Many of our articles have analyzed in great detail the eligibility requirements needed to apply for Italian citizenship, and they have also outlined the different paths to acquiring citizenship, which are dependent on whether the Italian ancestor through whom the claim is being made ever naturalized, and if naturalization occurred before or after the child’s birth in the U.S
Just as a recap, you can apply for Italian citizenship by descent if you meet a number of eligibility requirements. More specifically, if your ancestor who was born in Italy was alive in 1861 (when Italy was created as a nation), if he/she was never naturalized (or if he/she became a U.S. citizen after the birth of the child who was born in the U.S. and after June 14, 1912), and if none of your ascendants in your direct line of descent ever formally renounced their right to Italian citizenship. If there is a woman in your Italian lineage who was born in Italy and who gave birth to her child who was born in the U.S. prior to January 1, 1948, you might not be able to qualify for Italian citizenship by descent through an application at the consulate. However, you might be able to pursue Italian citizenship via the court system and file a 1948 case. This is because when Italy’s constitution came into effect on January 1, 1948, women and men were granted equal rights, and therefore women were able to pass their Italian citizenship on to their children. On the contrary, prior to this date, women could not pass their Italian citizenship on to their children, which is now considered to be unlawful and discriminatory against women, and this is why you can retroactively apply for citizenship via the court system and file a lawsuit.
That said, please bear in mind that other specific requirements may apply to your specific case. This article will focus on some of the most peculiar cases and unique circumstances regarding eligibility requirements which we have encountered over the years.
What if..?
Scenario #1: you were born in Italy to an American mother and to an Italian father, and your Italian birth certificate was registered in the U.S. You now reside outside of Italy and you do not hold an Italian passport. If this scenario applies to you, as you were born with Italian citizenship, you only need to register with the AIRE (Registry of Italian Citizens Residing Abroad) and apply for an Italian passport. Note: the consulate may require that you register your own vital records which have been issued abroad (eg. marriage record/s, divorce record/s, name change decrees).
Example: Samuel was born in Italy in 1954 to an American mother and an Italian father. Samuel’s birth was registered with the U.S. consulate in Naples, Italy, and Samuel’s mother was given a Consular Report of Birth Abroad for her child proving that he was a U.S. citizen. A few years after his birth, Samuel’s parents relocated to the U.S. Samuel never had an Italian passport and to the best of his knowledge he was born with U.S. citizenship.
Samuel is an Italian citizen through his father and he can register with the Italian consulate and apply for an Italian passport. Samuel may be required to register his personal vital records (for instance marriage certificate and divorce judgment), which must be duly legalized and translated. If Samuel legally changed name in the U.S., he will need to provide the consulate with his legal name change decree which must be duly translated and apostilled.
Note: if your Italian parent renounced his/her Italian citizenship by naturalizing in another country you may not be able to apply for Italian citizenship.
In the example above, if Samuel’s mother had applied for U.S. citizenship prior to Samuel’s birth, Samuel would have been born with U.S. citizenship only.
Scenario #2: you were born in Italy to an American father and to an Italian mother. Your Italian birth certificate was registered in the U.S. through the U.S. consulate in Italy and you hold a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. You now reside outside of Italy and do not hold an Italian passport. In this scenario you were born with Italian citizenship if you were born after January 1st 1948. If this is the case, you can register with the AIRE (Registry of Italian Citizens Residing Abroad) and apply for an Italian passport. Note: the consulate may require that you register your personal vital records which have been issued abroad (eg. Marriage record/s, divorce record/s, name change decrees). However, if you were born prior to January 1st 1948 you did not become an Italian citizen because women could not transfer their citizenship onto their children before January 1st, 1948. Therefore, you will need to pursue Italian citizenship via the court system in order for your descendants and you to acquire Italian citizenship.
Example: Samuel was born in Italy in 1954 to an American father and an Italian mother. Samuel’s birth was registered with the U.S. consulate in Naples, Italy, and Samuel’s father was given a Consular Report of Birth Abroad for his child proving that he was a U.S. citizen. A few years after his birth, Samuel’s parents relocated to the U.S. Samuel never had an Italian passport and to the best of his knowledge he was born with U.S. citizenship. Samuel is an Italian citizen through his mother and can now register with the Italian consulate and apply for an Italian passport. Samuel may be required to register his personal vital records (for instance marriage certificate and divorce judgment) which must be duly legalized and translated. If Samuel legally changed name in the U.S., he will need to provide the consulate with his legal name change decree which must be duly translated and apostilled. However, if Samuel was born prior to January 1st 1948, he will need to pursue Italian citizenship via the court system in order for his descendants and him to acquire Italian citizenship.
Scenario #3: you were born in Italy to Italian parents and became naturalized in the U.S. prior to August 16, 1992. If this case applies to you then you automatically relinquished your Italian citizenship. This is because Italian citizenship was exclusive before 1992 which means that the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship caused the loss of Italian citizenship. Note that the same applies if you became a U.S. citizen through your parents while you were a minor.
In the case explained above you can have your Italian citizenship reinstated by declaring your intention to re-acquire your Italian citizenship by moving to Italy to establish your residency in the country. In brief, you will need to visit the Italian consulate which covers the jurisdiction where you reside and sign a declaration stating that you intend to reacquire Italian citizenship by establishing residency in Italy within one year from the date of declaration. While the documents such as your vital records need to be processed by an Italian municipality (“comune”) where you intend to establish your residency, the declaration can also be rendered at the Italian consulate.
