I am posting this because it appears that I have not been able to convince people on this forum who are looking to reacquire their Italian citizenship that a VISA is not necessary. Part of the problem is the lack of information from the italian consulate with respect to this issue. Below is an excerpt from an attached document that presents the argument to allow the foreigner who intends to apply for citizenship based on Italian heritage to do so with a short term entry visa: (this is a machine translation)
"The thesis according to which the residence should be accompanied by an obligation of effective permanence on the municipal territory, as demonstrated also by its incompatibility with the Law of 28 May 2007 n. 68, significantly entitled " Discipline of short-term stays of foreigners for visits, business, tourism and study ". Article. 1 of the law provides that a residence permit is not required for stays of less than three months, as a declaration of presence that non-EU citizens submit to the border authority upon entry is sufficient [12] . The Circular 13 June 2007 n. 32 of the Ministry of the Interior is clear: "The receipt of this declaration ... is considered to be a useful title for the registration of those who intend to start the procedure for the recognition of citizenship in Italy jure sanguinis ... The declaration, in fact, is the fulfillment that allows foreigners to stay regularly in Italy for a period of three months or for the shorter period eventually established in the entry visa ". The Ministerial Decree of 26 July 2007 is even clearer, establishing that, for the purposes of registering the personal data of subjects from countries that do not apply the Schengen agreement and who intend to request the recognition of citizenship jure sanguinis , the presentation of the "Schengen" stamp on the travel document is sufficient. Finally, Circular no. 52 of the Ministry circulates the instructions pursuant to the Ministerial Decree to the peripheral offices.
Providing the possibility of stays in Italy of even a minimum duration, the legislative news is the proof of how the legislator has definitively disregarded the principle according to which there must remain a connotation of habituality and stability of the dwelling in the residence obligation for the purpose of starting the administrative practice of recognition of citizenship jure sanguinis"
the above is extracted from: https://www.filodiritto.com/cittadinanza-e-residenza-dello-straniero-di-discendenza-italiana
Additional documents:
https://www.antonellapedone.com/guide/riacquisto-della-cittadinanza-italiana
http://www.trevisolavora.it/guidastranieri/sezioni.asp?id_categoria=140
https://consnewyork.esteri.it/consolato_newyork/it/i_servizi/per-i-cittadini/cittadinanza/acquisto-della-cittadinanza-italiana.html
A translation of the pertinent article in the italian citizenship law:Art. 13
1. Anyone who has lost citizenship regains it:
a) if he performs effective military service for the Italian State and declares in advance that he wants it
buy back;
b) if, assuming or having assumed a public employment for the State, even abroad,
declares to want to buy it back;
c) if it declares that it wishes to buy it back and has established or establishes, within one year of the declaration, the
residence in the territory of the Republic;
d) after one year from the date on which he established his residence in the territory of the Republic, except
express waiver within the same term;
e) if, having lost it for not having complied with the order to abandon the job or the position
accepted by a state, by a foreign public body or by an international body, or the service
military for a foreign state, declares that he wants to buy it back, provided that he has established residence
for at least two years in the territory of the Republic and prove that you have abandoned the employment or office or
military service, hired or performed despite the notification referred to in Article 12, paragraph 1.
2. The repurchase of citizenship in favor of those who have lost it in application is not allowed
of article 3, paragraph 3, as well as of article 12, paragraph 2.
3. In the cases indicated in paragraph 1, letters c), d) and e), the repurchase of citizenship has no effect if it is
18 The Constitutional Court, with ruling 8 November-7 December 2017, n. 258 (Official Gazette 13 December 2017, n.50, First special series), has
declared, among other things, the constitutional illegitimacy of this article, in the part in which it does not provide that the person is exempt from the oath
unable to satisfy this requirement due to serious and ascertained disability conditions.
19 For the methods of taking the oath referred to in this article, see art. 7, Ministerial Decree February 27, 2001.
20 Article inserted by art. 14, paragraph 1, lett. d), Legislative Decree 4 October 2018, n. 113, converted, with modifications, by Law 1 December 2018, n. 132.
inhibited by decree of the Minister of the Interior, for serious and proven reasons and on the assent of the
State Council. This inhibition can intervene within one year from the occurrence of the
established conditions.
The following is a difficult to read document about gaining a residency permit PdS from the questura for the purpose of reacquiring citizenship. Notice the document requirements. VISA is not mentioned. https://permessodisoggiorno.org/rilascio-del-permesso-di-soggiorno-per-riacquisto-cittadinanza-italiana/
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