You want FULL Assistance with your Italian Citizenship Application
Our comprehensive Start-to-Finish program lets you relax while we do the hard work and put together your entire document portfolio in preparation for your appointment with the Italian Consulate, if you apply here in the US, or your Court Case if you need to challenge the 1948 Case in Italy, or at the Comune if you are planning to move to Italy permanently.
Sign up for our Full Start-to-Finish Program
There are several reasons why having Italian citizenship is worth pursuing. It allows you to live, work and study not just in Italy, but in all the other 26 countries that are part of the European Union. The good news is that if you have an Italian ancestor, you may qualify for Italian Citizenship.
My Italian Family is here to assist you from beginning to end, determining if you fulfill the qualification requirements, identifying all the needed vital records from both Italy and the U.S., processing all the required amendments, and completing your portfolio with apostilles and translations to Italian. The journey to Italian Citizenship is not an easy one, so sign up today for the My Italian Family Full Start-to-Finish Assistance Program by selecting one of the plans shown below!
Italian Citizenship at the Consulate
If you qualify for Italian citizenship by descent, you will most likely have to apply at the Italian Consulate that has jurisdiction over the state where you reside. My Italian Family can put together your entire document portfolio from Start-to-Finish!
Our Start-to-Finish program includes the following: we procure all the required Italian & US documents to meet the guidelines of your Consulate. Once all the documents have been collected, we will audit your portfolio for discrepancies. We will amend, when possible, inconsistencies found in US vital records, obtain apostilles, and perform translations to Italian. Part of the program is also assistance with completion of all Consulate Application Forms and full preparation for the interview with the Consulate.
Italian Citizenship through the Courts (Female Ancestor)
If you fall into the 1948 Rule, which only applies to descendants of female ancestors, your only path to Italian citizenship may be through the Courts in Italy. The good news is that My Italian Family can help through this entire process with our Start-to-Finish program!
Before January 1, 1948 (the date Italy became a Republic) women could hold but not pass citizenship on to their children. The new Constitution did allow for women to pass on citizenship but only to children born after January 1, 1948. In a 2009 ruling, the Italian Supreme Court held that this provision is contrary to the Constitutional principles, therefore making it possible to pursue Italian citizenship by filing a motion to appeal the "1948 Rule". Thus, also children who are born before 1948 to an Italian mother and their descendants may file a motion to appeal the "1948 Rule" and obtain, if all other qualification requirements are met, Italian citizenship. My Italian Family can assist you with our Start-to-Finish program, including all aspects of gathering the required documentation. Also, our Legal Team in Italy can petition the Italian Courts on your behalf and additional legal fees will apply.
Italian Citizenship through the Courts (Denial of Justice)
Have you been trying to get an appointment with the Italian Consulate of the State where you reside forever? In accordance with Art. 3 D.P.R. 362/1994, Italian Consulates have up to TWO (2) years to process an application and provide a response. Thus. the Consulates’ unreasonable delays, and lack of appointments can now be viewed as a “Denial of Justice”, a condition for fast-tracking the case in front of the judge who will ultimately grant Italian citizenship.
To petition the Italian Courts, it is imperative to prove that the applicant cannot book an appointment at the Italian Consulate that has jurisdiction over the State where he or she resides.
Screenshots of the page attesting the impossibility to book an appointment, taken every day for several weeks at different times, is advisable.
If Consulates are closed, copies of their automated response stating the reason why they continue to be closed is also required.
If the appointment was cancelled, and no substitute appointment was set and/or no other option was given (such as submitting the document portfolio by mail), the email notification from the Italian Consulate can be presented to the Court as evidence.
My Italian Family can assist you with our Start-to-Finish program, including all aspects of gathering the required documentation. Also, our Legal Team in Italy can petition the Italian Courts on your behalf and additional legal fees will apply.
Italian Citizenship in Italy (Fast Track)
If you are planning to become a permanent resident of Italy, you will be able to apply for Italian citizenship at the town hall instead of the Italian Consulate. You can enjoy living in Italy for at least a year while your application is processed at the Italian municipality!
Although there likely is no “wait” time for an appointment in Italy, you still must gather all the same documentation as if you were applying locally in the US or in your country of residency prior to arriving in Italy. The process of putting together an application, with Italian and US vital records, certified Naturalization Records, and amendments (if applicable), apostilles and translations to Italian takes the same amount of time whether you apply in the US or in Italy. My Italian Family can assist you with our comprehensive Start-to-Finish program so you can fast track your application in Italy.
If you require assistance with the following: contacting the relevant Italian town hall and citizenship office for confirmation of the list of documents, drafting and preparation of application documents, assistance in filing the application for citizenship at the town hall and follow up, assistance with permit of stay application (filing, fingerprinting and retrieval), assistance with the Town Hall registration and follow up, assistance after the adjudication of Italian citizenship to finalize the process: adjudication, transcriptions of documents and obtainment of an Italian identity card, additional fees will apply.
