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CILS B1 Cittadinanza: The Exam Explained
By Language Lab editorial team
The CILS B1 Cittadinanza is Italy's exam built for citizenship: four papers in about 2 hours 5 minutes plus a 10-minute oral, 100 euro, no part can be banked.
B1 is the level of Italian required for citizenship, and the University for Foreigners of Siena runs a dedicated version of its CILS exam for it: the CILS B1 Cittadinanza, aligned to level B1 of the Common European Framework. The written papers run about 2 hours and 5 minutes: listening about 30 minutes, reading comprehension about 40 minutes, a 15-minute break, then written production about 40 minutes. The oral lasts about 10 minutes. The exam fee is 100 euro, in Italy and abroad. There is no capitalisation at this level: if you fail one skill you cannot bank the others, you sit the whole exam again at the next session. The certificate currently has no expiry date.
Structure and timing
| Paper | Time |
|---|---|
| Listening (Ascolto) | About 30 minutes |
| Reading comprehension (Comprensione della lettura) | About 40 minutes |
| Break | 15 minutes |
| Written production (Produzione scritta) | About 40 minutes |
| Total written papers | About 2 hours 5 minutes |
| Oral production (Produzione orale) | About 10 minutes |
Compared with the general CILS Uno-B1, the Cittadinanza module is shorter and drops the separate grammar paper: the general B1 runs about 3 hours 45 minutes of written tests with an hour of language-structure analysis. The citizenship module keeps listening, reading and writing and tests grammar inside them.
Who can sit it
Anyone: the CILS is open to all foreign citizens and to Italian citizens resident abroad, with no age limit and no prior qualification or lower CILS level required. You choose the level yourself; the university's FAQ describes B1 as the level of autonomy, also required for Italian citizenship.
The no-capitalisation rule
At other CILS levels you can bank passed skills and resit only the failed ones. Not here. The Cittadinanza page is explicit that capitalisation is not allowed: if the exam is not passed in some skill, that skill cannot be recovered, and the whole exam must be taken again at the next session. Prepare all four skills to the same standard; a strong oral does not save a weak written paper.
Exam day
- Candidates may not move to the next skill before the scheduled time, ask for explanations of the test content, or leave the room before the break except in case of need.
- The invigilator announces the time for each test and the 15-minute break, collects the papers in sealed envelopes and distributes the next set.
- The oral is recorded; for the Cittadinanza module both oral tasks, a dialogue and a monologue, are kept in a single file.
Fee and results
The fee is 100 euro, the same in Italy and abroad. Results are published online, where you can also download the certificate; appeals go by email to the university's transparency office. The certificate has no expiry date at present.
What B1 asks of you
The citizenship module is written for everyday Italian life: a letter to a neighbour about a problem, a note to a school, a conversation at the municipal office. The sample written task on the university's site is a message about a problem with neighbours, 80 to 120 words. Practise exactly that register, polite, clear, complete, rather than literary Italian.
Frequently asked
What level of Italian do I need for citizenship?
B1, the level of autonomy, which the CILS B1 Cittadinanza module is built to certify.
How long is the CILS B1 Cittadinanza exam?
About 2 hours 5 minutes of written papers, including a 15-minute break, plus an oral of about 10 minutes.
How much does it cost?
100 euro, in Italy and abroad.
If I fail one part, can I resit just that part?
No. Capitalisation is not allowed at this level; you take the whole exam again at the next session.
Does the certificate expire?
Not at present, according to the university's FAQ.
Checked against the University for Foreigners of Siena's CILS B1 Cittadinanza page, the exam administration instructions and the CILS FAQ on 3 November 2026.
