ARE YOU ITALIAN?
ARE YOU OF ITALIAN DESCENT?
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BEING ABLE TO DO BUSINESS AS A EUROPEAN IN EUROPE AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RELOCATE TO EUROPE WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS AND BENEFIT FROM THE ITALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, WHICH IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD?
You may already be an Italian citizen with the ability to do this.
When considering business opportunities, it is always worthwhile exploring your options domestically as well as internationally. If you are from the United States for instance, opportunities may be limited or challenging if you choose to do business in Europe due to a lack of citizenship in a member country. Nationality also affects the possibility for job prospects for applicants who want to work abroad or internationally. For example, in Europe, citizens of the European Union and countries a part of the European Economic area do not face the same challenges that non-EU citizens face when applying for employment. Unfortunately, many first-time international job hunters do not know that their nationality may play a role when embarking on a global job safari. When specifically referring to Europe though, there are many programs that encourage international working and cultural exchanges for European Union citizens but a non-EU citizen often may encounter many more obstacles, permissions, visas and visa sponsors just to name a few.
Many people may already be considered citizens of a European nation without knowing it. These individuals have the potential to be citizens of Italy for example through the Italian citizenship law called ‘Jure Sanguinis‘. It should also be noted that Italy is not the only country that offers citizenship by descent. Countries such as Ireland, Poland also have schemes in place as well as those who are descendants of Jews from Spain and Portugal, who may also have a claim to citizenship due to the expulsion of their people during each country’s inquisition.
But let’s focus on Italian citizenship…
Italy’s legal system gives a person born as an Italian citizen their citizenship (generally) through their ‘bloodline’. Italian citizenship is based on a citizenship law principle called, Jure Sanguinis, which is a Latin term meaning by right/virtue of blood. This is the major principle which many European countries base their citizenship laws upon. Even the United States has this as part of the foundation in which a person can gain citizenship to some extent. However, the United States along with the United Kingdom has what is known more commonly as “birthright citizenship”; the principle that citizenship is mostly based upon ‘jus soli’, meaning ‘by right/ virtue of soil’. In practice this means wherever a person is born, simply because of the birth location, the child has a right to citizenship of the country where he/she was born. Although, this is not the case in Italy. Citizenship in Italy and many European countries is based on family lineage or “blood”. Jure Sanquinis does not necessitate a person having to be physically born in a specific place, area, nation, or territory. Instead, citizenship is simply based upon the fact that at least one of a child’s parents was a citizen of that country at the time of their birth which automatically gives their child/children citizenship. In addition, in Italy the children of these children and their children and so on would also be able to be recognized as citizens.
Italy’s citizenship laws in this regard are quite open and liberal without generational limits as long as one can prove their lineage by providing specific details which can be shown through documentation to verify, confirm and demonstrate that the person is indeed of Italian descent and that citizenship was transferred from one generation to the other. It is much easier to obtain this information than many people may initially believe. But because there aren’t any generational limits, your Italian ancestor could go back to your great-grandparent or even great-great grandparents as long as that Italian born ancestor of yours was a citizen of Italy during/after the formation of the nation of Italy as we know it today in 1861. The reason for the specific date is that prior to this date of 1861, there was no such thing as an Italian citizen since the nation of Italy didn’t exist as a single nation as we know it today. The territory prior to becoming a unified nation was made up of various separate states. The other requirement is that the ascendant never renounced their citizenship intentionally or unintentionally.
Having helped hundreds of people go through the process of obtaining citizenship, It always interests me to know what the reasons are that people are claiming citizenship. My observation is that there is a growing number of people who are interested in working in Europe and are interested in Italian citizenship specifically for the opportunities that it can create when searching for jobs in Europe. Some people are intent on finding a new job while others who already work for multinational companies and would like to continue their career with their current Employer. Having EU citizenship eliminates so much of the red tape involved and can often make the difference between getting a position or not. Companies seem to be choosing applicants who are more “passport desirable”. Additionally, applicants requesting new positions within a company who have the legal ability to work in a country without the necessity of having lawyers and legal fees for that person to be able to reside in Europe is very much seen as a plus when making these decisions. These people would not have to go through the red tape that an average American citizen would have to go through to be able to reside in Europe. Whereas, a person who holds European citizenship would be able to do business and seek employment anywhere in Europe quite freely and reside where they choose without restrictions.
If we consider that having Italian citizenship means also high-quality low-cost health care at a fraction of the cost of health care in the US and freedom of movement in the whole European Union applying for Italian citizenship can really change people’s life.
But who are the people actually eligible for this “genetic lottery”….for lack of a better term. When speaking about Italy, the following are a number of criteria that must be met:
1) A person is of Italian descent or adopted by a person of Italian descent.
2) A person’s Italian ancestor was alive and born after 1861.
3) This person’s Italian born ancestor as well as each direct family member going down the family tree must never have lost their Italian citizenship
But who wouldn’t be eligible for Italian citizenship by descent:
– A person doesn’t have ancestors or familial connection to Italy
However….
If a person is not of Italian descent and none of their ancestors came from Italy but he/she/they might be married to a person of Italian descent or who has already been recognized as an Italian citizen, that person may actually be eligible for Italian citizenship, but in a different way through marriage known as Jure Matrimonii.
Another case where a person may not be eligible for Italian citizenship by descent but still may be able to gain Italian citizenship would be if their family line goes through a female member who gave birth before to her child who would be the next direct familial connection before 1948 connecting the applicant/ petitioner back to Italy.
If you feel as though you might be eligible for Italian citizenship, but feel as though there’s no need for you to have it, it’s at least well worth considering, especially since the costs of Italian citizenship by descent are far less expensive in comparison with many of the “golden visa” or citizenship by investment schemes where some countries require an investment or “donation” of at least $250K where as citizenship by descent can cost in the hundreds if you do-it-yourself or in the thousands if you don’t speak Italian and opt to seek assistance with your Italian citizenship.
If you have questions about the opportunities Italian Citizenship can create do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Click here to send us a message.
