Italian citizenship

This post is for anyone of Italian descent and would like some information on how they can acquire Italian citizenship. I didn't actually acquire it, rather I inherited it from my great-grandfather; it was treated as a birth right. The better word for it is "recognized" which is exactly what was done for me at the Italian Consulate in NY. It was really no different than any other immigrant who comes to a foreign country, has a child who via the parents obtains dual citizenship, that of the parents and the country in which the kid was born (NB this doesn't apply to every country). This was my case, only 3 generations further down the family tree.

Guidelines To anyone who wants Italian citizenship, the most important things to find out are the following:

1. Who was from Italy

2. when they came to America, Brazil, Argentina (the new country) ..

3. is the immigrant a woman (I'll get into that eventually),

4. did they become an American citizen and if so when?

My path to Italian citizenship was rather easy, at least as far as eligibility was concerned. The path went in this direction: Paternal Great-grandfather, grandfather, father, me. All males. All same last name and my father's name is identical as his nonno. In this, it was rather easy to see the family connection and I imagine it was easier for the Italian consulate to decide my case.

Andiamo a Torre Del Greco Once I established that my bisnonno had most likely never became a US citizen I decided to go to his town, Torre Del Greco, near Napoli and go to the town hall to request a copy of his birth and marriage certificate which was no easy task. My only advantage was that I am not a pushy person and I spoke the language. It was quite an emotional experience as in the end I had written documentation of a direct descendant from Italy in my hands. But the hardest part I'd say was getting the proof from the US side that he was never an American citizen and for this I wrote to the US dept of Homeland Security. I waited for months to get a response back and that was very nerve wracking. In fact I asked a local politician to step in for me and less than a week later I got the letter I wanted! The letter came back saying "No records found". What that meant was that my bisnonno was possibly an illegal alien his whole life, but more importantly, STILL ITALIAN and thus at the time of my grandpa's birth his father was able to pass on his citizenship (although I doubt this was actually done.)

Proper Documents The next step was to get birth, death, marriage and divorce documents for all 4 generations involved (if they applied) and then you needed to get an international notary stamp on the non-Italian documents. After that I had to call the NY Italian consulate and make an appointment to have the documents looked at. That was a pain in the ass as you had to wait months for the appointment and I believe it's now a years wait time AND the number to call them is a 1-900 number. I had a total of 3 appointments. Worse was the incompetent staff there who were rather disorganized and each one had their own view of what the correct procedure was. For example, I also needed some documents translated (fortunately I did them myself), and each time I got conflicting instructions as to which ones needed it. I was relieved when everything was in order and the whole process took me 3 years from when I first went to Torre Del Greco in 2005 to receiving the Italian passport in 2008. Once the documents are in order, they send your birth certificate off to the Italian ascendant's town where it is registered at the town hall (in Italy). This thus is further proof of your Italian citizenship as you can collect a copy of your birth certificate like any other citizen (which I did).

Eligibility Getting back to the aspect of eligibility, not everyone is, unfortunately. It is important to establish the guidelines that I mentioned in the second paragraph. I was eligible as at the time of my grandfather's birth (born in the USA) his father, the Italian immigrant, was still a citizen of Italy and therefore citizenship was able to be transmitted to my grandfather. In other words, what Italian law requires is that at the time of birth of the first child born in the new country (this is my grandfather), the immigrant must still be a citizen of Italy in order for his children to be eligible for dual citizenship. I've mentioned this twice as I want to make it clear and stress its importance.

No Citizenship Now I will give you a case in which it cannot be passed on. This is the case of my great-uncle Antonio who was my grandfather's brother born Torre Del Greco and immigrated at the age of 2. My grandfather was the last of 6 kids in which half were born in Torre Del Greco and half in Boston. Naturally all the ones born in Torre were children when they went to America. In Antonio's case, he became a US citizen before his first child was born and unfortunately back then this was seen as renouncing his Italian citizenship under Italian law. Therefore, citizenship could not be passed on, so my dad's cousin, whose father was Antonio is ineligible (not that he wants it!). If an Italian citizen became a US citizen, this was fine providing the birth of his children happened before taking up American citizenship. I don't know if this law still applies or what that means for siblings who were born before AND after the acquisition of US citizenship of the parent occurred. Also, in regards to the documents needed, a copy of a US naturalization certificate is requested if US citizenship was taken up.

