THE ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP PROCESS
THE ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP PROCESS
REGULATION CHANGE: March 28, 2025
This page contains outdated information regarding how to claim Italian citizenship before Italian law changed on March 28, 2025. From that date onward, citizenship can only be claimed if your parent or grandparent was born in Italy.
Claiming Italian citizenship by descent now requires residency to be satisfied. If claiming through a grandparent, the applicant must have lived in Italy for 3 years before submitting the application for citizenship.
THE JURE SANGUINIS PROCESS
If you’ve found our website, you’ve discovered the possibility of claiming Italian Citizenship by descent. We want to be certain we get one thing straight from the start. This is a right for all who qualify. If you qualify, it means you were born an Italian Citizen by blood, and you can go through the recognition process to have the Italian government recognize your rights. You will not become an Italian Citizen, you always were one!
WHAT IS JURE SANGUINIS?
At its core, Jure Sanguinis literally translates to “right of blood.” This means that for Italy, citizenship is transferred as a bloodright regardless of where a family moves or a child is born. The Jure Sanguinis citizenship recognition process was developed as a way for Italians to always be able to claim their rights, even if their ancestors seemingly forgot to register a new generation’s births. Foreign born children of Italian citizens should be registered with the local Italian Consulate in order to skip the lengthy document gathering and recognition process. We’ve found that even the more recent Italian immigrants neglect to register their children with a local consulate before their child turns 18. Fortunately, they can typically still claim Italian Citizenship thanks to this process.
COMMON DISQUALIFICATIONS
As of October 2024, a disqualification known as the "Minor Issue" has emerged. It states that if an Italian ancestor became naturalized, their child had to be recognized as an adult by Italy at that time. An adult was considered 21+ until 1975, 18+ after that. If not an adult at the time, the child's right to inherit citizenship needed to be established before the birth of the next family member in line. The absence of a formal process to declare the intention to retain eligibility for dual citizenship results in the disqualification of many Italian descendants.
There are certain circumstances where you might be involuntarily disqualified due to an ancestor in your line. An example would be your grandfather formally renounced his right to citizenship before your father was born. While your grandfather would have a path to reacquire his citizenship, this would not extend to your father or you.
You could have a parent who was Italian, but if that parent became a US citizen before you were born, you might not qualify for Italian citizenship.
As we’ve previously discussed, a female in the line can potentially disqualify future generations for a straightforward Jure Sanguinis process. If the female in your line was not married to another Italian, her children must be born after January 1, 1948. She could have had some children before 1948 and others after. Only the children born after will qualify for the Jure Sanguinis process. All children born before 1948 could potentially obtain Italian citizenship by petitioning the Italian government through a “1948 Case.”
If the Italian ancestors naturalized in any country before July 1, 1912, themselves and their minor children lost their right to Italian Citizenship.
If an Italian man became a US citizen before September 22, 1922, his wife automatically became an American citizen. This involuntarily severed her ability to pass Italian citizenship.
You must be able to trace your family line back to your Italian ancestor. There is no process to claim Italian Citizenship by DNA test results.
DETERMINING IF YOU QUALIFY
According to Golden Capitalist, 17 million Americans could claim Italian Citizenship by descent!
It is a fairly straightforward process to determine whether or not you qualify for Italian Citizenship by descent. Italy allows you to trace back as far as you need to in your family line, however, you must also meet the other criteria. Since we specialize in helping Americans with Italian descent, we have focused our information with that in mind.
The most recent Italian-born ancestor should have given birth to the next family member in your direct bloodline while living in the USA. If the child was brought from Italy to the USA, they likely lost their Italian citizenship before the next family member in line was born.
The most recent Italian-born ancestor must not have become a citizen of any other country before the next family member in your direct bloodline was born.
The most recent Italian-born ancestor must not have become a citizen of any country other than Italy before July 1, 1912.
The Italian bloodline must be transferred by a male until 1948. If a female is in the direct Italian bloodline and gave birth to your next line member before 1948, an attorney will be required and a consulate cannot be used.
NEW REQUIREMENT: If an Italian naturalized as a U.S. citizen while their child was a minor, that child and all future generations will no longer be eligible. Italy defined a minor as under age 21 until 1975. After 1975, a minor was defined as under age 18. This is commonly referred to as “The Minor Issue.”
IMPORTANT:
There are many instances where an Italian man married an American woman before 1983 and before he became an American citizen. The spouse of an Italian man was automatically granted Italian citizenship the moment they were married, if married before April 28, 1983. This is important because if the Italian man naturalized before his children were born, the children would not qualify for Jure Sanguinis (blood right) citizenship through him. They could potentially qualify through the American spouse, since the American spouse would not have been impacted by the Italian spouse’s naturalization process!
