A child’s documents in Italy: registration, citizenship, residence permit and benefits

The process begins with the declaration of birth. Once the birth has been entered in the Italian civil register, check the child’s tax code, enrol the child in the health service and choose a paediatrician. What follows depends on the parents’ citizenship and status in Italy: confirm passport, consular registration and residence-permit requirements with the relevant official consulate and the Questura.

Declaring the birth: 3 or 10 days

File the dichiarazione di nascita — declaration of birth with the maternity hospital’s administration within three days, or with the municipality’s civil-registry office within ten days. You need the parents’ identity documents and the maternity hospital’s certificate of birth to make the declaration. The period runs from the date of birth, so decide where you will file before leaving hospital.

If the hospital accepts the declaration, it sends the details to the municipality. If you file it yourself, apply within the registration rules either in the child’s municipality of birth or in a parent’s municipality of residence. You will need confirmation of registration to request the birth certificate and check the tax number.

If the parents are not married

If the parents are not married, both parents must participate in the declaration in order to recognise the child. Recognition can be completed at the same time as the declaration after birth or beforehand as a riconoscimento prenatale — antenatal recognition. Ask the civil-registry office for its document list before the estimated delivery date.

Antenatal recognition allows the other parent to file the declaration if you cannot attend in person. Once the birth is registered, immediately check the child’s name, dates, citizenship and the spelling of both parents’ details. These are the details the tax authority, health service and consulate will use.

Birth certificate, civil-register extract and corrections

After registration, order an extract or a full copy of the birth record. A foreign consulate’s requirements for the type of document, apostille and translation vary by country. Check the relevant consulate’s official website before ordering the document.

If the name, surname, date or a parent’s details are wrong, contact the civil-registry office of the municipality that holds the record and provide documents showing the correct information. The municipality can correct a clerical error, while a change of civil status may require a separate procedure. Do not submit incorrect details to the consulate while the correction is pending.

The child’s tax number and health card

After registration, the municipality forwards the details to the Italian Revenue Agency, which assigns the child a codice fiscale — tax number. You need it to enrol the child in the health service, choose a paediatrician and claim benefits. If you need it urgently or it does not appear, take the birth certificate and your own documents to the Revenue Agency.

The first health card is issued for one year. After the child is enrolled with the local health service and a paediatrician is chosen, a six-year card is issued and sent to the address in the population register. Until it arrives, use the enrolment confirmation and tax number.

Enrolling the child in the health service

To choose a family paediatrician, provide the child’s tax number, your identity document and the basis on which the child is entitled to public healthcare. Some regions allow the choice online; in others, it is made at the local health office. Once registered, arrange the first examination within the timescale stated by the maternity unit.

If a paediatrician has not yet been chosen, attend the follow-up provider named in the discharge papers, either the hospital outpatient clinic or the local paediatric service. Bring the child’s discharge summary, which records the birth weight, examinations already completed and any reason for early follow-up. Emergency care does not depend on completing this administrative step.

Citizenship of a child born in Italy

Birth in Italy does not in itself confer Italian citizenship. A child usually acquires citizenship under the law of the parent’s country or countries. Italian law provides specific exceptions for children of unknown parents, stateless people and circumstances in which the parents cannot transmit their citizenship.

A child of foreign parents who was born in Italy and has lived here legally and continuously until the age of 18 may declare the wish to become an Italian citizen within the statutory period after reaching adulthood. Continuity of registration and residence must be demonstrated.

Documents of a child at a foreign consulate in Italy

Italian authorities do not set a single procedure for registering a child at every foreign consulate. On the official website of the consulate for the child’s country of citizenship, check whether the birth must be registered, which civil-status document is accepted, whether an apostille or translation is required and who must attend the appointment.

Before buying tickets, obtain confirmation of the child’s travel document and the papers needed to re-enter Italy. An Italian birth record is not, by itself, a passport or residence permit.

If the parents have different citizenships

If the parents have different citizenships, check the rules on transmission of citizenship and passport applications with both official consulates. It is not possible to say in advance whether the child will acquire one or more citizenships: the answer depends on the laws of the countries concerned.

Requirements for the other parent’s consent, personal attendance and the spelling of the child’s name also vary. Compare both consulates’ document lists before applying and request written clarification if their transliteration rules produce different spellings.

Residence permit for a newborn

For a child whose parents are non-EU nationals, the application route depends on the parents’ residence permits. The official immigration portal provides for the issue, renewal or update of a family permit for a minor; the application includes the parent’s permit number. Confirm the exact documents and correct application type with the Questura for your place of residence.

A residence permit for medical treatment issued in connection with pregnancy under Article 19 of the immigration law covers the pregnancy and the six months after the birth. Whether the family can move to another legal basis, and how the child is documented, depends on its circumstances and must be checked before the current permit expires.

Benefits at birth of a child in Italy in 2026

The universal child allowance, or Assegno unico e universale, is paid by INPS, the National Social Security Institute. The amount depends on the household’s ISEE, the child’s age, the number of children and any applicable supplements. You need the child’s tax number and can apply through the INPS website or a patronato.

The payment for new parents (Bonus nuovi nati) is €1,000 in 2026. The ISEE used for family benefits and social support must not exceed €40,000; the usual application deadline is 120 days after the birth or other qualifying event. INPS separately verifies residence, immigration status and the programme’s other conditions.

For qualifying events in 2026, the full municipal maternity allowance is €413.10 per month for five months, or €2,065.50 in total. The ISEE threshold is €20,668.26. Eligibility also depends on residence, immigration status and other maternity payments; the municipality accepts the application and INPS pays the allowance after verification.

Income and application

The indicator of a household’s economic circumstances is called ISEE (Indicatore della Situazione Economica Equivalente). For the new-parent payment, you need the ISEE applicable to the child named in the application. Before applying, check with INPS or a patronato which data and type of ISEE the particular benefit requires.

To obtain the ISEE, prepare your documents together with the information required about the household’s income and assets. The exact evidence depends on the household and the type of ISEE requested.

You can submit an online application using SPID or apply through a patronato — social-assistance office. Keep the submission date and application number so that you can check its status and respond to requests for documents.

Timing of claims for benefits

Each benefit requires a separate application.

For a new child, submit the application for the universal allowance, or add the child to an existing application, within 120 days of the birth. If this deadline is met, INPS pays the allowance from the seventh month of pregnancy, as stated in its instructions. For later applications, the start date is determined under the rules in force when the application is made.

Apply for the new-parent payment within 120 days of the birth. Apply to the municipality of residence for the municipal maternity allowance within six months. For each payment, check the current ISEE, immigration-status and cohabitation requirements. Keep confirmation of the application until the payment arrives.

First departure of a child from Italy

Before the child’s first journey, obtain a travel document and written guidance from the Questura about the papers required for re-entry. For a non-EU child, the answer depends on the parents’ status, the stage reached in the permit process and the route, including any transit through other Schengen countries.

If the child’s residence permit is not ready, do not rely solely on a postal receipt or birth record. Agree the journey with the Questura and the official consulate for the child’s country of citizenship. Airline requirements must be checked separately and do not replace border rules.

Frequently asked questions about child documents in Italy