Who needs the B1, and who doesn’t

Who needs it

• People applying for citizenship by marriage to an Italian citizen (article 5 of Law 91/1992), in Italy or abroad. Law 91/1992, art. 9.1
• People applying by residence (article 9), including the routes added in 2025. The 2025 reform did not change the language rule. Chamber of Deputies
• EU citizens (for example Romanians) and holders of a residence card as the family member of an Italian or EU citizen: the Interior Ministry says they must prove B1 too. Interior Ministry vademecum

You prove B1 when you file the application, with a certificate from a recognised certifier or an Italian school qualification. The rule covers applications filed from 4 December 2018. Prefecture of Padua

Who doesn’t need a certificate

• Holders of an Italian EU long-term residence permit (permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo). It must be issued by Italy; an older CE permit counts only if issued on or after 9 December 2010; permits for family reasons don’t count. Law · Vademecum
• People who signed the integration agreement (accordo di integrazione, article 4-bis of the Immigration Act). Law · Vademecum
• People with serious limits in learning a language because of age, illness or disability, certified by a public health facility. A family doctor’s certificate is not enough. Constitutional Court, ruling 25/2025 · Vademecum
• People with an Italian school qualification obtained in Italian, from the lower secondary diploma (terza media) upwards. It counts as proof of B1 instead of a certificate. Law · Vademecum

Routes the B1 rule doesn’t cover

• Recognition by descent (iure sanguinis): the law sets the B1 rule only for applications by marriage and by residence. Law
• People born in Italy who declare at 18 that they want citizenship (article 4).
• Applications filed before 4 December 2018. Prefecture of Padua

Not settled, or easy to get wrong

• Uncertain: two bills in Parliament would change these rules: A.C. 2124 would remove the exemptions for the long-term permit and the integration agreement; S.1450 would remove the route for spouses living abroad. Neither was law when we checked.
• Ask first: which medical certificate your prefecture or consulate accepts for the health exemption.
• Which certifiers: the Interior Ministry lists five (CILS, CELI, CERT.IT, PLIDA and the Università per Stranieri di Reggio Calabria); some older official pages list only four. Vademecum
• Years of residence alone don’t exempt you, and a course certificate that says “B1” doesn’t count unless it comes from a recognised certifier.

Where to check your own case

In Italy: your prefecture’s citizenship office and the Interior Ministry’s page Cittadinanza: invia la tua domanda. Abroad: the citizenship page of your Italian consulate.