Examples
This line qualifies for Italian Citizenship via Jure Sanguinis
Your great-grandfather was born in Rome in 1885
Your great-grandparents were married in 1901 and moved to the USA the next year
Your grandfather was born in New York City in 1905
In 1927 your great-grandfather naturalized as US Citizens
Your grandfather married your grandmother in 1932
Your mother was born in 1934
Your mother married a non-Italian father in 1956
You were born in 1959
This line is a perfect example of all necessary criteria being met. The Italian ancestors gave birth to the next member in your line on US soil, and the male ancestor did not naturalize until after 1912. He also did not naturalize until after the grandfather was 21 years old. These three facts qualified the entire line from that point. It is important to also notice there is a female in this line. The female was born to a male who qualified for Italian Citizenship even if it was not formally recognized. This female received her right to citizenship, and did not give birth to her child until 1959. Since this child was born to a female Italian with no male Italian in the picture, the child had to be born after January 1, 1948. Since her child was born in 1959, this means that if Italy does not make any changes to the law, everyone for the rest of eternity in this family line qualifies for Italian Citizenship by descent!
This line has both a 1948 case and a Jure Sanguinis qualification
Your great-grandfather was born in Rome in 1885
Your great-grandparents were married in 1901 and moved to the USA the next year
Your grandfather was born in New York City in 1905
In 1927 your great-grandparents naturalized as US Citizens
Your grandfather married your grandmother in 1925
Your mother was born in 1925
Your mother married a non-Italian father in 1946
You were born in 1947
Your brother was born in 1949
This is an example of a female in the line which involuntarily severed the right for certain generations to claim Italian Citizenship by descent. Italy did not recognize a female’s right to pass citizenship until January 1, 1948. While one child and their future generations would require hiring an attorney to pursue citizenship due to being born in 1947, the brother and all generations after him would qualify without any questions. As someone born in 1947, you could attempt a “1948 case.”
See our page on 1948 cases for more details.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED!
Exact documents will vary depending on where you apply. Check your local consulate website or speak to your attorney for their specific requirements. At the bare minimum, you will need your direct line member’s vital records, which we have listed below. Every record must be in long form.
Below is an example for someone who qualifies through their great-grandfather, with a line of great grandfather>grandfather>father.
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1. You will need your great-grandfather’s Italian birth record, extracted from his birth comune.
2. You will need your great-grandparent’s marriage record in long form.
3. You will need your great-grandfather’s death certificate in long form.
4. You will need your great-grandfather’s naturalization paperwork issued by the USCIS, NARA, or the county court where he was naturalized. Some consulates require the documents to be ordered from specific government entities, so be sure to check with the consular website!
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1. You will need your grandfather’s birth certificate in long form.
2. You will need your grandparent’s marriage certificate in long form.
3. If your grandfather is deceased, you will need your grandfather’s death certificate in long form.
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1. You will need your father’s birth certificate in long form.
2. You will need your parent’s marriage certificate in long form.
3. If your father is deceased, you will need his death certificate in long form.
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1. You will need your birth certificate in long form.
2. If married, you will need your marriage certificate in long form.
3. If you have children, it is a good idea to have their long form birth certificates.
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All documents issued outside of Italy will require an Apostille. Typically, the only exception to this a naturalization packet issued by the USCIS when applying at an US Italian Consulate. Check your consular website for more details.
If applying in Italy, you must obtain a federal apostille on the USCIS naturalization packet.
An Apostille is a certification which is attached to an individual vital record. It allows the vital record to be handed to a foreign government.
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All documents issued in a language other than Italian must be translated into Italian. Typically, the only exception to this a naturalization packet issued by the USCIS when applying at an US Italian Consulate. Check with your consulate for more details.
Certain document translations must be certified.
The apostille page does not need to be translated when applying at an Italian Consulate.
Did you determine qualify? Here’s what’s next…
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Collect Documents
The most important part of the process is to obtain the documents required to prove you qualify for citizenship.
Every US consulate has a slightly different list of required documents, so be sure to check your consular website.
We can help you!
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Schedule an Appointment
If applying in the US, you must use the consulate which has jurisdiction over your permanent residence.
Consulates often have 2 to 3 year waits before you can have an appointment. Book one as soon as possible, even if you do not have all documents yet!
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Apply in Italy
If you do not want to wait 2 to 3 years for an appointment, you can apply in any town in Italy instead! To do so, you must remain in Italy for an average of 90 days, so this process is not for everyone. If you’re able to, it is often the better choice!