One of the fundamental principles governing Italian citizenship is acquisition by birth: Italian citizens pass on citizenship to their children.

This applies to both men and women, to children born in and out of wedlock, without limit of time and without the need for any measures to grant citizenship on the part of the Italian State.

This means that anyone with an Italian ancestor is an Italian citizen, provided they have not voluntarily foregone or lost their citizenship in the line of succession. In this sense, the question is the recognition and not the acquisition of citizenship, because it is already acquired at birth.

You can go back in time through the generation until you find the ancestor who was officially entered on the Italian Civil Registers and who emigrated. Descendants of Italian citizens can apply for the recognition of citizenship at the competent Italian Consulate or at the Italian municipality of residence.

Let us look at the question in more detail.

Regulations

With regard to the acquisition of Italian citizenship, the reference legislation is Law No 91 of 1992, Article 1 of which states that:

“1) The following are citizens by birth:

(a) the child of a father or mother with Italian citizenship;

(b) anyone who was born in the territory of the Republic, if both parents are unknown or stateless, or if the child does not follow the nationality of the parents according to the law of the State to which the parents belong”

This law amended and repealed the previous law no. 555 of 1912, which regulated the matter for almost a century. Previously, the regulations were very different: specifically Article 10(3) and Article 1 of Law no. 555/1912 established that descendants of an Italian father were citizens by birth, and that women automatically lost their Italian citizenship when they married a foreigner.

At present, iure sanguinis citizenship is therefore a right that is acquired immediately, simply by virtue of being born to an Italian parent, regardless of any manifestation of the desire to acquire citizenship.

The right to citizenship is a very personal right, which is therefore passed on from generation to generation, even if it is not exercised or if the holder was not aware of it.

All direct descendants of Italian citizens are therefore Italian and can have their right to citizenship recognised. The times and methods, however, vary from one case to another and may require an administrative procedure at the Consulate or at the Municipality of residence, or a judicial procedure in the case of descendants through the maternal line before 1948 (see dedicated page).

Administrative procedure – standard practice

Technically, the application for recognition follows an administrative procedure governed in detail by Circular No. K.28.1 of 8 April 1991 of the Ministry of the Interior. The Circular establishes that where the procedure is carried out depends on the place of residence of the applicant:

• if the applicant resides abroad (out of Italy): the request must be submitted to the foreign Consular Authority of residence
• if the applicant resides in Italy: the request must be submitted to the Municipality of residence,

In both cases, the applicant must produce documentation proving their descent from an Italian citizen, by means of the civil registry deeds of birth, marriage and death, duly translated and legalised, and must prove their Italian descendant did not forego their Italian citizenship. This last document can be obtained by filing a specific request with the competent consulate, which will issue a dedicated certification.

In the event the procedure is carried out in Italy, the Municipality of residence must ascertain the truthfulness of the documents produced and must then check with the competent Consulate whether the documents submitted effectively correspond to the originals.

As explained above, the procedure before the Italian Municipality is reserved for residents, so for foreigners moving to Italy, it is necessary and indispensable to first apply for and obtain residence and then submit the application for recognition of citizenship.

The Gabaldo Cosaro Law Firm provides assistance for the preparation and handling of applications, the management of the procedure with the municipal authority and the definition of the recognition procedure.

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