If you heard there’s a way to speed up the process and Skip directly to your application for Italian citizenship by descent, good news this is true: there’s a chance of getting your application reviewed without waiting for an appointment at the consulate, and this scenario includes facing evocative landscapes, tasting divine food, and diving deeply into your ancestor’s homeland.
The Italian law (“circolare” 32 of June 13th, 2007) allows people of Italian descent to start the citizenship process directly in Italy (rather than at the local Italian consulate). People who enter Italy with the purpose of applying for Italian citizenship jure sanguinis do not need a visa to enter the country and are granted automatically a residence permit if the citizenship process takes longer than 90 days. The law further prescribes that the individual can be registered as a resident of the chosen municipality simply on the basis of a “declaration of presence” filed at the local “Questura” (local Police Head Quarters) or entry stamp on passport.
I know you’re intrigued. So: what’s next?
The path to be followed is to collect your Italian and US documentation proving your Italian blood lineage, pack it very well and book a flight to Italy. And, of course, finding a proper accommodation for your stay.
It is up to you to decide where, when, and even how: you may want to travel solo or to take with you your adult children or siblings. The citizenship application will be just one, regardless of the number of the applicants.
Keep in mind that you can take care of your minor children’s Italian citizenship after you are granted Italian citizenship, by simply registering their birth certificates through your local Italian consulate.
Below are some tips and considerations on the main topics related to applying for Italian Citizenship directly in Italy (a DIY guide!).
YOUR FLIGHT TICKETS
One thing to keep in mind concerns your flight tickets: will you be flying directly to Italy or will you stop in another EU country before entering Italy?
Should you make a stop in a European country which is part of the “Schengen Area” (within which travelers’ passports are no longer stamped when crossing borders) your passport will only be stamped in the EU country of arrival and not in Italy. Consequently, you will need to “declare your presence” in Italy by filing a “Declaration of Presence” (Dichiarazione di Presenza) at the local Police Headquarters (Questura).
This step is made necessary because, when establishing residence in Italy, the Municipality will need to verify your exact date of entry in Italy.
On the other hand, if yours is a non-stop flight to Italy or if you are going through the UK (which is not part of the “Schengen Area”) you will simply need to make sure that the stamp affixed on your passport upon arrival in Italy is fully legible (both the date and port of entry).
Here’s an example:
- a) If you’ll be flying from San Francisco to Roma Fiumicino, your passport will be stamped in Rome at your arrival at the airport: NO NEED TO DECLARE YOUR PRESENCE.
- b) Your flight departs from New York JFK, and after a stop in Paris, you’ll be landing in Milano.
Your passport will be stamped at the airport in Paris, and it won’t be stamped again in Milan! This is why YOU’LL NEED TO DECLARE YOUR PRESENCE once in Italy.
THE ACCOMMODATION
This might sound like the easiest part, right? Italy is a top tourist destination, with plenty of rooms or holiday houses to offer. But the question to ask your landlord should be:
WILL I BE ABLE TO ESTABLISH RESIDENCE IN MY ACCOMMODATION?
In fact, the key element in being allowed to apply for Italian citizenship by descent in Italy is to establish residence in Italy (for instance, some university campuses or Airbnb accommodations will not allow you to establish residency).
Residence in Italy can be established after renting an apartment (or room), obtaining a “fiscal code” (Codice Fiscale) through the local “Agenzia delle Entrate” and registering the lease agreement at the “Agenzia delle Entrate”.
OBTAINMENT OF THE CODICE FISCALE
The “Codice Fiscale” is an alpha-numeric (based on your name, DOB, POB, and sex) which is assigned to you by the “Agenzia delle Entrate” (local Revenue Agency).
Obtaining a “Cofice Fiscale” is a quite easy process. All you will need to do is head to the local “Agenzia delle Entrate” office with your passport (with entry stamp) or “Declaration of Presence” and an application form that can be found online, on the website of the “Agenzia delle Entrate”. Once there you will just need to show your passport or “declaration of presence” and sign the application form and they will immediately issue a tax code certificate (“certifcato di codice fiscale”).
APPLYING FOR RESIDENCY IN ITALY – THE PROCESS IN DETAIL
After your “declaration of presence” will be filed, your lease agreement registered and your Fiscal Code obtained, you will simply need to head to the “Civil Registry Office” (Ufficio Anagrafe) within the Municipal City Hall to officially apply for Residency.
To do so, you will need to provide evidence of your lawful stay in Italy and that you have already found an accommodation: documents required are your registered lease agreement, your declaration of presence (or stamp on your passport) and your Codice Fiscale.
Keep in mind the residency process, to be finalized, requires a local police verification.
The Civil Registry Clerk (“Ufficiale di Anagrafe”) will ask you to state what days/time will work best for you to be visited by the local police. So even if this is supposed to be a random verification, there is some sort of flexibility to avoid the need for you to stay in your apartment the entire time, waiting for a local Policeman (Vigile) to come at your place and have your residency verified.
