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PRESENTED BY ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP ASSISTANCE

Q&A: Could you be eligible for Italian citizenship by descent?

Around one in 20 Americans identify themselves as having Italian ancestry. That’s more than 16 million people. If you’re one of them, could you qualify for dual citizenship – and all the benefits of being a citizen of a European Union country?

Q&A: Could you be eligible for Italian citizenship by descent?
Photos: Italian Citizenship Assistance

A large majority of Italian-Americans are eligible, so there’s every chance you could. But even if you’re certain you qualify, you’ll have to prove it legally before obtaining an Italian passport – and some of the rules are a little complex.

To help you understand them, The Local presents a Q&A with Marco Permunian, an Italian-born attorney and the founder of Italian Citizenship Assistance (ICA), a network of specialist lawyers with offices in both Italy and the US.

Have Italian ancestors? Get your free preliminary eligibility assessment from Italian Citizenship Assistance

Q: Is there a generational limit on obtaining Italian citizenship by descent?

Marco Permunian: This is a question that’s often asked by those interested in the possibility of obtaining Italian citizenship through their family lineage. However, it’s a common misconception that there’s a simple generational limit.

To be clear: there are no generational limits as long as at least one of your Italian-born ancestors was still alive and an Italian citizen after the formation and unification of Italy in 1861.

Things become more complicated, however, if your Italian lineage includes a woman who gave birth to the next in your line of descent before January 1, 1948. In this case, you cannot apply for citizenship via an Italian consulate. This is because, prior to the promulgation of the 1948 Italian constitution, Italian-born women and women of Italian descent were unable to transfer their citizenship to their children.  

However, nowadays it’s possible to pursue Italian citizenship in such cases via the court system; a 2009 ruling by the Italian Supreme Court declared retroactively that citizenship could be transferred by a female ancestor to children born before 1948.

Q: Do I need to be able to speak Italian?

MP: No, you don’t have to speak Italian to be eligible for Italian citizenship by descent. This is because, if you’re eligible, you’ve already been an Italian citizen since your birth – and you’re simply going through a process to be recognized as such.

You’re an Italian citizen since birth because citizenship is passed from one generation to the next. For example, it may have been passed from your Italian-born great-grandfather to your grandfather, from your grandfather to your father, and from your father to you. Since your father was an Italian citizen when you were born, you were also born with Italian citizenship.

Marco Permunian. Photos: Italian Citizenship Assistance 

The rules are different if you wish to apply for Italian citizenship through marriage. In this case, you do need to have an adequate knowledge of the Italian language under a law passed in December 2018. The required level is B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – usually known as “intermediate”. The level must be certified by an educational institution approved by the Italian Ministry of Education or Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Get your free, no obligations eligibility assessment from Italian Citizenship Assistance

Q: What are the qualification requirements?

MP: There are a few key things to remember in order to prove your right to Italian citizenship by descent. Firstly, you need to show that the initial Italian ancestor in your application remained an Italian citizen when the next person in your line of ancestry (a child of the initial ancestor) was born abroad.

Bear in mind that whenever there’s a woman in your Italian ancestral line, her child must have been born on or after January 1, 1948. While this rule has been successfully challenged in court (as described above), consular officials are still bound by this restriction. 

You should also know that Italy has only allowed dual citizenship since 15 August 1992. That’s why your Italian-born ancestor would have lost his or her Italian citizenship if he or she became naturalized in the US prior to that date. Finally, Italian citizenship cannot be passed on through any Italian ancestors who became naturalized in another country before June 14, 1912. 

Q: What documents are required to apply? 

MP: You need a number of documents pertaining to you as the applicant and your family that must be obtained from both Italy and the foreign countries where births, deaths, marriages or divorces occurred. 

The number and type of necessary documents may change case-by-case but generally they include: Italian-issued vital records regarding the ancestor, civil status documents issued by foreign countries and any naturalization papers issued by the foreign country where the Italian ancestor petitioned to become a citizen. 

Photo: Italian Citizenship Assistance

Once you’ve collected the documents, each foreign document must have a Hague apostille attached to it. The apostille is a legal certification provided by the Office of the Secretary of State of the country where the certificate is issued. 

Finally, foreign documents have to be translated into Italian. You must bring all the necessary documents to the Italian consulate on the day of your appointment.

Q: What are the advantages of taking Italian dual citizenship?

MP: Italian dual citizenship can give you many benefits and create incredible opportunities. First of all, it gives you the freedom to work, reside and study in Italy and across all the 27 EU member states without a visa. 

An Italian passport also offers many further benefits. Firstly, it gives you the possibility of travelling visa-free to 97 countries, according to the Global Passport Power Rank 2020. Second, European citizens are often prioritized over people from outside the EU in terms of many professional and educational opportunities.

Third, the process of purchasing property in Italy will be much easier and more cost-effective, both in terms of the requirements and the transactions. Fourth, you’ll have the right to vote in local, national and European elections. Fifth, the Italian healthcare system is one of the best in the world and is free of charge or low-cost for Italian citizens, plus you’ll also have the possibility of further social welfare benefits, such as education, unemployment programs and pensions. 

