ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT

WHAT IS ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT?

One day, when talking with your parents, they told You about their Italian grandparents or their Italian great-grandparents. 

They told you about their story, how they left Italy sometimes around the 1800s or 1900s, for coming to the United States or Canada or Australia or whatever other countries. 

But they never renounced their Italian Citizenship as in their death certificates. You find out they were listed as “aliens.” 
And so the common question: Do I qualify for Italian Dual Citizenship because of my Italian Ancestors who remained Italians?

When we talk about Italian citizenship by Descent, we refer exactly to these situations. 

You may be eligible for obtaining Italian citizenship by Descent, so applying for an Italian Passport and get Dual Italian Citizenship, thanks to Your Italian Ancestors who were never naturalized in Your home country. 

When we talk about Italian Citizenship by Descent, we also refer to the term “Italian Citizenship Jure Sanguinis,” which is only the technical Latin word for indicating the process of getting Italian Citizenship through Ancestry according to the “Jus Sanguinis Italy” principle.

We’re here to realize Your dream to become an Italian Dual Citizen.

Have a look at our Video Trailer before continuing your reading

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HOW TO BECOME AN ITALIAN CITIZEN THROUGH DESCENT?

There are several ways to obtain an Italian passport through your Italian ancestors. There are 3 options to become an Italian Citizen through Descents.

But first of all, here is one important thing you have to take in mind before starting the process: do deep researches (as best as possible, obliviously) to find as much information as you can about your Italian ancestors.

Why this? 

The fact you have Italian grandparents, or Italian great-grandparents, and so on, does not automatically entitle You to claim Dual Italian Citizenship through Descents. 

You have to be sure that the Italian bloodline remained unbroken from the Ancestor to You.  As long as You checked you’re eligible for Italian Citizenship Jure Sanguinis, you can choose the best path for Your case.

#1 The first common path is to become an Italian Citizen through Descents applying at the local Italian Consulate. This is the common way to apply – but only in case, You have only men in Your bloodline (so, for example, Italian Great-grandfather – Grandfather – Father – You). 

Suppose You cannot apply through the Italian Consulate (because it’s impossible to book appointments or have a long wait time for Your appointment). In that case, You can claim Your Italian Citizenship by Descent through the Italian Court Rome, avoiding the Italian Consulate.

This is the typical Italian Citizenship by Descent through the Italian Court process.

Why people are moving to apply to the Italian Court, when possible?

According to statistics limited to the United States, this is starting to be a trending option. According to statistics limited to the United States, the Italian Consulates are stuck and unable to handle all applications, according to huge numbers provided by Italian Government statistics.

As you can notice from the Graph, there is too much request for Italian Citizenship by Descent (purple line) than the actual capacity of the Italian Consulates (Blue line).

You can read a more deep article about this opportunity to get Dual Citizenship in Italy in 2021.

As you can notice from the Graph, Italian Citizenship by Descent wait time through the Italian Consulates has increased exponentially, especially in 2020 because of Covid-19 (with most Italian Consulates closed).

In some other cases, you have no choice: you have to apply for Italian Citizenship by descent through the Italian Court in Rome, as that’s the only way to be recognized as an Italian Citizen. 

This happens, for example, if you’re eligibility may be set under the so-called “1948 Rule“, so you have a so-called “1948 Case of Italian Citizenship“. 

#2. The second common path is to become an Italian Citizen through Descent applying directly at the Italian Court, avoiding the Italian Consulate. 

This is mandatory (and the unique way for applying for Italian Citizenship) when You find a woman in Your Italian bloodline who had her child before 1948s (so, for example, Italian Great-grandfather – Grandmother – Father – You). This is the “1948 Italian Citizenship Case“.

So, to clarify more in this example above.

Suppose Your grandmother had Your father before January 1, 1948. In that case, You could not apply at the local Italian Consulate. Still, you have to apply for Your Italian Citizenship directly at the Italian Court, giving Power of Attorney to Us as Italian Citizenship Lawyers. 

We are able to assist You on each path described above with our Italian Citizenship Assistance, so do not worry about that. 

We will deeply analyze Your case, Your Family Tree. We will create a tailored and personalized solution to let You become an Italian Citizen through Descents as soon as possible.

Get Your Italian Citizenship By Descent

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HOW ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT WORKS?

Let’s see how is the process of Italian Citizenship by Descent procedure – what are the requirements of Italian Citizenship by Descent, and some exciting tips for You.

We may divide the entire process into three main phases – just for being more straightforward and explaining to You a little more the process using a scheme.

The process of obtaining Italian Citizenship by Descent is unique, so there are no technical phases.

STEP #1. THE RESEARCH PHASE

First of all, it’s important to have a clear Family tree, starting from Your Italian ancestors to you. 

This is the most important phase, as – of course – if you’re not able to locate your Italian Grandparent’s or Great-grandparent’s information, it’s almost impossible to start the Italian Citizenship by Descent procedure. 

How to carry on the researches?

With all the world now connected to the internet, things may be a little easier. 

Most people start looking at Genealogy-dedicated online portals to find out some starting information. This may be an excellent option if you’re not familiar with the Italian language and being able to come to Italy to start local researches. 

