How much does Italian dual citizenship cost?
Four flat-rate packages, every cost listed before you sign, and no surprise fees along the way. This is what legal assistance for an Italian citizenship iure sanguinis application costs at our firm — and what it does not include.
Estimate your fee
One flat fee. You choose how much we do.
The packages differ in how much of the work we take off your hands — from reviewing what you have already collected, to handling every document, translation and apostille ourselves.
For families ready to order their own records from our checklist, who need a lawyer to review them, file the court petition and represent them at first instance.
- Setting up the application process
- A tailored checklist of every record you need to order
- Review of all the records you collect — in Italy, the US and anywhere else needed
- Remote guidance on your US records
- Checking for “no-impediment” factors that could affect your case
- Court petition prepared and filed (first instance)
- Attendance at every first-instance hearing, including hearings held in writing
For families who want the same court-based service as Silver, with an Italian citizenship attorney following their case personally from start to finish.
- Everything in Silver
- An Italian citizenship attorney exclusively assigned to you, from start to finish
- Remote guidance on legalising US records (apostille)
- Preparation of the primary application forms
- Check of Italian-side civil records to prevent slow-downs
- Remote guidance on AIRE registration and the Italian passport application (obtaining your certified records from the Comune beforehand is not included)
For families who started on their own and want us to take over translations, research and the full preparation of their file.
- Everything in Gold
- Complete Italian translations of all documents, certified by licensed translators
- Genealogical research in Italy, where necessary
- All documents prepared before the court petition
- Remote guidance on AIRE registration and passport applications for all co-applicants
We do everything. You ask, we do it — including collecting and apostilling every US record, and every step after the decision.
- Everything in Platinum
- Your case handled personally by Marco Bersani
- Collecting all US documents needed (US residents only)
- Apostilles for every US document
- Legalisation of all translations
- All post-decision steps: certificate of finality, registration of the decision, transcription by the Comune and your certified Italian records
- All our costs and expenses included — genealogists, translators, couriers
Want your application filed as soon as possible? Add our High Priority service to any package and your case moves to the front of our queue, from document review to filing.
Ask about fast-trackWhat each package includes
Scroll sideways on a phone. Every line is either in or out. Only two things are quoted for your case: the Enterprise fee, and the post-decision service for Silver, Gold and Platinum.
| Service | Silver | Gold | Platinum | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee & family | ||||
| Professional fee, flat rate | €12,900 | €13,900 | €15,900 | €20,900–25,900 |
| Applicants included | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Each additional applicant | €1,000 | |||
| Attorney exclusively assigned to your case | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ Marco Bersani |
| Case building | ||||
| Setting up the application process | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tailored checklist of the records to order | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full assistance in preparing all documents | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Checking of records in Italy, the US and elsewhere | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Checking “no-impediment” factors | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Check of Italian-side civil records | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Preparation of primary application forms | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Genealogical research in Italy | — | — | ✓ where necessary | ✓ |
| US records | ||||
| Remote guidance on US records | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote guidance on apostille / legalisation | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Collecting all US documents for you | — | — | — | ✓ US residents |
| Obtaining apostilles for all US documents | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Amending US records where a US attorney is required | — | — | — | — |
| Translations | ||||
| Complete Italian translations of all documents | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Certification by registered, licensed translators | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Legalisation of all translations | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Court & after | ||||
| Court petition prepared and filed; every first-instance hearing attended | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Appeals, Corte di Cassazione and any further proceedings | Never included — separate engagement | |||
| Court filing fee (contributo unificato) | Paid to the court, never included | |||
| Post-decision steps (certificate of finality, registration of the decision, Comune transcription, certified Italian records) | Separate service | Separate service | Separate service | ✓ |
| AIRE registration | — | Remote guidance | Remote guidance, all co-applicants | ✓ all co-applicants |
| Italian passport application | — | Remote guidance | Remote guidance, all co-applicants | ✓ all co-applicants |
| Our costs and expenses (genealogists, translators, couriers) | — | — | — | ✓ included |
Taxes and extras, explained plainly
Italian legal invoices carry two mandatory additions that are easy to mistake for sales tax. Here is exactly what they are, and what else can sit outside the flat fee.
