According to the Italian citizenship laws, in order to acquire citizenship, you must demonstrate through a set of verifiable records and documents that you have met the appropriate prerequisites required by the Italian laws relating to citizenship by way of Jure Sanguinis. Researching and tracing ancestry is no doubt a difficult job, especially if you don’t have any living relatives that might be able to aid in the process. However, in this article we wanted to share with you a few tips that could help make this task easier.
Basic Information
To prove the Italian nationality of your ancestors, you need their birth certificates. What is not uncommon is to find that your ancestors may never have had a birth certificate. In lieu of a birth certificate a baptismal record may be acceptable to present along with the required death and marriage certificates.
If you do not have the relevant information and are looking for a point where you can begin, one place to start your search could be to go through census records, draft cards and “alien files” which contain information regarding dates of birth, place of birth, residences, etc. In our experience here at ICA, census records have been a major key to determining applicants eligibility, and can prove to be a key where to find all the required documentation for their application. During your research to determine if you qualify for Italian citizenship, there are many tools available that can help you in your search to find records. Websites like http://www.ancestry.com/ and www.familysearch.org may offer important insight, but keep in mind their records are not perfectly in order. If records seem not to be available it may be advisable to hire a professional genealogist.
Naturalization Records
If your Italian born ancestor never naturalized as a citizen of the USA (or another country), the records of their naturalization will be the most important factor in determining your eligibility for Italian citizenship. In order for you to claim your right to Italian citizenship, the ancestor who you are applying through must not have naturalized as a citizen of ANY country before the birth of your first non-Italian-born ascendant. In the USA, the regional National Archives and Records Administration (often referred to as “NARA”) normally keep these records.
Requesting Records from Italy
As soon as you have the basic information on your Italian-born ancestors, you will be able to make a request to the vital records office in Italy. To do this, you need to know the dates or at least the years of major life events i.e. birth & marriage, names of the towns or cities where these events took place, and the first and last names of the ancestors. Italian Consulates usually require these records in long form or international format (“Formato Internazionale”). It is important that you follow all the instructions required for requesting these vital records. For instance, there may be certain documents that you have to include in your request; so make sure that everything the municipality requires is included in your application.
Keep in mind, when communicating with comuni, it will be necessary to accomplish this in Italian. If you need any help to contact an Italian comune our dual citizenship experts are available to assist you every step of the way, click here to send us an email with any of your questions.
Obtaining an Apostille (only for documents not issued in Italy)
Almost all vital record documents gathered in the US will need to be legalized with an Apostille. It is important that you understand the process for obtaining Apostilles in your state. Each state has their own office that will issue this level of certification, although it is often associated at the state level authority rather than county/city level. It is also important to know which documents need to be apostilled and what documents do not.
We, at ICA, are able to assist and guide you through the entire procedure. We can help you procure required documents, make sure they are in the correct format and have the relevant certifications. For more information about how we are able to assist you click here to send us a message.
