ononno

Thank you everybody, I have found this a very interesting discussion. Full of misconceptions and unnecessary worries. You cannot lose your British citizenship unless you do something very very naughty and upset Her Majesty. Therefore you can return to the UK whenever you wish. There is a forum here for 'returning to the UK' which is very useful.
Yes, a foreign government e.g. Italy, can say you can't have dual citizenship, but in effect it is meaningless, you will always remain a British citizen.
Believe me,my family issues have taught me a great deal on this subject.
Ciao for now,
'o nonno.

mmmmbuti

A foreign goverment can refuse you naturalisation unless you prove you have renounced your British nationality. The UK allows British citizens to renounce theirs: https://www.gov.uk/renounce-british-nationality
This is the way governments all over the world enforce their bans on dual nationality. If one will ever be approved in Italy, it's highly unlikely it will be retroactive.

ononno

I stand corrected. Just goes to show how old I am. :-)

AndyPT

We're thinking to move our home to Italy, but we would definitely like to have a possibility to obtain Italian passports eventually without renouncing ours.

Could you tell me please, is there any news on that topic lately?

BritInParis

Both countries permit dual citizenship so there’s no problem.

philat98

AndyPT

TEN years!!! For some reason, I thought it was five...

Thank you guys for the prompt replies, now I see we should think twice.

philat98

nicktonight

Now that UK nationals in Italy are assured of residency in the event of a no-deal Brexit it doesn't seem to matter much unless you have a profound desire to become Italian. The only real nuisance in the future may be when travelling between European Countries. I hope they can come up with something like a European passport

BritInParis

It’s only a problem if the Schengen Area is scrapped.

chawkins99

I think this is a chicken and egg situation.

In order to be an Italian citizen, you must first renounce your British citizenship but you can't renounce British citizenship before becoming an Italian citizen as that would leave you stateless which is not permitted.

Catch-22

BritInParis

Read the link. You can renounce your British citizenship in anticipation that you will acquire another citizenship after renunciation.

carcajou

Under the new laws, to get the long-term residence permit you will need to pass an Italian language test to the A2 level from an accredited provider, and also pass an exam on Italian culture and civics.

Those applying for citizenship through marriage also need to now pass a language test, to the B1 level.

Italy allows dual citizenship.