If you have an Italian ancestor, you may qualify for Italian citizenship by descent. In this article we will outline for you a few different scenarios so you can get a basic understanding as to your eligibility to apply for Italian citizenship.
Applicable law
Italian citizenship cases are governed by the law applicable at the time of the relevant events, which means that identical or similar cases may be regulated by different laws depending on the date on which the relevant event occurred. Relevant events with respect to Italian citizenship are typically your and your ancestors’ birth, and your ancestors’ naturalization.
The term naturalization as used herein refers to the acquisition of a citizenship of a country other than Italy. To make it easier, in this post we will refer to United States, but it might as well be Argentina, Brazil, or potentially any other country in the world.
Eligibility Scenarios
The following are the most common Italian citizenship eligibility scenarios. If you cannot identify your specific case, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are not eligible: read this post until the end to discover if you can take other avenues.
Eligibility Categories:
When applying for Italian citizenship by descent (so called “iure sanguinis”), it is crucial to determine whether or not the Italian citizenship chain was interrupted as some point along the line.
Had the chain has been interrupted, you will not be eligible to apply for Italian citizenship.
Typically, interruptions of the citizenship chain occur when the first person in your lineage to become a U.S. citizen does so after the birth of his child (or yours), or when along the line a female ancestor gave birth to her child before 1948 even though she was not yet a U.S. citizen. This rule, however, can be challenged and we will discuss this later.
The following are among the most common scenarios when it comes to Italian citizenship cases:
Scenario #1:
Your father – an Italian citizen – was the first one of your family to move to the United States and get naturalized. However, he still was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth. In this case you are certainly eligible for Italian citizenship since your father was still Italian when you were born, thus the Italian citizenship chain was not interrupted.
Scenario #2:
Your mother moved to the U.S. and naturalized, however she was still an Italian citizen at the time of your birth, and you were born after January 1st 1948; in this instance, you are eligible for Italian citizenship.
Scenario #3:
Your mother moved to U.S. and naturalized, she was still an Italian citizen at the time of your birth, but you were born before 1948; in this instance, you are not eligible for Italian citizenship. See next paragraph (“The 1948 Italian citizenship cases”) to understand why.
Scenario #4:
Your paternal grandfather was an Italian citizen, your father was born in the United States, and your paternal grandfather was still an Italian citizen at the time of your father’s birth; in this case you are eligible for Italian citizenship.
Scenario #5:
Your maternal grandfather was an Italian citizen, your mother was born in the United States, your maternal grandfather was still an Italian citizen at the time of your mother’s birth, and you were born after January 1, 1948: in this case you are eligible for Italian citizenship.
Scenario #6:
Your maternal grandfather was an Italian citizen, your mother was born in the United States, your maternal grandfather was still an Italian citizen at the time of your mother’s birth, but you were born before January 1, 1948: in this case you are NOT eligible for Italian citizenship unless you challenge the relevant law in court. See next paragraph to understand why.
Scenario #7:
Your grandmother was an Italian citizen, her son or daughter (your father or mother) were born in the United States after January 1st, 1948 while she still was an Italian citizen, in this case you are eligible for Italian citizenship.
Scenario #8:
Your grandmother was an Italian citizen, her son or daughter (your father or mother) was born in the United States before January 1st, 1948 while she still was a U.S. citizen, in this case you are NOT eligible for Italian citizenship unless you challenge the relevant law in court.
Scenario #9:
Your great-grandfather was an Italian citizen, your grandparent was born in the United States, and your great grandfather was an Italian citizen at the time of your grandparent’s birth. If nobody down the line is a woman whose child was born before 1948, you are eligible for Italian citizenship. Otherwise, you will have to challenge the relevant law in court, as better explained in the next paragraph.
The 1948 Italian citizenship cases
An Italian citizenship act dated 1912 established that women could not pass citizenship on their children, but only men could. Only following the enactment of the Italian Constitution in 1948, the 1912 principle was rejected on the basis that all persons have the same right irrespective of their sex.
Unfortunately, the 1912 law was never repealed, and Italian Consulates abroad are still forced to apply it to Italian citizenship cases where a female ancestor along the line gave birth to her child between 1912 and 1948.
However, the application of this discriminatory act can be successfully challenged in court in Italy. The Consulate will be bound by a judgement holding that the 1912 law is discriminatory and thus not applicable, and will therefore adjudicate your petition to become an Italian citizen.
In conclusion, in any instances where along your family lineage there is a female whose child, including yourself, was born before 1948, and such female ancestor gave birth to her child before becoming a U.S. citizen, your petition will be disapproved unless prior to filing you challenge the 1912 law filing a lawsuit with the Italian court of Rome.
If you want to read more about 1948 Italian citizenship cases you can do it here.
Exception for applicants born on or after 1992
If you were born, and your parents naturalized, after 1992, you may qualify for Italian citizenship regardless of your date of birth.
In fact, in 1992 Italy passed a law whereby from that moment on whoever applies for a citizenship other than Italian, does no longer renounce Italian citizenship as it would happen prior to such law.
Ancestors naturalizing before 1912
Anyone who naturalized before 1912 could not pass citizenship even though his / her child was born prior to such naturalization date. This rule is strictly enforced by Italian consulates. A petition based on an Italian ancestor who became U.S. citizen before 1912 will be disapproved.
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To get more information regarding applying for Italian citizenship you can read our post Italian Citizenship by Descent. The Path to Italian Citizenship.
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