Many of our articles have explored the intricacies behind the different paths to acquiring Italian citizenship, and the requirements which are needed to apply. This article instead will run you through the most important dates you need to know if you are looking to apply for Italian citizenship by descent or by naturalization.
A very important date for Italy’s history as well as for individuals who wish to apply for Italian citizenship by descent is March 17, 1861, which marks the birth of the Italian state. Therefore, if you are claiming Italian citizenship, your Italian ancestor must have been still alive on or after that date. Please bear in mind that your ancestor who was born in Italy must not have become naturalized in a foreign country before the birth of his child.
Another important date to keep in mind is June 13, 1912 which is when the Italian government issued the Law no.555/1912 regulating the acquisition of Italian citizenship. According to this law, if your Italian ancestor was naturalized before June 13, 1912 you cannot claim Italian citizenship. This also applies if your ancestor became naturalized before that date and after his child’s birth. However, you might be able to claim citizenship via your female ancestor (provided that she was born in Italy) because she might have become naturalized automatically and involuntarily by marriage. Acquiring citizenship by marriage prior to September 22, 1922 is now retroactively considered to be unlawful and discriminatory against women and therefore you can try your case in court via a judicial proceeding.
This last point is closely connected to the US Cable Act of September 22, 1922 which changed the status of married immigrant women so that they would not automatically acquire their husbands’ citizenship. Prior to that date, in fact, if a woman married an Italian citizen who became naturalized she would automatically lose her Italian citizenship and acquire her husband’s citizenship. As with the previous case, this is now retroactively considered to be unlawful and discriminatory against women. This is why if your female ancestor who was born in Italy married a man who renounced his Italian citizenship prior to 1922 you can claim citizenship via a judicial proceeding and file a 1948 case.
On June 2, 1946 Italy became a republic and its constitution came into effect on January 1, 1948. In particular, this date is important because the constitution granted women and men equal rights. As a result, under the new constitution, Italian women could pass their Italian citizenship onto their children but only if they were born after January 1, 1948. This is why if your female ancestor gave birth to her child prior to January 1, 1948 you can only claim citizenship retroactively via a judicial proceeding and file a 1948 case as explained above. On the contrary, if there is a female ancestor in your Italian line who gave birth to her child after January 1, 1948 you can file your citizenship application at an Italian consulate or at a municipality in Italy.
With regards to women, it is worth pointing out that before April 27, 1983 all foreign women who married an Italian citizen automatically became Italian. In this sense, a woman who married an Italian citizen (or a man who could claim his right to Italian citizenship) prior to that date can apply for the recognition of her Italian citizenship and this can be done through a process which is much faster compared to a traditional jure matrimonii application. This also means that your qualifying Italian ancestor could be your mother even if she was not born in Italy. In other words, if your father who was born in Italy, became naturalized before you were born, you cannot apply for citizenship through him but you might be able to apply via your mother who was born in the US, for instance, provided that their marriage took place prior to April 27, 1983. Please note that if your parents divorced prior to that date, but after your birth, you can still claim Italian citizenship but your mother would have lost her citizenship right at the time of the divorce. On the other hand, if your parents divorced after that date your mother can apply for citizenship.
Law 91/1992 also introduced important changes in Italian citizenship law. After August 16th 1992, Italian citizens who naturalized in a foreign country no longer lost their Italian citizenship and could transmit it to their children because after that date Italy allowed dual citizenship. On the other hand, before this law was passed, the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship caused the loss of Italian citizenship. Nevertheless, if you fall into this category you can indeed require Italian citizenship by establishing your residency in Italy. More information about the reacquisition of Italian citizenship can be found here.
Finally, on October 21, 2020 the Italian government passed a decree law n. 130/2020 which was converted into law n. 173/2020 on December 18, 2020. This law introduced new regulations concerning citizenship by marriage (jure matrimonii). More specifically, it set the processing time for applications for citizenship by marriage and residency (naturalization) for 24 months (2 years), but this can be extended to a maximum of 36 months (3 years) from the date of application as opposed to 48 months (4 years), which was the maximum processing time established by the previous decree law which was passed on October 4, 2018 and which was converted into law on December 1, 2018. Not only did this decree law set the maximum processing time for 48 months but it also established that citizenship by marriage would require a certified knowledge of the Italian language which is no lower than B1. For more information about the requirements and the application process for citizenship by marriage and residency (naturalization) please click here.
*Please note that the language certification is not required for applications for citizenship by marriage which are filed by women who married an Italian citizen before April 27, 1983.
We hope that this article has provided you with the necessary information regarding the dates you need to know if you are looking to apply for Italian citizenship by descent and by naturalization. If you need help with determining your eligibility to apply do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]. We will be happy to help you!
