It is not uncommon to take upwards of one year+ to complete the application process and receive your Italian Citizenship. Some of the key processing times are estimated as follows:
1. Obtaining your ancestor's birth, marriage or death certificates from Italy using our services at My Italian Family can take up to 8 weeks. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR FEES AND TIMELINES.
2. Acquiring a certified copy of your Italian Ancestor's US (or other Country) Naturalization papers or, in case he or she was never naturalized; you will need to perform some additional research in the Census Records and with the National Archives. You may incur research costs, as well as, the cost of obtaining the copies.
3. Obtaining your birth, marriage and death certificates in your native state or province varies, but it take as long as 2 or 3 months. Each state or provinces offices of vital statistics may have expediting services.
4. Once you receive your state or province documents, you will need to obtain an APOSTILLE or legalizations for each document. This is usually obtained through the appropriate department in your state or province offices. Again, time varies. Always presenting your documents in person results in a quicker turnaround.
5. All of your native country’s certificates have to be translated to Italian. This may also be done while you are waiting for the Apostilles or legalizations. You can complete the actual application for citizenship and get it notarized in a very short time.
6. You will to make an appointment with the Italian Consulate of the State where you reside; some Italian Consulates have a wait time of a year of longer. This will give you time to gather all documentation prior to your official meeting.