Citizenship by descent

Italian citizenship is based on the principle of ius sanguinis i.e. the child of a father or mother who are Italian citizens, is Italian. In light of this, those who have Italian ancestors - without any limit of generation - can have the right to apply for the recognition of the Italian citizenship as long as nobody in the line of descendance has renounced to the Italian citizenship and the Italian ancestor has not naturalized as citizen of another State before the birth of his/her child.
The application can be filed at the Italian Consulate or Embassy in the foreign country of residence of the applicant or in Italy - as long as the applicant moves to Italy and becomes formally and substantially a resident of Italy - before an Italian Municipality.

In case of dealys or extended waiting times to get an appointment at the Italian Embassies or Consulates abroad, it is possible under certain conditions to start a judicial proceeding before the Italian Courts for the recognition of the Italian citizenship.
Before starting any application it is crucial to check the line of descendance and the supporting documents - first of all birth, marriage and death certificates - as well as the correspondence of names and dates among the documents because any discrepancy may imply delays or obstacles to the positive outcome of the application.
Contact us to receive assistance to apply for Italian citizenship by descent!