Are you qualified to claim Italian Citizenship? ItalianPapers will do this preliminary check for free!

Please see below the most suitable process for you and contact us filling out the form with all the requested information. We’ll give you an answer shortly about your specific case. If you are eligible, ItalianPapers can assist you in the whole process for the acquisition of Italian citizenship, until the adjudication.

Italian citizenship by descent

The most important laws on Italian citizenship are the law n.555 of June 13th, 1912 and the law n.91 of February 5th, 1992 which abrogated the previous one.

The applicable citizenship law is determined by the date on which the event occurred.

The recognition of Italian citizenship by blood line (jure sanguinis) has no generational limits, but it is necessary to have an Italian citizen ancestor born in Italy and to demonstrate the lineage and the absence of interruptions in the transmission of citizenship, such as the naturalization of the ascendant as a citizen of another country before the birth of his son.

Under law n.555 of 1912, the principle of recognition of citizenship through paternal derivation to the citizen’s son guaranteed the children of Italian emigrants the maintenance of the link with the country of origin of the ascendants. In fact, this law allowed, inter alia, the son of Italian born in a foreign country who had obtained citizenship according to the jus soli principle, to retain Italian citizenship even if the parent had lost Italian citizenship while the child was still a minor.

You are qualified to claim the Italian citizenship jure sanguinis if:

• your father was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth and you never renounced your right to Italian citizenship before an Italian Authority.
• your mother was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth, you were born after January 1st, 1948 and you never renounced your right to Italian citizenship before an Italian Authority.
• your parent was born after January 1st, 1948, in a country where the principle of citizenship through jus soli was in force, your grandfather or grandmother was an Italian citizen at the time of his or her birth, and the grandfather or grandmother did not naturalize as a citizen of another country before June 13th, 1912, and neither you nor your parent ever renounced your right to Italian citizenship before an Italian Authority.
• your grandfather was born after January 1st, 1948 in the in a country where the principle of citizenship through jus soli was in force, your paternal great grandfather was an Italian citizen at the time of his birth and he did not naturalize as a citizen of another country before June 13th, 1912, neither you nor your father / mother or your grandfather ever renounced your right to Italian citizenship before an Italian Authority.
• your parent / grandparent was born before January 1st, 1948, your grandmother / great grandmother was an Italian citizen at the time of his or her birth and she did not naturalize as a citizen of another country before June 13th, 1912, and neither you nor your parent or your grandparents ever renounced your right to Italian citizenship before an Italian Authority. This is the 1948 rule – maternal line and you can claim Italian citizenship only through a petition in Court in Italy. We can assist you for a lawsuit at the Italian Court.

When the records are very old it is possible to find discrepancies in names or dates that would affect your application; as there are several ways to correct them, we can support you to solve these issues.

How to – The legally competent Italian authority to certify the transmission of Italian citizenship depends on the applicant’s place of residence: the relevant consular office for residents abroad, the Registry Office of the town of residence for residents in Italy. Only for jurisprudential actions, such as appeals or petitions, the jurisdiction is of the Italian Court; in this case, if you live abroad your presence in Italy will never be necessary for the purposes of recognition of citizenship.
ItalianPapers can help you to find and collect the Italian documents, showing the right way to find and prepare also the foreign documents you need and assist you to resolve discrepancies in the certificates and issues.
In case you would apply in Italy we can support you step by step in every process at Italian offices through our Italian citizenship assistance program, for obtaining the Italian registered residence, permit to stay, etc. If you are qualified through 1948 rule – maternal line, we can submit court actions in Italy on your behalf.

Italian citizenship by maternal line (1948 case)

Under Italian law, the women can transmit Italian citizenship only to their children born after 1948.

Since that violates the principle of equality between men and women, as a result of jurisprudential judgments starting from 2009 it is possible to apply for Italian citizenship on the maternal side also for children born before 1948.

How to – The descendants can claim Italian citizenship only through a lawsuit in Court in Rome. ItalianPapers can assist you until the final award finding and collecting the Italian documentation, giving the list of documents, showing the right way to prepare also the foreign documentation, submitting the lawsuit in Court following the progress step by step.

Italian citizenship by marriage

In order to apply for citizenship through marriage, the applicant living outside of Italy must have been married or civilly united with the Italian spouse for a period of at least three years (18 months if there are children of minor age born from the relationship or adopted) and the applicant’s Italian spouse must be already registered with A.I.R.E. at the Italian Consulate.
If the applicant lives in Italy must have been married or civilly united with the Italian spouse for a period of at least two years (1 year if there are children of minor age born from the relationship or adopted) and both spouses must have been already registered at Registry office of the town of residence since at least two years.

Citizenship will be granted if the marriage or civil union lasts until the signing of the Decree of recognition.

How to – Applications for Italian citizenship by marriage can only be submitted online through a dedicated Italian web portal, managed by Ministero dell’Interno. ItalianPapers can help you in collecting the Italian certificates, giving the list of documents, showing the right way to prepare also the foreign documentation, submitting for you the application online and checking the progress step by step at Italian relevant Authority (Prefettura or Italian Consulate abroad).

Italian citizenship by marriage on/or before April 27th, 1983

This applies only for women that get married with an Italian citizen on/or before April 27th, 1983.
In this case, the bride has acquired Italian citizenship with the marriage itself, she has only to submit a formal request.

How to – The legally competent authority to state the transmission of Italian citizenship depends on the applicant’s place of residence: the relevant consular office for residents abroad, the Registry office of the town of residence for residents in Italy. ItalianPapers can help you to find and collect the Italian documents, showing the right way to find and prepare also the foreign documents you need. In case you would apply in Italy we can assist you step by step in every process at Italian offices to obtain the Italian residence.

Italian citizenship by naturalization

An individual can apply for citizenship by naturalization if:

• is a foreign citizen and has been legally resident in Italy for at least 10 years
• is a citizen of the U.E. and has been legally resident in Italy for at least 4 years
• is a son or a nephew of citizens who have been Italian by birth, and has been legally resided in Italy for at least 3 years
• was born in Italy and has been legally resident there for at least 3 years
• is an adult, adopted by an Italian citizen, and has been legally resident in Italy for at least 5 years after the adoption
• is stateless or refugee and legally resides in Italy for at least 5 years after the recognition of the relative “status”
• has served, even abroad, for at least 5 years employed by the Italian State (in case of service abroad, it is not necessary to establish residence in Italy and can apply to the competent consular authority).
  

Furthermore, the applicant must have had an income of 8,263.31 per year (shown by tax models) in the last 3 years prior to the application submission.

Citizenship will be granted if the continuity of residence on the Italian territory and the permanence of income are maintained until the date of the oath.

Citizenship will be rejected if the applicant has criminal record.

How to – applications for Italian citizenship by naturalization can only be submitted online through a dedicated Italian web portal, managed by Ministero dell’Interno. ItalianPapers can help you in collecting the Italian certificates, giving the list of documents, showing the right way to prepare also the foreign documentation, submitting for you the application online and checking the progress step by step at Italian relevant Authority (Prefettura).

Reacquiring the Italian citizenship

Italian nationals born in Italy who acquired another citizenship before 16th August 1992 lost the right to Italian citizenship. They can, however, regain it by transferring the legal residency in Italy.

How to – By signing a declaration at the Municipality of residence in Italy or alternatively at the Italian Consulate and taking up residence in Italy no later than one year from the date of the declaration. ItalianPapers can help you in collecting the Italian certificates, giving the list of documents, showing the right way to prepare also the foreign documentation.