Female side Now the part concerning the mother. Italy was in some aspects still is an arguably male-dominated society. Women weren't granted the right to vote till 1948. This is relevant as under Italian law, a woman was not able to transmit Italian citizenship if she was born before that year. So anyone who wishes recognition of their Italian citizenship, (often called Jus sanguinis) must see if they are getting it via a man or a woman, unfair as that may sound in modern times! I am not an expert on this aspect of the law for citizenship, but I do know having a woman involved in the mix made and still makes things complicated for applicants. One must also consider that once a woman got married and changed her last name it makes it a bit more difficult to prove lineage when you have this variation in names. Fortunately this wasn't my case! Had I decided to go the route via my paternal grandmother, that would have been possible but more difficult as I'd have to have done it via her father who became a US citizen and I believe it was after she was born.

The Benefits I've greatly enjoyed having my Italian citizenship being recognized. I feel more connected to my roots and I am legally Italian-American (not just a cultural pseudo-name ). I've lived in Europe since 2009 and I dont have to worry about visas, or being deported for whatever reason. I've also qualified for lower tuition here at Aston as I am an EU student and I have also been able to be hired by summer camps here in the UK because I have EU status. To those who are interested in this path, feel free to contact me. A pre-warning: it's full of frustration. I won't sugar coat it. It is a purely circumstantial situation in which the difficulties differ from one case to another. It also depends on which consulate you have to deal with.

Advice 1. Be WELL prepared and find out which documents you need before you even set foot in that office where they review all the documents. 2. Call and make the appointment immediately as you have to wait a year anyway. If they ask you if your documents are all set, say yes anyway or else they will tell you to call back. 3. Be prepared to be rejected as they tend to not be organized. I would definitely throw the law back in their faces and quote from something official of what is required, this prevents individual interpretation of the law. Also, call their hotline and ask exactly what is needed. Or write me here and I'll do what I can!

General guidelines As I stated above, every case is different and things can be dramatically different from one case to another. But I believe I can provide some general advice for anyone looking to take on this unique quest. I have in part already stated what is needed above but I will repeat it again as it's important to be accurate with the Italian consulate

1. You will without a doubt need these documents: Marriage, Death, Divorce documents.

2. All Italian documents are fine and need nothing more done to them. All non-Italian document need what is called an Apostille which is in essence an international notary stamp. In the US, those can be obtained at the State Capitol building. I had to get them from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Illinois. Massachusetts was the easiest as far as cost and time for processing was concerned. It was 5$ per document and it was done right there while you wait. Connecticut was 20$ and you had to have it sent via mail after you visit the state Capitol building. Now granted this was all close to 10 years ago, so costs and times could very well have changed by now. But getting the Apostille has not changed.

3. Optional documents: US certificate of Naturalization. Obviously if this is pertinent. (In my case it wasn't an issue). They might also want military records although for my great-grandfather they didnt ask even though he was in the military 100 years ago!

.4. Translations I had to translate the following: Birth, death and marriage certificates for all 3 generations. They asked for the divorce ones of my father to be translated but I didnt do them as I didn't think they were 100% relevant to the process and luckily they didnt ask why I hadn't translated them. This is somewhat a grey area unfortunately. As I stated above, the consulate is very inconsistent with procedure, so it is best to call them and have them tell you what is needed. Fortunately, they weren't particular with who did the translations so I did them myself. What is important is that they are translated well.

5. ANY name change must be explained as the consulate must be able to link your lineage to the Italian in question. This is why when there is a woman involved in the process things could become complicated as her last name often changes when she gets married.

6. The whole point of the consulate asking for all these documents is that they want pertinent information on their citizens past, present and future.

7. Italian proficiency is not necessary to be recognized as an Italian citizen.

8. You can request a Codice Fiscale once you are a citizen which is equivalent of an American SSN or a British NI number. It's free.

In closing I would like to add that my information is from 7 years ago so things may have changed but what has changed is arguably a matter of details, costs and wait times. It is a frustrating process but so worth it! Buona fortuna!