Think you could be eligible for Italian citizenship by descent? Find out more about Italian Citizenship Assistance and get a free, no obligations eligibility assessment.

 
 

EASTER

‘No Friday off and food galore’: What to expect from your first Italian Easter

If you're spending your first Easter in Italy this year, how might it differ from your home country? The Local’s readers tell us about their first Pasqua in Italy and the things they found most surprising.

'No Friday off and food galore': What to expect from your first Italian Easter

For many Easter-celebrating people around the globe, this is a time to be with family, eat lots of chocolate, and maybe participate in a church service or two. But of course, traditions in each country are different.

After living in Italy for a while you might get used to seeing a certain dove-shaped cake (la colomba), the lack of a certain Easter figure (the Easter Bunny) and eating fish instead of meat on Good Friday.

But the first Pasqua (Easter Sunday) and Pasquetta (Easter Monday) you spend in the country will always come with its surprises.

No day off on Good Friday

Like many people who move to Italy, Robbie Sossi told us he was “absolutely astonished” to find that Good Friday was not a public holiday.

“We sent Easter cards to everyone, only to be met with quizzical looks when we next saw them. Families try to outdo each other in the chocolate Easter egg stakes too. I had a chocolate overdose headache for a week afterwards.”

One reader, Karen Short, said: “I too was surprised Good Friday wasn’t a public holiday.”

READ MORE: Why is Good Friday not a holiday in Italy

Abruzzo-based Stephanie Elms agreed and said: “Good Friday was a bit of a surprise for me because I know Europe has a few more holidays than where I’m from in the States, so I assumed it would be a holiday, but it isn’t.”

“It would have been nice to get an extra day like they have in the UK, but I’m not complaining. I get to celebrate Easter in a beautiful country and that’s enough for me.”

Freezing cold and rainy weather 

When thinking of Mediterranean weather, sunshine and warmth is normally the first thing anyone would expect. But many people arriving in Italy for the first time are caught out by the unexpected cold.

Veneto-based artist Linda Winter said that, when she first arrived in Venice 18 years ago, she had a bit of a shock.

“The air was still chilly with the damp from the lagoon as I stepped onto the platform at Santa Lucia. Never having visited before I had imagined the fashion police would stop me from entering if I was anything less than elegant.

“The reality was that all the Italians were still wearing a heavy coat and at least two scarves. I froze.”

She advised anyone coming to Italy for Easter to wear a coat and wrap up warm. 

“Early Easters are by their nature cold, even though as I write this sunshine is pouring through my open door. Now I hang onto my coat.”

Easter eggs in a workshop.Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP.

Food galore

Food is of course a huge part of the celebrations in Italy. As in many countries, roast lamb is usually the meat of choice for an Easter Sunday lunch – but not everyone enjoys it.

Lazio resident Zoe Joanne Green said she finds the tradition of eating lamb “brutal”, adding: “I’ll spend Easter trying to distract myself so that I don’t get annoyed.”

Valeria La Capria said torta pasqualina instead is one Italian veggie option not to be missed.

“I’m also vegetarian, there are some great traditional dishes such as the torta di pasqua, made from spinach, ricotta and filo pastry.”

The tart is typical in the Liguria region of the country and traditionally had 33 layers of pastry, one for each year Christ was on earth. 

READ MORE: Nine lesser-visited Italian villages to see over Easter

Tuscany resident Andrew Green said la colomba, a dove-shaped cake, is different from anything back home. 

“For starters it’s a lot bigger and less sweet than what we usually eat in the UK,” he said. You can find them in pretty much every supermarket you go to.

“Back home we only really have hot cross buns and Easter cakes that are full of chocolate. There aren’t really any chocolate cakes here for Easter, but there is chocolate. Anyway, I prefer colomba instead and it was a nice surprise when I first ate it.”

Different regional events

That’s not the only thing Andrew prefers either. He said he loves the different events each Italian region has to offer. 

“I stayed in Florence during my first year and there was a huge parade which was really cool. Obviously I knew nothing about it at first.”

The parade Andrew referred to is the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart); a centuries old tradition where an old wagon is filled with fireworks and set alight outside of Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore on Easter Sunday.

“The atmosphere of the whole city was alive and there was a huge buzz to the place. It was stunning,” Andrew adds.

Abruzzo-based Heather May also enjoys the events different regions have to offer, and said the nearby Madonna che scappa (the Virgin Mary who runs away) in a town named Sulmona was her personal favourite.

“It was nothing like I’d ever experienced before,” she writes. “It’s like a pantomime – one of the saints knocks on the door of a church at one end of the piazza, to tell the Madonna that her son is alive, she begins to march across the piazza (held aloft by holy men clad in green and white).

“After a swaying march of some minutes, she spots Christ at the other end of the piazza and the men break into a run – it’s quite a feat of athleticism! Doves are released, her black cloak drops to reveal a white dress and Handel’s hallelujah chorus plays as she encounters her son. It’s quite exhilarating even for protestants like myself.

Wherever you’ll be celebrating, Easter is bound to be special, but we hope these tips and anecdotes are useful to anyone spending their first Easter in Italy this year. Buona Pasqua.

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