If you're applying for Italian citizenship by marriage or by residence, you need a certificate showing Italian at B1 level or higher, such as CILS or CELI, from a recognized certifying body. If you're claiming citizenship by descent, you don't, and the 2025 reform did not add a language test for descent. This guide covers who needs the Italian B1 citizenship certificate, which exams count, what B1 means in practice and a study plan from zero. Rules are as of October 2026; confirm them with your consulate or prefecture, and treat this as a guide, not legal advice.
Who needs the Italian B1 citizenship certificate?
Applicants under article 5 (marriage or civil union with an Italian citizen) and article 9 (residence, also called naturalization) of Law 91/1992. Article 9.1, added in 2018, requires knowledge of Italian at no lower than B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference, and it applies to applications submitted from 4 December 2018 onward.
| Route | B1 certificate | Other key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage or civil union (art. 5) | Required | 2 years of marriage with legal residence in Italy, or 3 years if you live abroad; halved if you have children |
| Residence (art. 9) | Required | Years of legal residence: 10 for most non-EU citizens, 4 for EU citizens, 2 if a parent or grandparent is or was an Italian citizen by birth |
| Descent (iure sanguinis) | Not required | Eligibility narrowed in 2025 |
There are exemptions. According to Italian consular guidance, you don't need to submit a certificate if you signed the integration agreement (accordo di integrazione) under article 4-bis of the Consolidated Immigration Act, if you hold an EU long-term residence permit issued in Italy, if you hold a recognized Italian school or university qualification, or if a public medical certificate documents serious limits on your ability to learn a language because of age, illness or disability (Italian Embassy in Washington).
What changed in 2025, and does descent now need B1?
No language test was added. Decree-Law 36 of 28 March 2025, converted into Law 74 of 23 May 2025, narrowed who is automatically Italian by descent, but recognition itself still has no language requirement. What changed is who qualifies.
For people born abroad who hold another citizenship, descent now generally works only in specific cases: for example, when a parent or grandparent holds or held only Italian citizenship, or when a parent lived in Italy for two continuous years after becoming Italian and before the child was born. Applications filed by 11:59 pm Rome time on 27 March 2025 follow the old rules.
The reform is still being argued in court. The Constitutional Court upheld it in judgment 63/2026, then, in an order published in July 2026, referred a further question on EU law to the Court of Justice of the European Union and suspended those proceedings (Constitutional Court, order 147/2026).
This is where B1 returns. If the new rules close the descent route for you, naturalization may still be open. Since 2025, a foreign national whose parent or grandparent is or was an Italian citizen by birth can apply after two years of legal residence in Italy instead of three, and that application, like every naturalization, needs B1.
Which Italian B1 certificates are accepted?
Certificates from the bodies in Italy's CLIQ quality system: the University for Foreigners of Siena (CILS), the University for Foreigners of Perugia (CELI), the Società Dante Alighieri (PLIDA) and Roma Tre University (CERT.IT). Italian consulates also list the University for Foreigners of Reggio Calabria. The certificate must be at B1 level or above.
| Certifying body | Exam | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Università per Stranieri di Siena | CILS | Offers CILS B1 Cittadinanza, a version valid only for citizenship |
| Università per Stranieri di Perugia | CELI | CELI 2 is the B1 exam; the version for adult immigrants is called CELI 2 i Cittadinanza |
| Società Dante Alighieri | PLIDA | PLIDA B1 |
| Università Roma Tre | CERT.IT | B1 level |
If you choose CILS, pick the version carefully. CILS B1 Cittadinanza counts only for citizenship and has to be passed in one sitting: fail one section and you retake the whole exam. The standard CILS B1 counts for citizenship and also for work or study, and sections you pass stay valid for 18 months, so you resit only what you failed. Results for the Cittadinanza version arrive in about two months, for the standard exam in about three. In 2026, Siena scheduled six B1 Cittadinanza sessions, the last on 3 December (CILS 2026 exam dates), and each local exam center sets its own registration deadline.
What does B1 Italian actually mean?
B1 is the first "independent user" level. You understand the main points of clear speech on familiar topics, cope with most everyday situations, write simple connected text and give brief reasons for your opinions and plans. It isn't fluency, but it's real Italian (the CEFR levels explained).
In practice, B1 means you can phone a landlord about a broken boiler, write a short email to a neighbor, and tell an examiner how you met your spouse and why you moved, in the past tense, without rehearsing every sentence. The CILS B1 Cittadinanza tests these skills in four parts: listening, reading with grammar, writing, and a short speaking test.
The grammar between A1 and B1 is a well-defined list:
- the present tense, irregular verbs included: essere, avere, andare, fare, volere, dovere
- the passato prossimo with avere and essere: Mi sono trasferito a Bologna tre anni fa (I moved to Bologna three years ago)
- the imperfetto, and when to use it instead of the passato prossimo
- reflexive verbs: mi alzo, ci sposiamo
- direct and indirect object pronouns, plus ci and ne
- the futuro semplice: L'anno prossimo cercherò casa (next year I'll look for a place to live)
- the conditional for polite requests: Vorrei prenotare un appuntamento (I'd like to book an appointment)
