Italian citizenship by descent in a nutshell

Italy has historically been a country, during the second half of the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, characterized by heavy emigration abroad. This has led to the presence of people descended from Italian citizens in various parts of the world. In addition, since the founding of the Kingdom of Italy in 1865, Italy has applied the principle of the so-called “iure sanguinis”, meaning that a child born to at least one Italian parent is Italian by birth.

This principle has no limits: as long as the parent has not renounced Italian citizenship, the child will be an Italian citizen. It is therefore possible for descendants of Italian citizens who have emigrated abroad to obtain recognition of Italian citizenship even generations later.

Who can be recognized as an Italian citizen by descent?

Obtaining recognition of Italian citizenship by descent requires demonstrating that the line of descent has not been interrupted: this means gathering the necessary documentation to prove not only direct descent from the Italian ancestor (birth certificates, marriage, possible divorce, death), but also documents and information regarding any naturalization of ancestors.

In fact, it is necessary that none of the ancestors, up to the applicant's parent, obtained another citizenship by a voluntary act, that is, by naturalizing as a citizen of another country, before 1992 and/or before the birth of their descendant. Before Law No. 91 of 1992, in fact, Italy did not allow dual citizenship and, therefore, voluntarily obtaining a different citizenship implied automatically losing one's Italian citizenship. The only exclusion, of course, was different citizenship obtained at birth in states that apply the principle of ius soli, such as the United States or Argentina.

The procedure in a nutshell

In order to apply for the recognition of citizenship iure sanguinis, it is possible to submit the necessary documentation accompanied by the application form to the Italian Consulate or Embassy territorially competent for the place where you live.

Alternatively, it is possible to move to Italy and apply for civil registration with an Italian municipality in order to submit one's request for citizenship, always accompanied by the necessary and above-mentioned documentation, directly to the municipality. There is more: those who intend to apply for the recognition of Italian citizenship iure sanguinis directly in Italy are also entitled to obtain a residence permit for "awaiting citizenship" that allows them to stay in Italy and become residents for the duration of the proceedings.

Benefits of the recognition of Italian citizenship

Being recognized as an Italian citizen means being able to exercise all the civil and political rights guaranteed by Italy, to take advantage abroad of the services that diplomatic/consular missions make available to citizens and, last but not least, to obtain an Italian passport, ranked by Forbes, last Feb. 5, 2024, as the best in the world (along with France, Germany, Spain, Singapore and Japan), as it allows visa-free travel to as many as 194 out of 227 states worldwide.

Your Way to Italy: our assistance

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Article written by Alessia Ajelli, Managing Associate of LCA Studio Legale, Italian lawyer specialized on Italian immigration and citizenship law.