consiglio dei Ministri (Council of Ministers / Cabinet) — the full Cabinet must deliberate and vote on the grant. These deliberations are recorded in the numbered Comunicati del Consiglio dei Ministri published on governo.it.
4. Consiglio di Stato — after the Cabinet deliberation, the Council of State is formally consulted on the formal-legal aspects of the grant.
5. Presidente della Repubblica — the President of the Republic signs the Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica (DPR) granting citizenship.
6. Notification and registration — the decree is notified to the recipient, and the oath of allegiance (giuramento di fedeltà) is administered within six months of notification by the Comune di residenza, Sezione Stato Civile, under Art 10 Legge 91/1992.

Jurisdiction and review

Judicial review of an Art 9 c.2 grant is limited to formal procedural compliance; the substantive assessment of whether eminent services were rendered or whether an exceptional state interest exists is a political-discretionary judgment that administrative courts do not review on the merits (Consiglio di Stato, Sezione III, sentenza n. 8364/2023). For civil-law disputes concerning foreigners resident abroad, the general forum is the Tribunale Ordinario di Roma. The apex of administrative jurisdiction on citizenship matters rests with the Consiglio di Stato.

The Consiglio di Stato, Sezione III, in sentenza n. 8364/2023, confirmed that whether a foreigner has rendered "eminenti servizi all'Italia" or whether an "eccezionale interesse dello Stato" exists is a political-discretionary judgment that administrative courts cannot review on the merits. There is no appeal path on the substantive merits of a denial of, or inaction on, an Art 9 c.2 request. No applicant has a legal entitlement to this grant, and the Cabinet's assessment cannot be compelled, mandated, or overturned on substantive grounds.

Limited formal/procedural review

Judicial review is confined to formal procedural compliance. Administrative courts may examine only:

• whether the correct procedural sequence was followed (in particular, that the Consiglio di Stato was consulted and that the Consiglio dei Ministri deliberation preceded the DPR);
• whether the subject matter falls within the scope of Art 9 c.2 at all; and
• formal defects in the DPR itself.

Practical implications

Because the pathway is not initiated by the applicant but by an external nomination from a credible public institution, and because the decision sits at the apex of executive discretion, there is no realistic litigation route to challenge the substance of an unfavourable outcome. The practical recourse is to ensure that a relevant and credible nominating body submits substantive, publicly evidenced documentation, rather than to seek judicial reversal of a Cabinet decision.