GENERAL INFORMATION – UPDATE IN PROGRESS
The principle that governs the transmission of citizenship in the Italian legal system is, as a rule, that of iure sanguinis. In other words, one is entitled to citizenship if one can demonstrate descent from an Italian ancestor, provided that the transmission line of the right has never been interrupted from one generation to the next.
Until the entry into force of the Constitution of the Italian Republic (January 1, 1948), the ability to transmit Italian citizenship belonged, pursuant to Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912, as well as the previous Italian Civil Code of 1865 and subject to very limited exceptions, only to the father.
After the entry into force of the Constitution of the Italian Republic, this ability was fully recognized for women as well.
The possession of the requirements for submitting a citizenship application and the potential existence of obstacles to the transmission thereof must therefore be assessed in light of the regulations in force at the time when the facts supporting the application for recognition occurred.
The law currently governing this matter is Law No. 91 of February 5, 1992. It significantly reformed the framework of the previous Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912. It recognized the full capacity of women to transmit citizenship, introduced the concept of multiple citizenship, and gave new and predominant importance to the individual’s will in determining his or her citizenship status.
New interpretation guidelines for citizenship jus sanguinis
To the attention of users who are potentially interested in having their Italian citizenship by descent recognized: please be aware of the significant implications of some of the recent rulings of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Civil Court of Appeal, Section I, Orders No. 454/2024 and No. 17161/2023) and Circular No. 43347 dated October 3, 2024, of the Ministry of the Interior issued pursuant to the new interpretation guidelines on the matter as dictated by the aforementioned judicial authority.
Adopting the guidance of the Court of Cassation, the circular clarifies first and foremost that – in accordance with the law of 1912 (and, even earlier, with the Civil Code of 1865) – an Italian citizen who lost his Italian citizenship as a consequence of the voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality concurrently caused his minor child living with him to lose Italian status civitatis, even if said child was born in a country, such as the United States, that applies jus soli (and therefore, the child was a dual national at birth: Italian citizen by paternal descent based on the principles of jus sanguinis and foreign citizen based on the place of birth in accordance with the principles of jus soli). In all such cases, therefore, the citizenship line of transmission is to be considered discontinued; as of the date of his or her father’s naturalization, the minor in question no longer has the ability to pass on the right to his or her prospective descendants.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, however, it is possible to prove that one’s own ancestor, who incurred the loss for the reasons above, then carried out a deed to recover Italian status civitatis after coming of age. In the cases in which this happened in fact and can be documented, the event must still have taken place before the birth of the direct descendant of the person concerned. Otherwise, the line of transmission cannot be considered restored.
Notice to users
It is hereby announced that, pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 639 of the 2025 Budget Law, the Consular Fees related to applications for the recognition of Italian Citizenship iure sanguinis by adult applicants have been increased from 300 to 600 euros per application, equivalent, for the period from 01/01/2025 to 31/03/2025, to US $643.70.
This new fee applies to all applications for citizenship recognition by descent that will be submitted starting from January 1, 2025.
PROCEDURES
To submit your application, schedule an appointment via the online booking system at the following link: PRENOT@MI
Only those residing within our consular jurisdiction may apply. Please verify which Italian Consulate has jurisdiction over your residence on our consular network page: https://ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/en/chi-siamo/la-rete-consolare/
Applications must ONLY be sent by MAIL.
On the day of the appointment, the applicant MUST NOT GO TO THE EMBASSY but must send his or her application for the recognition of Italian citizenship by MAIL, along with the required documentation, as specified in Checklist 1 and Checklist 2.
The mailing date must be clearly visible on the envelope.
If the application is sent before the appointment date, the package will be returned at the sender’s expense without any evaluation, with the reason “date not matching the appointment.”
The application must be sent no later than 30 days after the appointment date.
The documents inside the envelope must be organized as specified in Checklist 3.
The forms to include with the application are available at the following link: Italian Citizenship Recognition Application Forms
Applications are subject to a fee of 600 euros, payable in U.S. dollars by money order or cashier’s check made out to “Italian Embassy in Washington DC”.
The fee is due regardless of the outcome of the process. Therefore, it will not be refunded in the event of a negative outcome.
The amount of the fee is subject to quarterly changes. To check the current amount at the time of submission, refer to the following link: Consular fee for applying for recognition of Italian citizenship “iure sanguinis”.
The applicant will receive a copy of the payment receipt via email, along with a notification regarding the start of the legal deadlines within which the procedure must be concluded (730 days).
At the end of the review, the Consular Chancellery of this Embassy will send the applicant a communication regarding the outcome of the procedure.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If a relative of yours has already provided all documents related to the same ancestors to another Italian Consulate or to an Italian municipality (comune), this office cannot use the same files.
If application was submitted in this office, you can use same files.
To retrieve the vital records certificates of your ancestors, you should contact the Italian municipality (comune) in which they were born or lived. If they came from a small suburb (frazione), you should contact the municipality of which it is part. Italian municipalities keep birth, marriage, and death records in their archives. Other sources of information are: a) the Italian State Archives; b) parish registries (registri parrocchiali) where, prior to the unification of Italy in 1861, certificates of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and death were filed. Many of these registries have been subsequently transferred to the local dioceses or the archives of the closest major city.
U.S. birth/marriage/death records must bear an apostille of the Secretary of State of the state where the document was issued. Petitions for naturalization and/or “no record” certificates must be in certified copy. U.S. certificates issued by federal authorities, such as the National Archives or Department of Justice, require the federal apostille of the U.S. Department of State (Checklist 2).
All certificates must be submitted with the official translation in the Italian language, except for the apostille. Conformity of the translations with the originals must be certified by the Italian Consulate competent for the state that issued the document.
It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents contain the correct information with regard to given names, last names, dates, and places of birth, and that such information matches in all submitted papers. Incorrect certificates may delay the processing of your application or affect your eligibility for Italian citizenship. If there are significant differences in the certificates, please provide an official statement from a Court Judge or a Vital Statistics Officer asserting which is the true and correct information.