Italian Citizenship by Marriage
If you are married to an Italian citizen, you may be eligible to apply for Italian citizenship as well. You can apply after three years of marriage if you reside abroad; this time frame is reduced by half if there are children born or adopted by you and your spouse.
Application by marriage is a request and not a birth right; for this reason the application process is very different. Since 2018, applicants are required to learn Italian and pass a language test (B1 level). The processing time is up to three years and you have to go through several background checks. Please note that spouses of Italian citizens can easily apply for a residency permit in any of the European countries you move to.
More Italian Citizenship Programs
We offer two additional Italian Citizenship Assistance Programs tailored for applicants who are "do-it-yourselfers" and are in the process of purchasing all their US vital records on their own:
Our Collaborative Citizenship Assistance Program offers professional guidance and assistance in purchasing the qualifying documents, i.e. Italian vital records & Naturalization Records (or proof that your Italian Ancestor never became a US citizen).
Our Phone/Zoom Support Program offers an array of consultations if all you need are answers to specific questions related to your document portfolio.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Italian Citizenship allows you to be eligible to work, live and study in Italy and in the other EU countries without the need for a Visa. Other benefits that you will accrue by having your Italian Citizenship include:
2. Buying property in Italy is easier.
3.Transferring citizenship to all children under 18 years old.
4. Having easier access to public health care and public education available to all EU citizens.
5. You can vote for your regional Italian Parliament representative.
If your Italian-born Ancestor was a minor when he or she left Italy, you cannot use him or her as your proof of eligibility. Until 1976, the age of majority in Italy was 21. Minors who emigrated would naturalize concurrently with their parents. If your ancestor was a still a minor when his or her parent naturalized, it is likely that he/she also was naturalized at the same time. You will need to provide proof/appropriate documentation if this individual was naturalized at a later date. FOLLOW THIS LINK to learn how to determine if your ancestor became a naturalized citizen. If your Italian Ancestor was naturalized along with his or her parent as a minor, he or she effectively renounced his or her right to Italian citizenship. This means that your Ancestor was unable to pass Italian citizenship by Ancestry (jure sanguinis) to his or her children as an adult. No exceptions are made in these cases.
There is really no limit of the number of generations, provided your ancestor was born in Italy and emigrated after the beginning of the Kingdom of Italy, March 17th, 1861 and did not naturalize before July 1, 1912. If you are unsure or if you have questions, you can schedule a Free Telephone Consultation.
If your Italian Ancestor was born in Italy before 1861, but migrated to another country after 1861, he or she was an Italian citizen. If instead, your Italian Ancestor migrated away or died before 1861, he or she was NOT an Italian citizen.
If your Italian Ancestor naturalized before July 1, 1912, you do not qualify for Italian citizenship even if his or her child was born before this individual naturalized. Prior to that date, when a native-born Italian naturalized in another country, he gave up not only his own Italian citizenship but also that of all of his minor children, regardless of where they were born. Ancestors who naturalized before July 1, 1912 cannot pass on Italian citizenship under Italian Law No. 555 of July 23, 1912.
No, you do not if you are applying for Italian citizenship, jure sanguinis. You have to learn Italian if you are applying for Italian citizenship through "marriage" or through "residency". You are required to show an adequate knowledge of the language (at least level B1 of Common European Framework of Reference for Languages - CEFRL). This is a new requirement following the new Law No. 113/2018 in effect since December 2018.
If you are an American and you're not sure which consulate covers your state, FOLLOW THIS LINK to find which consular office has jurisdiction over the State where you reside.
A.I.R.E. (Anagrafe Italiani Residenti all’Estero) is the registry of Italians residing abroad. For people of Italian descent pursuing Italian Dual Citizenship jure sanguinis, AIRE’s enrolment is a right and a duty. It provides access to consular services abroad and allows the exercise of some important rights, such as the right to vote and the right to renew IDs and travel documents. Enrolment is free of charge.
NOTE: More and more Italian Consulates require that applicants for Italian Dual Citizenship fill out the AIRE Registration Form and have it ready the day of their appointment. You can download the enrolment form by visiting the Italian Consulate that has jurisdiction of the State where you reside.
You will be contacted by the Italian authority through which you submitted your application for citizenship. Though this may vary from country to country, you will probably receive an email or a letter stating that you have been recognized an Italian citizen and what is the procedure in order to receive an Italian passport. You will be registered in the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (A.I.R.E.).
A.I.R.E. was established by Law no. 470/1988 and keeps track of the changes in citizenship status, address, marriage, birth and death of Italian citizens. A.I.R.E. enrolment is obligatory for Italian citizens living abroad for more than 12 months and for Italian citizens residing abroad either as a result of being born there or having obtained Italian citizenship through Ancestry (jure sanguinis), marriage or other.
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Find out if you qualify (we perform free research!), get answers to your questions, and learn more about our Italian Citizenship Assistance Programs.