Other people – and the best solution – decide to hire a Genealogist Company, more familiar with Italian Language and familiar with local researches in Italy.

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STEP #2. THE COLLECTION PHASE

Ok, so now You have a clear prospect of your Italian bloodline, and we are ready to start collecting all Vital Records and all certificates. 

This is a crucial step to satisfy all the Italian Citizenship by Descent requirements for a complete and successful application. 

Italian Citizenship By Descent Requirements For A Successful Application.

The List below is not complete, and it has not to be considered legal advice but just as general information. 

A complete Check-List and specific Legal advice will be provided to Clients only.

Here a generic list of the documents You need:

• Italian Ancestors Vital Records
• Italian Ancestors – Proof of Naturalization (or No Naturalization)
• Next in line’s Vital Records
• Your Vital Records
• (if You have children) Your next in line’s Vital Records

While we will guide you and assist You in obtaining the relevant Vital Records certificates from your home country (or from the Country where Your parents were born/lived), we will get all relevant Certificates from Italy. 

Generally: Birth Certificate of the Italian ancestors, Marriage Certificates [amount of certificate depends on Your family composition].

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How to find out if my Italian great-grandparents, or grandparents, or other Italian Ancestors ever naturalized?

One of the essential documents for applying for Italian Citizenship by Descent is the Proof of Naturalization (or No-Naturalization).

What does it mean?

The most important principle of the applications for Italian Citizenship Jure Sanguinis is that You have to demonstrate that the Italian bloodline is still unbroken. That’s the way to be eligible for Italian Citizenship through your Italian heritage. 

And here comes the proof of Naturalization.

You have to submit an Index Search to the Government Immigration Department, using Form 1041A, asking if Your Italian Ancestor(s) naturalized (and when). 

So, for example: in the United States, You will have to submit an Index Search through USCIS and NARA (or through National Archives in the UK, NAA and Home Affairs in Australia, and so on). 

If Your Italian ancestor(s) naturalized, You will receive a copy of what they have: A Certificate of Naturalization, Petition, or Declaration of Intent. 

If Your Italian Ancestor(s) never naturalized, they will send You a letter of “No-Existence” or “No-Records.”

Declaration of Intentions, Petition for Naturalization, and the Certificate of Naturalization are required documents for a successful application.

A. The Apostille on each document requested for the Italian Citizenship by Descent.

But the Vital records are not enough. We will have also have to legalize and translate all relevant documents.  

In 99% of Italian Citizenship by Descent cases, you can do the first step through the Apostille. 

According to the official definition of the World Organisation for Cross-border Co-operation in Civil and Commercial Matters, “The effect of an Apostille is to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted, and where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears“.

Where I have to apply for an Apostille for my Italian Citizenship by Descent application? 

The authority in charge of the Apostille is different for each Country. 

In the United States: The US Department of State Authentication Office affixes apostles to documents issued by Federal agencies of the United States. 
The US Department of State, Office of Consular Affairs, Passport Services, Vital Records Section affixes apostles to Consular Reports of Birth, Death, and Marriage or US Citizens and Government.

In the United Kingdom: Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office – The Legalisation Office. 

In Australia: The Secretary to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Commonwealth of Australia. Australian Embassies, High Commissions, and Consulate (except Consulates headed by an Honorary Consul) are empowered to issue Apostilles on Australian public documents.

B. The Translation of each document requested for the Italian Citizenship by Descent.

How to translate my documents for my Italian Citizenship by Descent application? 

A common mistake is to think that a simple translation will be enough. 

And the problem is that You will find it when it will be late – and Your Italian Citizenship application will be denied.

It will be required to have a Certified Translation, not a simple one. So pay attention to this. 

A Certified Translation may be done in 2 different ways:  

What will be better? 

Both ways are legally valid – anyway, we recommend choosing the 2nd option as it’s certainly faster than the 1st one [and we can handle it for You, as part of our Services].  

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STEP #3. THE APPLICATION PHASE

HERE WE ARE – You are now ready to finalize and submit Your Italian Citizenship by Descent application. 

So, what to do now? 

It depends on which Italian Citizenship path we are taking. 

As we already talked about in a dedicated article on How to Get Dual Citizenship in Italy, there are different ways to apply for Italian Citizenship by Descent.

So, contact Us and let us handle Your case as Italian Citizenship Lawyers, and let us do everything for You with our Italian Citizenship Assistance.

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IN WHICH CATEGORY DO YOU FALL?

Let’s check together in which category You fall to understand if You may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by descent. 

When we refer to “Categories,” we simply refer to the most common cases we found during our 8+ years of experience. 

So, have a look into each Category as You may fall under 1 (or more) on these. 

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CATEGORY #1 GF – F- YOU

If You fall under this category, you may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

What it’s essential to check is that Your Grandfather GF never naturalized (or he naturalized after the birth of Father). 

If he naturalized, check when he naturalized: if he naturalized before 1912, and F was already born but minor, You may not be eligible.

