When applying for Italian citizenship you will often hear words such as consular jurisdictions, naturalization, jure sanguinis, apostille, and comune, to name a few. This article in particular will describe a comune, its workings, and it will also explain its role in applications for Italian citizenship. In essence, a comune is the smallest administrative unit in Italy and it is roughly the equivalent of a township or municipality. Italy comprises 20 regions, 103 provinces and 7,904 comuni. Rovigo, for instance, is a city which has a town hall (“municipio di Rovigo”); however, at the same time, Rovigo is one of the “capoluoghi di provincia”, i.e., one of the chief towns of the provinces in the region of Veneto, which are a second -level administrative division of the Italian Republic. The Provincia di Rovigo (province of Rovigo) groups several smaller towns and villages. It is worth clarifying that the word comune refers to both the municipality itself and the town hall, thus the municipal building where the local government is located. A comune provides essential public services; it holds vital records registries (as well as the registry of deeds) and it has the power to levy taxes and vet proposals for town planning and public works. It is headed by a Sindaco (Mayor) who is elected directly by the citizens, and it is run by a group of elected officials who form the so-called giunta comunale. Please note that it is beyond the scope of this article to describe all the offices in a comune and their respective functions, however, if you are planning on applying for Italian citizenship directly in Italy or have already started the process abroad, there are a few offices which are worth describing in detail as they will be involved in processing your application for Italian citizenship by descent.
The ufficio cittadinanza (citizenship office) is the main office which mostly processes applications for Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) filed by individuals who reside in Italy. Together with the ufficio anagrafe and the ufficio di stato civile, the ufficio cittadinanza guarantees the flow of communication and information with the Prefetture (prefectures) – local governments which cover broader areas and groups of municipalities.
Applications for Italian citizenship by residency (jure loci) and by marriage (jure matrimonii) are processed directly by the prefetture (prefectures). Each prefecture in Italy works under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior, of which the prefecture is a department. Therefore, they are responsible for enforcing the orders of the Ministry (but at a provincial level) and liaise between town halls and the state.
The ufficio anagrafe holds the registry of citizens who reside in a town. On the other hand, the ufficio di stato civile (vital statistics office) is responsible for registering vital records (birth, marriage, divorce and death records). In some town halls, the two above-mentioned offices might be merged into one, however, technically, they have different functions and are responsible for processing different requests.
But how do these offices come into play when applying for Italian citizenship?
When you apply for Italian citizenship you will need to collect your family’s vital records. In particular, your Italian ancestors’ vital records will be issued by the ufficio di stato civile (vital statistics office) in the municipality where your ancestors were born, provided that you justify why the records are needed and that you provide your ancestors’ full names, dates of birth and their parents’ names. Generally speaking, you will need to mail the municipality a written request and apply for the Estratto per riassunto dell’atto di nascita (a certified extract of the birth record). The certified copy of the record will most likely be issued in the multilingual version. The same applies to marriage and death certificates. Please click here for more information about Italian vital records.
If you are applying for citizenship by descent directly in Italy, you will need to go to the ufficio anagrafe in your town hall in order to establish your residency. Once you apply for residency, by law, the municipal police will have 45 days to verify that the property where you established residency is habitable. As soon as your residency status has been verified, you will be able to file your application at the citizenship office. In order to do so, you will need to provide the following:
- certified copies of your vital records (birth, marriage, divorce and minor children’s birth records, if any);
- all the vital records (birth, marriage, divorce, death certificates) pertaining to the individuals in your Italian lineage starting from the ancestor who was born in Italy and emigrated to the U.S.;
- your Italian ancestor’s naturalization records or proof of non-naturalization.
***These records will need to be apostilled and translated into Italian. In particular, the translations will need to be certified.
When you become an Italian citizen your vital records will be registered in the comune where you applied and this is when you will be officially considered an Italian citizen. If you decide to live in Italy after having been recognized as an Italian citizen, you will need to go to the ufficio anagrafe to apply for a Carta d’Identità (ID card) and to the Questura (police headquarters) to apply for a passport, whereas if you decide to return to your home country, you will be able to register with the AIRE (Registry of Italian Citizens Residing Abroad) and apply for an Italian passport at the Italian consulate that covers the jurisdiction where you reside.
Finally, the ufficio elettorale (electoral registration office) is responsible for running local elections, such as the election of the mayor. When national elections occur, the electoral office is responsible for mailing ballot papers to Italian citizens residing abroad so that they can vote remotely. In order to be able to vote, however, they must be registered with the AIRE which is required if an Italian citizen resides abroad for more than 12 months or if their permanent residency is outside of Italy. The registry is administered by the residency office in the town hall where the Italian citizen’s vital records are registered, and it operates on the basis of the information and data which is provided by Italian consulates abroad.
Example: if you apply for Italian citizenship via the consulate of New York and are granted citizenship, the consulate will register you with the AIRE and send your personal vital records to the comune where your ancestor was born. The comune will register your vital records and file your personal details, such as place of residency and consular jurisdiction. If you change address or need to register your minor children’s births, it will be your duty to notify your consulate via “Fast It”, an online portal used to access consular services for Italian citizens residing abroad. The comune will then update your details on the AIRE.
OTHER USEFUL TERMINOLOGY:
- Frazione: it is the name of the territorial subdivision of an Italian municipality. Italian “frazioni” do not have their own administrative offices as they are officially part of a comune. If you establish residency in a frazione you will be considered a resident of the municipality that incorporates the frazione and you will have to file your citizenship application at the municipality’s town hall.
- Ufficiale di Stato Civile: it is the public official who works at the vital statistics office and who is responsible for processing citizenship applications.
- Numero di protocollo: it is the reference number assigned to a case file which is being processed by a municipality. Applications for citizenship by descent filed at an Italian comune are assigned a reference number.
- Sportello: it is the name used to indicate the spaces or areas used by the comune officials to communicate with the general public.
- PEC: PEC stands for certified e-mail. All public offices in Italy use a PEC to send official electronic communications to other public offices or to private citizens who have a PEC. A PEC communication has the same legal value of a certified letter.
- Trascrizione: it is the act of registering a vital record in the registry held by the office of vital statistics.
If you would like further information about applying for citizenship in Italy, or you would like a free eligibility assessment, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. Our team will be happy to help you!