Example: Francesco was born in Italy in 1954 to Italian parents. At the age of 19 he relocated to the U.S. and at the age of 25 he petitioned to became a U.S. citizen. His U.S. citizenship application was approved shortly after. In this scenario Francesco lost his Italian citizenship and needs to go through a reacquisition process in order to regain it. The same applies if Francesco emigrated to the U.S. at a young age together with his parents and became a naturalized U.S. citizen as a minor as a result of his parent/s’ naturalization.
If you would like further information about this topic please read our article about the reacquisition of Italian citizenship.
Scenario #4: if you were born in Italy to Italian parents and became naturalized in the U.S. after August 16, 1992 you are still an Italian citizen; therefore you can register with the AIRE (Registry of Italian Citizens Residing Abroad) and apply for an Italian passport. As explained in the example #1 you never lost your Italian citizenship because after August 16, 1992 Italy started to allow for dual citizenship. Note: the consulate may require that you register your personal vital records which have been issued abroad (eg. Marriage record/s, divorce record/s, name change decrees).
Example: Antonino was born in Italy to Italian parents. He relocated to the U.S. at the age of 18 and he became a U.S. citizen at the age of 33 in 1993. Since 1993 Antonino always used his U.S. passport for travel purposes and never took any action to renew his Italian passport.
Antonino remained an Italian citizen and can now register with the Italian consulate and apply for an Italian passport. Antonino may be required to register his own vital records (for instance marriage certificate and divorce judgment), which must be duly legalized and translated. If Antonino legally changed his name in the U.S. he will need to provide the consulate with his legal name change decree which must be duly translated and apostilled.
Scenario #5: you were born in the U.S. to a parent who was born in Italy; your parent became naturalized BEFORE you were born but after August 16, 1992. You can apply for Italian citizenship by descent because your parent did not lose their Italian citizenship because after August 16, 1992 Italy allowed for dual citizenship. You will need to book an appointment with your local Italian consulate and file an application for citizenship by descent.
Example: Michael was born in the U.S. in 1994. Michael’s father, Antonio, was born in Italy in 1963. Antonio did not become a naturalized U.S. citizen until 1993. Michael is eligible to apply for Italian citizenship by descent through his local Italian consulate.
Scenario #6: if you were born to an Italian father who was naturalized prior to August 16, 1992 and before you were born, you cannot qualify for Italian citizenship by descent through him. However, you might be able to apply for Italian citizenship via your mother, if she married your father before 1983 and while he was still an Italian citizen. This is because before April 27, 1983 all foreign women who married an Italian citizen automatically became Italian. Therefore, your qualifying Italian ancestor could be your mother provided that your parents’ marriage took place prior to April 27, 1983. Please note that if your father passed away, or if your parents divorced prior to that date, but after your birth, you can still claim Italian citizenship provided that your parents’ marriage record and your mother’s birth certificate are registered in Italy.
Note: the pre-requisite is that your parents’ marriage record is registered in Italy. Therefore, the consulate may require that your mother applies for citizenship by marriage as well (if she has not done so in the past).
Example: Your father Filippo was born in Italy in 1956. Your father married your mother, Christine, in 1982. Your mother became an Italian citizen by marriage automatically under the laws in force prior to 1983. Your mother can now apply for citizenship by marriage through the consulate and you can apply for citizenship by descent through your mother.
Scenario #7: you were born in the U.S.; your parents were born in Italy, they moved to the U.S. and became U.S. citizens before 1992 and before you were born. They moved back to Italy and regained their Italian citizenship prior to your birth. In this scenario you would qualify for Italian citizenship by descent provided that you submit proof that your parents regained their Italian citizenship.
Example: John was born in the U.S. in 1983. John’s parents were born in Italy, they moved to the U.S. and gained U.S. citizenship through naturalization in 1972. However, in 1980 they relocated back to Italy and reacquired their Italian citizenship. Since John was born to Italian parents he would qualify for Italian citizenship by descent.
Scenario #8: if your Italian ancestor through whom you are claiming citizenship lived in a foreign country and then moved to the U.S., you need to verify that he/she did not become a citizen of that country prior to the birth of his/her child born the U.S.
Example: your great grandfather Mario emigrated from Italy to Argentina in 1901. He never became a citizen of Argentina. He then relocated to the U.S. in 1913 and had his child, your grandfather in 1920. You have to ascertain not only that your great grandfather did not became a U.S. citizen prior to the birth of your grandfather, but also that he never became a citizen of Argentina.
Scenario #9: you were born in a country which is different from the U.S. and Italy. You now reside in the U.S and wish to apply for Italian citizenship. In order to qualify for Italian citizenship, you must not have become a citizen of the U.S. prior to August 16, 1992.
Example: your grandfather emigrated from Italy to Argentina and never became a citizen of Argentina. You and your farther were born in Argentina. You emigrated to the U.S. and became a U.S. citizen prior to August 16, 1992. Your father resides in Argentina.
In this scenario you would not qualify for Italian citizenship by descent.
If you became a U.S., citizen after August 16, 1992 you would qualify for Italian citizenship by descent.
Note that if your father emigrated to the U.S. as well, you need to verify that he did not obtain U.S citizenship through naturalization before you were born or while you were a minor.
We hope that this article has provided you with a good understanding of some of the main exceptions and special circumstances that might apply to determining one’s eligibility for Italian citizenship by descent. If you need further information about the eligibility requirements or if you think that your case might be unique and does not fall within one of the categories listed above, do not hesitate to contact us for a free assessment of your case at [email protected]. We will be happy to help you.