CATEGORY #2 GGF – GF- F – YOU

If You fall under this category, you may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

What it’s important to check is that Your Italian great-grandfather GGF never naturalized (or he naturalized after the birth of Grandfather F). 

If he naturalized, check when he naturalized: if he naturalized before 1912, and F was already born but minor, You may not be eligible.

CATEGORY #3 GGGF – GGF – GF – F – YOU

If You fall under this category, you may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

What it’s important to check is that Your Italian Great-great-grandfather GGGF never naturalized (or he naturalized after the birth of Great-Grandfather GGF). 

If he naturalized, check when he naturalized: if he naturalized before 1912, and F was already born but minor, You may not be eligible.

CATEGORY #4 GGGF – GGM – GF – F – YOU

If You fall under this category, you may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

What it’s essential to check is that Your Italian Great-great-grandfather GGGF never naturalized (or he naturalized after the birth of Great-Grandmother GGM). 

If he naturalized, check when he naturalized: if he naturalized before 1912, and F was already born but minor, You may not be eligible.

Note: In case GF was born before 1948s, this is a 1948 Italian Citizenship Case.

CATEGORY #5 GGGM – GGM – GF/GM – F/M – YOU

If You fall under this category, you may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

What it’s important to check is that Your Italian Great-great-grandmother GGGM never naturalized (or he naturalized after the birth of Great-Grandmother GGM). 

If he naturalized, check also when he naturalized: if he naturalized before 1912, and F was already born but minor, You may not be eligible.

Note: this is a 1948 Italian Citizenship Case as You have an Italian female ancestor who had a child before 1948.

CATEGORY #6 GGGF – GGF – GM – F – YOU

If You fall under this category, you may be eligible for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

What it’s important to check is that Your Italian Great-great-grandfather GGGF never naturalized (or he naturalized after the birth of Great-Grandfather GGF). 

If he naturalized, check when he naturalized: if he naturalized before 1912, and F was already born but minor, You may not be eligible.

Note: this may be a 1948 Italian Citizenship Case if grandmother GM had Father F before 1948s.

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Doesn’t Your case fall under one of these categories?

Contact Us through this Contact Form and describe Your Family Tree, starting from Your Italian Ancestor. 

WHEN YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT?

If we briefly schematized some common “categories” of suitable options for Italian Citizenship through Descent, then let’s try to figure out when You are NOT eligible for  Italian Citizenship by blood. 

THE 1912 RULE.

If you meet a few conditions under this rule, you may not be able to apply for Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

The “1912 Rule” refers to all Italian Ancestors naturalized in another Country before 1912s. 

Why 1912s? 

Because on that year, it was approved a new Italian Citizenship Law (Law 555/12), which was pretty different than the actual Italian Citizenship legislation. 

The so-called 1912 rule states that “If an Italian Ancestors naturalized in another country, his/her minor children naturalized too, and so the Italian bloodline is broken”. 

Let’s take an example: Your Great-Grandfather John was born in Italy in 1860. He moved abroad in 1880. 
He had your Grandfather Sam in 1900. Then Great-Grandfather naturalized in 1901.

What happened? John naturalized (so he renounced Italian Citizenship) when the next-in-line Sam was only 1 year old. 

Sam is not able to pass Italian Citizenship. 

EXCEPTIONS & SOLUTIONS TO THE 1912 RULE.

BUT maybe you may be lucky!

There are a few exceptions to the 1912 Rule: this means that in some cases – also if the Italian Ancestors naturalized before 1912 with a minor child – You may be able to get Italian Citizenship by Descent. 

If the next in line was born in an “Ius Soli” Country (like the United States is), the same next in line may be able to pass Italian Citizenship. 

So let’s return to our example. 

John had his son Sam in 1900 in NYC. Then, John naturalized in the United States in 1901. Sam was born in the United States (so he was American Citizen by birth) and at the same time he was born from an Italian Father (so he had Italian Citizenship by birth). 

So, if John naturalized, it doesn’t matter. Sam can pass Italian Citizenship! 

A “1948 Italian Citizenship Case” may solve the 1912 block.

If you cannot pass through the 1912 rule, if you’re lucky enough to have different Italian lineages, you can see if another line is eligible or with a 1948 Case, so the case of Italian Citizenship through Female line pre-1948.

This means you can apply through the Italian Court for claiming your Italian Citizenship through descent. But beware: there is no guarantee of success. These cases are rarely fought at the Italian Court.

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ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT FAQ

Most Common Questions about Italian Citizenship by Descent Assistance and a simple Italian Citizenship FAQ we prepared for Clients.

Italian Citizenship and Italian Citizenship by Descent are expecting a huge increase in applications, according to huge numbers provided by Italian Government statistics.

As you can notice from the Graph, there is too much request for Italian Citizenship by Descent (purple line), than the actual capacity of the Italian Consulates (Blue line).

Italian Citizenship by Descent wait time through the Italian Consulates has increased exponentially, especially in 2020 because of Covid-19 (with most Italian Consulates closed).

That’s why it’s almost mandatory to be assisted by qualified Italian Lawyers specialized in Italian Citizenship assistance.

WHY US FOR YOUR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT APPLICATION 

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