In this article we would like to discuss some of the specific aspects of applying for Italian citizenship through one’s grandparents or great-grandparents. These are among the most common scenarios that a person faces when embarking on the journey to Italian citizenship.
** This article is being written under the assumption that the claimant of Italian citizenship has already reached the age of majority (age 18) and neither their parents have ever registered their birth in Italy nor have their grandparents registered the birth of the claimant’s parents nor have the claimant’s great-grandparents registered the birth of the claimant’s grandparents. There are some instances where people find that they are actually already Italian citizens. This would occur if a birth had been registered when the individual was a minor. In this is your situation, it could help to simplify and fast-track your claim for Italian citizenship. If you require assistance, our dual citizenship experts at Italian Citizen Assistance will be able to help facilitate that for you.
Firstly, let’s see what happens if a person has multiple ancestors in their family. If only one of your great-grandparents or grandparents was an Italian citizen, then you would only be able to make your claim through the family chain that goes from you to your parent and on to your grandparent and potentially on to your great-grandparent.
If all of your grandparents or great-grandparents who came from Italy had Italian citizenship, you will need to make a decision as to which grandparent/great-grandparent you would like to make your claim through. These decisions can be based upon various factors as well as the ease of gathering documents. They may include: if someone has a good relationship with their parent and grandparent and can easily communicate with them, if the grandparent is alive or deceased, how easy it may be to acquire the documents for the individual grandparent, or if one or all of the grandparents already have all of the required documents needed to make a claim for italian citizenship.
Required Documents:
The process that one must undergo to make this claim for Italian citizenship by descent as an adult is actually what is considered to be a delayed birth registration. This is accomplished by providing the following documentation to the Italian consulate, or the Italian municipality (for people applying in Italy)
If you are making a claim through your great-grandparent, start here. The documents required are:
– the birth certificate of your Italian great-grandparent who you will make a claim through
– your great-grandparents’ marriage certificate
– (if applicable) any divorce decree(s) for marriage(s) for your Italian great-grandparent
– (if applicable) your Italian great-grandparent’s naturalization documents
In the USA in lieu of naturalization papers in the event that your Italian parent never became a citizen of the USA, it is possible to apply for a certificate of ‘Non Existence’
– (if applicable) a death certificate of your grandparent must also be provided.
(continue with the steps below)
For your grandparent you will need the following documents:
– the birth certificate of your Italian grandparent who you will make a claim through
– your grandparents’ marriage certificate
– (if applicable) any divorce decree(s) for marriage(s) for your Italian grandparent
– (if applicable) a death certificate of your grandparent must also be provided.
Finally, for your parents and your immediate family you will need the following documents:
– the birth certificate of your Italian parent who you will make a claim through
– your parents’ marriage certificate
– (if applicable) any divorce decree(s) for marriage(s) for your Italian parent
– (if applicable) a death certificate of your parent must also be provided.
– your birth certificate
– (if applicable) your marriage certificate(s)
– (if applicable) the birth certificate(s) of any children you may have
– (if applicable) your divorce certificate(s)
**Please note that some Italian consulates in the U.S. require also birth and death certificates for those who are married to the individuals in your Italian line.
**Also, note if there is a female in your italian line who gave birth before January 1, 1948 you would not qualify for Italian citizenship by descent. However, you may be able to petition the court in Italy to get a court order granting citizenship: to learn more click here.
Translation and legalization:
Once you have collected all the necessary legal paperwork, you will need certifications and translations of all legal documents that are not in Italian.
Please keep in mind all of these documents must have the highest level of certification. For example, a certified copy or equivalent would be required as opposed to a short form or a more simplified form of the document. If you are from the US, you may find that legal practices differ slightly from state to state. The terminology used for the equivalent certification levels may also differ.
After you have gathered all the non-Italian documents, you will need each one of them to be “apostilled”. An apostille is an internationally recognized certification for countries that are signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention. The official seal is given to vouch that the domestically issued signature/certification is sufficient for international use.
When you have received your documents back with the attached apostille seals, you will then need to have your non-Italian documents translated into Italian. If you choose to make your claim for Italian citizenship in Italy, additionally you will be required to have these translations certified. However, if you apply outside of Italy in the country of origin where the documents are from: for example, if you reside in the US and documents are from the US also, then certification of the translations would be included in the consular fee to be paid at your appointment.
Where to apply for Citizenship.
Finally, after having followed these steps and having obtained all the documents, certifications and translations, you will then be ready to attend your appointment with the Italian consulate.
The process to gather the necessary documents is generally lengthy, so we recommend that our clients make an appointment with the consulate as soon as possible — even before they have the documents in hand– keeping a realistic time frame and date in mind. There are many variables but it is best to make your appointment in advance since there can be a 12-18 months wait for the next available appointment depending on which consulate you are applying through. For those who may require help to make their appointment, this is included as a part of our Executive Full Service Package, for more info click here
Apply for a passport.
Once you have received your confirmation of citizenship, you will then want to apply for your passport through the Italian consulate if you are applying outside of Italy. If you are in Italy, it can be done through the local station of the Italian national police (“Questura”) which has jurisdiction over the municipality where you received recognition of citizenship. In the USA and in many other countries the appointment can be made through the scheduling system of the consulate that has jurisdiction over the area where you live. If making an appointment in Italy the procedure may vary from municipality to municipality and province to province.
Special Rules :
For those of you who would like to apply through a parent who was unable to pass their citizenship to you due to their gaining a second citizenship prior to your birth and prior to 1992, (therefore automatically giving up their Italian citizenship), you may still be able to obtain Italian citizenship. This can be done by residing in Italy for 3 years. Once you have met that requirement, along with obtaining an Italian B1 level language certificate (for more information about the B1 Certificate click here) you will be able to apply for citizenship through naturalization.
If you feel as though you may need help with this process for claiming Italian citizenship through your parents and to establish if you are in fact eligible through our free eligibility assessment, please do not hesitate to contact us through our contact form.
If you have any questions about any specific subjects please feel free to message our team of dual citizenship experts your questions may inspire a future article.
