APPLYING FOR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT OUTSIDE OF ITALY AND THE U.S.
While many of our articles have explored the various stages involved in the process of applying for the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent via Italian consulates in the U.S. or via applications filed at a municipality in Italy, this article will provide U.S. expats with information regarding the process of applying for Italian citizenship through Italian consulates abroad.
Residency Requirements
Please bear in mind that if you apply for Italian citizenship at an Italian consulate in a country other than the U.S. and you are not a citizen of that country nor have permanent residency there, as a general rule you will be required to hold a visa which covers you for at least 2 years from the date you submit your application. Therefore, you cannot apply for Italian citizenship in a foreign country if you hold a tourist visa, or another type of temporary/short term visa. The reason why Italian consulates generally require that your visa is valid for at least 2 years after the submission of the citizenship application is because by law the citizenship office has a maximum of 2 years to process an application for Italian citizenship by descent. It is worth mentioning that Italian consulates abroad are usually faster when processing citizenship requests compared to Italian consulates in the U.S., which have a much higher volume of applications, therefore, you might not need to wait 2 years to be granted Italian citizenship. It is also worth pointing out that if you hold a renewable study or work visa, for instance, or if you provide the Italian consulate with sufficient proof that you will be residing in the country where you apply for a period that exceeds 2 years they might allow you to file an application, even if your visa is set to expire before the two years following your citizenship appointment.
Please note that the consulate where you apply may require additional proof of residency in order to verify that you reside under their jurisdiction (e.g. utility bills).
Similarly, if you want to file an application for Italian citizenship in Italy you need to establish your residency in the country. Therefore, you cannot apply for Italian citizenship if you are simply visiting the country on a tourist visa. More specifically, when you arrive in Italy you will need to have a place where you can establish legal residency. You will need to provide the municipality with proof that you can legally use the property where you intend to establish your residency (e.g. lease agreement or property deed) and the local police will verify that you are living in that property within 45 days from your residency application. Once your residency status has been verified you can file an application via the municipality and provide them with all of your documents. The municipality will then process your application, which normally takes a few months but this may vary depending on the municipality to which you apply.
For more information about the application process in Italy click HERE.
If you cannot commit to residing in a foreign country, you can apply in the U.S. provided that you have an address which proves that you are eligible to apply via the Italian consulate that covers the jurisdiction where your address is registered.
Documents needed to apply and the application process via a consulate outside of the U.S.
The process of applying for the recognition of Italian citizenship via a consulate abroad is similar to applying via a consulate in the U.S. in that you will need to provide the consulate with certified copies of your family’s vital records, authenticate them with Apostilles and translate them into Italian. One of the differences is that if you apply abroad, you will most likely be required to provide the vital records pertaining to the family members in your direct line of descent only. Furthermore, unlike applying to the majority of consulates in the U.S. which require applicants to submit uncertified translations of their vital records, if you apply abroad you may be required to provide certified translations of your U.S. vital records. This is because although the consular clerks might speak English, officially, they are required to speak Italian and the language of the country where they are based, therefore they cannot verify that the translations into English are accurate. On the other hand, when applying via Italian consulates in the U.S. (except for the consulate in Boston at the time of the writing of this article), the fee paid to the consulate to process a citizenship application also includes the cost for the consulate to certify the translations.
Please note that you may be required to certify the translations of your U.S. vital records even if the consulate where you are applying is located in an English-speaking country (e.g. U.K., South Africa, Australia).
Translations can be certified and sworn by a professional translator before a public notary, or by a clerk in a court in Italy. Finally, there are some Italian consulates in the U.S. which also offer certification services. In order for a consular clerk to certify translations, you will need to provide the consulate with the original documents via mail or you might need to submit them in person. You will need to pay a fee in order to obtain the certifications. This information is available on the consulate’s website in a specific table which outlines the consulate’s services and costs.
What if I am also a citizen of the country where I am applying for Italian citizenship?
Some of our readers might not be just residents of the country in which they intend to file their application for Italian citizenship by descent, rather they might also have become citizens of that country. If this is the case, aside from the vital records from Italy and from the U.S., they will also need the certificate of naturalization from the country of which they became citizens.
The documents issued from the country in which you emigrated will need to comply with the requirements of that country, and generally they will not need a certified translation. On the other hand, the U.S. documents will need to comply with the U.S. law on vital records and legalization and may require a certified translation.
Please note that you lost your right to Italian citizenship if you became a citizen through naturalization of the country in which you emigrated before august 15, 1992. Below is an example:
Anthony was born in NYC in 1969. In 2000 he relocated to Australia where he married an Australian woman. He became a citizen of Australia in 2011.
If Anthony applies for Italian citizenship, he will be required to present his Australian marriage certificate and certificate of naturalization. While his U.S. documents will need to be legalized in the U.S. and a certified translation may be needed, the documents issued by the country of emigration (Australia) must comply with the requirements of that country.
Please note that the interview at the consulate will be conducted either in Italian or in the language which is spoken in the country where the consulate is located. However, some clerks might speak English.
If you reside abroad and are looking into applying for Italian citizenship by descent and you would like a free eligibility assessment or further information feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Our team will be happy to help you.