Lawyers’ pension fund
Every Italian attorney must add the Cassa Forense contribution to each invoice. It is set by law, not by us.
General expenses
A flat-rate reimbursement of office expenses provided for by the Italian legal fee rules. It replaces itemised charges for postage, copies and the like.
VAT for clients outside the EU
Legal services to private clients resident outside the European Union are outside the scope of Italian VAT. US, Canadian, Australian and UK clients pay none.
Example: Platinum at €15,900 becomes €18,921 all-in on our invoice. Clients resident in the EU are charged VAT in addition — ask us before you choose a package.
What the court adds — and who ends up paying
Since consulates stopped giving appointments, most applications we file go through an Italian court. That adds one cost we never include: the court filing fee, contributo unificato, paid directly to the court and varying with the claim.
Every package covers the first-instance proceedings. Appeals, proceedings before the Corte di Cassazione and any other related or subsequent proceedings are never included and require a separate engagement.
Can the Ministry be ordered to reimburse your legal fees when you win? Sometimes — but rarely. We read sixty-five recent decisions to find out exactly how rarely, and what separated the cases where it happened. Read the analysis →
Recent citizenship judgments in which the court ordered the Ministry to pay the successful applicant’s costs. In the others, each side bore its own — which is why we ask you to budget as though costs will not be recovered.
The full cost picture: consular fees, certificates, apostilles
Our packages are the legal-assistance part of the budget. An Italian dual citizenship application also carries costs that go to other people — consulates, vital records offices, translators — and an honest cost page has to name them, even where we cannot honestly put a number on them.
The Italian consulate’s application fee
If your file is examined by an Italian consulate rather than by a court, the consular application fee is €600 per adult applicant, paid at the consulate appointment and non-refundable whatever the outcome. It is charged for the examination, not the result — recognition only declares that you have been an Italian citizen since birth. Which office is yours, and what each one requires, is on our Italian consulates in the USA page.
US vital records and naturalization documents
The file needs certified copies of the birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates for every person in the line, from the vital records office of each state involved, plus the ancestor’s naturalization documents — from USCIS or, for the oldest files, the National Archives. Each state sets its own certificate and apostille fees, which is why we do not publish a single figure: it would be invented.
Italian documents and certified translations
From Italy, the estratto dell’atto di nascita and marriage record of your ancestor, issued by the Italian municipality of birth. Every foreign document is then translated into Italian by a certified translator. From Platinum upward the translations sit inside the flat fee; below that, they are a per-document cost you arrange with our guidance.
How many generations back you can claim is what drives the third-party costs, because every extra generation is another set of certificates, apostilles and translations. Since the 2025 reform the starting rule is a parent or grandparent, with five exceptions written into article 3-bis — all of them set out on our Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) page.
On processing times we publish nothing, because no consulate does: the figures written in the law are a thirty-six-month term to decide a consular application, and no calendar at all for the courts. What is certain is that the fees above are charged whether the answer is yes or no — which is why the free eligibility check comes before anything is paid to anyone.
Before you choose a package
What does “up to 5 applicants” mean?
One flat fee covers a family group of up to five people claiming through the same Italian ancestor — for example, you, your two siblings and two of your children — filed together as a single case. Silver covers four. From the sixth applicant onward we add €1,000 per person, and nothing else changes.
Are your fees high?
They are law-firm fees, and they are flat. When you hire a citizenship “company” that is not a law firm, it refers your case to an outside firm and you pay both — often without being told. Our fee is the whole fee, we list what it covers and what it does not before you sign, and the person handling your case is a licensed Italian attorney who does only this work.
