Many people who are starting on their quest for Italian citizenship and those who are less familiar with the process of obtaining recognition of Italian citizenship, always have the same question, “Can I have Italian citizenship and keep the citizenship and passport I already have?” In short, more than likely, yes.
Italy, The United States, as well as a number of other nations, do allow for dual citizenship. Based on current laws, Italy allows for dual nationality and does not put any limit on the number of citizenships one may hold. Technically, an Italian citizen is allowed to have multiple nationalities; 3 or more passports as long as the other nations where they are citizens have similar laws allowing this.
Practically speaking, what does that mean?
Let’s first talk about some of the background on this subject.
Italy did not always allow for dual citizenship; specifically between 1912 and 1992 Italy did not allow dual citizenship.
In fact, many Italian emigrants lost citizenship when they petitioned to become citizens of their chosen country. This is a very important factor to take into consideration when applying for Italian citizenship by descent. It is necessary to determine if your ancestor had the right to pass down Italian citizenship to their child, who would be the next direct connection in your family line connecting you back to Italy.
If your last Italian-born ancestor was still a citizen of Italy at the time of the birth of their child, the citizenship ‘chain’ was unbroken. However, if your Italian born ancestor petitioned to become a citizen of another country before the birth of their child, the ‘chain’ would have been broken.
The main exception to the impossibility of having dual citizenship under Italian law was made for the children of Italian citizens born in a country where citizenship is acquired (involuntarily) by birth.
In law No. 555 of 1912, provisions were made to allow the children of those who had naturalized as citizens of another nation after their children’s birth, the ability to pass their Italian nationality to their children and for the children to maintain a dual citizenship status, giving them the option to return to their homeland one day if they so choose. This is the basis for many Jure Sanguinis cases in conjunction with other aspects of the Italian citizenship laws.
In brief, this means that according to the 1912 law on Italian citizenship, while the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship caused the loss of Italian citizenship, the involuntary acquisition of foreign citizenship (by birth in the foreign territory) allowed the child of a person who was still an Italian citizen at the time of said birth to maintain a dual citizenship status. This is the case of the child of an Italian citizen born in a country where citizenship is acquired by birth on that country’s territory (like the United States).
There are not any generational limits for Italian citizenship by descent, meaning that Italian citizenship can be passed from one generation to another without limitations, on the condition that last person born in the Italian peninsula did not pass away before 1861 and that you have an “unbroken chain” as mentioned above.
This means you can apply for Italian citizenship by descent even if the last person born in Italy was your great-great-grandparent… or beyond.
A common question is:
“But why is it that if my great-grandfather naturalized after my grandfather was born different than if he had naturalized before?”
If your great-grandfather had naturalized as a citizen of another country, it would have made your great-grandfather a citizen of that country and automatically no longer an Italian citizen. At that point in history under the Italian monarchy, subjects of the Italian monarchy automatically renounced citizenship if they swore allegiance to a foreign power. This continued even once the republic replaced the monarchy and derivative laws were in effect until 1992.
Consequently, a child born in the United States to a parent who had naturalized was considered the child of a US citizen which left the child without the right to Italian citizenship by birth.
On the contrary, only the child of an Italian citizen, who was still Italian at the time of the child’s birth, would have been able to receive citizenship from their parents.
Women married to Italian men:
We would like to also address the case of foreign women who married Italian men before April 27, 1983. A woman would automatically acquire Italian citizenship through her husband. If the acquisition of her citizenship by marriage did not have a direct effect on the citizenship of her country of origin, she automatically would have been considered a citizen of both Italy and her country of origin. This was regardless of whether or not her husband knew he was or citizen of Italy or whether she knew that she was a citizen because of him. In this not so unusual circumstances, it may be possible to make a claim under a female who never knew she was Italian if she had been married to her husband before he naturalized or if he never naturalized. According to Italian law of that time, the wife’s Italian citizenship status was dependent on the husband’s citizenship status.
It is important to remember that Italian women in Italy did not always have the same civil liberties and civil rights as men, including the ability to pass down Italian citizenship. Prior to January 1st, 1948, the ability to pass on Italian citizenship was determined through the male line and not through the female line. This means that if a female ascendant is the only available “Italian ancestor”, it will not be possible to pursue Italian citizenship by descent through an administrative process if the next person in the Italian line was born prior to 1948. However, a retroactive recognition of the civil rights granted to women by the 1948 Italian constitution is possible as a part of the ‘new’ understanding that came from a 2009 judicial case. This case challenged the old laws based on more recent laws and opened the pathway to citizenship for those who would make a claim under an Italian born female who gave birth prior to 1948 through what is often referred to as a “1948 case”. This first “1948 Case” in 2009 established that the laws of that time (prior to January 1st 1948) were actually discriminatory against women, due to the fact that women were not allowed the same civil rights as men; such as the ability to pass down citizenship to their children and the right to vote. For more information of the Judicial “1948 Process” click here.
What happened in 1992?
Prior to 1992, Italian citizenship was exclusive, meaning that the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship caused the loss of Italian citizenship. As we mentioned above, in most cases, dual citizenship was generally only able to be held by those who were born to an Italian parent in another country and who gained their non-Italian citizenship involuntarily by birth. This is because the child would not have renounced his/her own citizenship with the need to swear allegiance to the other nation. It would have occurred automatically simply due to the fact that the child was born.
After August 15th 1992 is when everything changed. It was at that point when Italian citizens who acquired another citizenship intentionally, could in fact keep both passports. Although at that initial stage, citizens were required to inform the local comune (municipality) or consulate within 3 months of acquiring another citizenship. At that time, if they did not make the declaration, the individual could have faced a fine. Afterwards, notification of any kind was no longer necessary. Now in the modern era, all Italians can explore the possibilities of a second passport without the concerns of the past regulations regardless of where they were born and with no possible fines. There aren’t any more concerns or worries of losing citizenship and not being able to pass along the legacy that comes with being Italian.
In practice, this means that if your Italian-born parent, or parent of Italian descent with the right to Italian citizenship, intentionally acquired another citizenship different from their citizenship at birth prior to your birth but after August 15th 1992 you would not lose your right to Italian citizenship. For example, this is the case if your father was born in Italy and became naturalized as a US citizen in 1993 and you were born in the US in 1994. Or, another example, if your father was born in Argentina to Italian parents who never became Argentine citizens, and if he became naturalized in the US in 1993 prior to your birth in the US in 1994. But If you were born in 1994 and your father naturalized in 1991 then unfortunately the chain would have been broken and the only option available to you would be citizenship by naturalization after 3 years of residing in Italy.
For more information about Italian dual citizenship we are available to assist you with any and all of your legal needs click here to contact our team of dual citizenship experts.