The Policeman may visit you just once or multiple times, during the hours and days you indicated as your preferred ones.
Most Municipalities will be ok with just one visit, but please be aware of the fact that, by law, your residency will be officially confirmed after 45 days from when you filed your residency application.
After those 45 days, your residency will be confirmed and you will be a resident of that town.
We’d recommend waiting for a couple more days before walking into the Municipal City Hall to ask for a confirmation of the residency, though: your residency needs to be accepted by the computerized system and registered before you can have any confirmation about it!
At this point, you can formally apply for Italian citizenship.
HOW TO HAVE YOUR APPLICATION SUBMITTED AND REVIEWED IN ITALY
Even if there are some fundamental steps, every Municipality will most likely run the process their own, particular way.
This is why we always recommend checking in advance with your preferred Municipality for any variation of the process or any special requirements before planning your stay. For instance, some municipalities will not require some certificates (such as death certificates). Also, some municipalities will require full translations of apostilles, while some other will require only translations of the citizenship documents.
After having clear in mind the specific requirements of the chosen municipality (if any), you will be allowed to officially apply for Italian Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis).
You will be asked to fill out an application form, addressed to the Mayor of the Town, in order to officially apply for Italian citizenship by descent.
This is also when you’ll be submitting all the documentation you retrieved with apostilles and translations into Italian, to the Vital Records Office (Ufficio Stato Civile) or Citizenship office (Ufficio Cittadinanza).
After the meeting, the Citizenship Clerk will take care of reviewing your specific case and citizenship documents.
OUR TIP: We suggest to organize your documentation in chronological order (from the elder ancestor to yourself or kids), and to include a nice and clear family tree at the beginning. Italian clerks do appreciate a well-organized set of documents, so feel free to place your certificates in an organized binder. It will give the idea of how much time and effort you dedicated to this project and to your family history!
Given the discretionary nature of the process, our suggestion is to be as kind and friendly as possible with the Clerk since he/she is the one who will be making the final determination on your eligibility for citizenship based on the documents provided (for instance the clerk may or may not care much about discrepancies in the documentation).
After the submission, the clerk will examine your family tree and then carefully review every piece of documentation provided. This may take some time depending on the workload of the clerk (some clerk are assigned to multiple offices)
Our suggestion is to avoid popping into his/her office too often (like once a week) to ask for an update.
After the clerk has familiarized with your documents and confirmed that you qualify for Italian citizenship he/she will send inquiries to each of the Italian Consulates with jurisdiction where you and your Italian ancestor/ascendants resided during your life.
These inquiries are called “Verifiche di Non-Rinuncia” (non-renounce verifications): their goal is to verify that nor you nor your Italian ancestor/ascendants ever renounced Italian citizenship before an Italian authority.
This will definitely be the time when you’ll need to be the most patient: in fact, most times the Consulates’ workload prevents them to promptly make the necessary assessment. But eventually, the non-renounce verification results will be provided to the Municipal Citizenship Clerk and then, yes, you will be granted Italian Citizenship!
That all seems a bit confusing at first sight, but we can assure you that the staff of the Italian municipality can be very helpful and cooperative and you will definitely be able to check with them the status of your application and get frequent updates.
However don’t ask too often ( no )!
On a side note, please avoid bringing gifts or treats to the Clerk during the process. This would definitely be awkward and inappropriate and keep in mind that public servants cannot accept any presents or gifts when providing a public service.
APPLYING FOR A RESIDENCE PERMIT FOR CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION
One additional procedure to be carried out to ensure your lawful permanency in Italy (for as long as your citizenship application process takes) is to apply for a Residence Permit for people who started the citizenship process in Italy (“Permesso di Soggiorno in Attesa di Cittadinanza”).
To do so, you will first need a letter from the Municipality, stating that you have formally applied for Italian citizenship.
Permesso di Soggiorno in Attesa di Cittadinanza: long name, little hustle. With your receipt attesting that you started the citizenship process, you will need to walk into your local Post Office (“Poste Italiane”) and ask for a “Kit con Modulo 209”. The Modulo 209 will need to be completed in full, and mailed to the Police Headquarters, together with a photocopy of your passport (all the pages), a photocopy of your declaration of presence (if applicable), a receipt from the Municipality confirming you are waiting for your citizenship application to be processed, a revenue stamp (“marca da bollo”) for €14,62, and photocopies of your registered lease contract.
Afterward, you will be contacted by the Police Headquarters and you will be invited to attend an appointment, where you’ll be asked to confirm your personal data.
On the appointment day, you’ll need to bring 4 photographs, your passport and the receipt of the mailing of the request for the residence permit (the one you kept from the Post Office).
You will be granted a residence permit allowing you to stay in Italy until your Italian citizenship will be granted to you.