Are translations included in the Gold package?
No. Certified Italian translations of all your documents start with Platinum. Gold is designed for families who already have translations or prefer to arrange them separately; we will tell you exactly what needs translating and to what standard.
Which services are not included, and why?
Four things sit outside every package. Court filing fees and the registration tax on the decision, which are paid to the State; the 4% and 15% additions, which are set by Italian law; US-side work that requires a US attorney, such as amending a New York State record; and appeals, proceedings before the Corte di Cassazione or any other related or subsequent proceedings, which require a separate engagement because whether they are needed depends on the first-instance outcome. Below Enterprise, collecting and apostilling US documents is also yours to do, with our guidance, and the post-decision steps are not included: you can handle them yourself or add them as a separate service.
When is Silver the right choice?
When you are comfortable ordering your own records — we give you a tailored checklist of everything you need — and you want an Italian lawyer to review them, prepare and file the court petition, and represent you at every first-instance hearing. Like every package, Silver does not include appeals, proceedings before the Corte di Cassazione or any other related or subsequent court proceedings. The steps that follow the decision are not included either: you can handle them yourself, or add them as a separate service (see “What happens after the court decision?”). If you would rather have an attorney follow your file personally from start to finish, choose Gold.
What happens after the court decision?
Once the court has ruled in your favour, a few administrative steps remain:
- requesting and obtaining the certificate of finality (passaggio in giudicato / certificate of non-appeal);
- paying the registration tax on the decision to the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate), and following up with the agency in case of delays;
- sending the complete file to the Comune;
- following the transcription and registration of your vital records by the Comune, and dealing with the Comune office;
- obtaining from the Comune the certified records (such as your Italian birth certificates) needed to register with your Consulate and apply for your Italian passport, and having them sent to you.
These steps do not require a lawyer. In Silver, Gold and Platinum they are not included: you can handle them yourself, or ask us to take them on as a separate service, quoted for your case. In Enterprise they are included. In every package, the registration tax itself is a government charge paid by you.
How much tax is added to the total?
19% on top of the flat fee: 4% for the lawyers’ pension fund and 15% flat-rate general expenses, both mandatory on Italian legal invoices. No VAT is charged to clients resident outside the EU. Platinum at €15,900 therefore comes to €18,921 on our invoice.
When is Enterprise recommended?
When you want to hand over the entire process — records, apostilles, translations, legalisation, filing, first-instance hearings, the post-decision steps with the Revenue Agency and the Comune, passports — and have a single point of contact throughout. It is quoted for your specific family because the volume of US records varies, and the quote includes all of our own costs and expenses. Appeals, if ever needed, are a separate engagement.
What if we are more than 4 or 5 applicants?
Each additional applicant beyond the package limit is €1,000 plus taxes. There is no cap on family size and no second flat fee.
Three things you should expect from anyone quoting you a price
Every cost, listed first
As lawyers, our work is governed by honesty and integrity. So from the beginning we list every cost you will face — ours and everyone else’s. Getting Italian citizenship is long, complicated and expensive, and the internet is full of promises that leave that part out.
Nothing left to you by surprise
Records to find in Italy? Our genealogists do it — and in our experience most of what families believe about their great-grandparents needs checking. Translations to certify? Our translators are licensed under Italian law. The gaps are filled by our team, not discovered by you.
Citizenship, and only citizenship
Our team is made of licensed Italian attorneys who have done Italian citizenship by descent, and nothing else, for more than ten years. We know how the rules change, how the courts are reading them this year, and which route is right for your particular line.
Find out if you qualify — before you spend anything
Send us your family line. We will tell you whether you have a claim, which route it takes after the 2025 reform, and which package fits. It is free, and it commits you to nothing.
- No cost, no obligation
- Read by an Italian lawyer
- Every message is answered
Prefer e-mail? Write to citizenship@mbersanilaw.com. Replies in English · Verona, Italy.