ITALIAN
CITIZENSHIP
ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
BY MARRIAGE
The italian Citizenship law allow the spouse’s right to get the Italian citizenship by marriage .
Italian citizenship applications may also be submitted by a foreign national who has entered into a civil partnership with an Italian national.
The procedure is quite complex and there are additional requirements.
For example, the foreign spouse/civil partner have to prove the Knowledge of the italian language (level B1), and provide a certificate that prove the absence of convicting sentences or several criminal records, issued by foreign Authorities..
ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
jure sanguinis
Italian citizenship by descendance is based on the juridical principle of Ius Sanguinis (blood right), according to which a child born from an Italian parent is Italian.
PATERNAL LINEAGE: Citizenship pass from father to son, if the first was Italian at the time of the second’s birth. Generational leaps are not permitted, that is, none of the ancestors must have lost or renounced Italian citizenship (for this reason it is necessary to acquire the Italian ancestor’s certificate of non-naturalization or naturalization following the birth of the child).
Citizenship through MATERNAL LINE is transmitted only to children born after January 1, 1948, the date on which the Italian Constitution came into force which equalized the rights of women to those of men. Before this date, Italian women married to a foreign citizen did not pass on citizenship to their children, interrupting the line of descent. For this reason today, descendants of Italian mothers must necessarily initiate legal action in Italy before the Court of the Italian mother’s place of birth.
CITIZENSHIP THROUGH
MATERNAL LINE – JUDICIAL WAY
Acquiring Italian citizenship through the maternal line is possible only for children born after 1st January 1948. The children and their descendants born before 1st january 1948 have to apply through a legal suit at the Italian Court.
Citizenship through maternal line is transmitted only to children born after January 1, 1948, the date on which the Italian Constitution came into force which equalized the rights of women to those of men. Before this date, Italian women married to a foreign citizen did not pass on citizenship to their children, interrupting the line of descent. For this reason today, descendants of Italian mothers must necessarily initiate legal action in Italy before the Court of the Italian mother’s place of birth.
JUDGMENT
DUE TO LACK OF TURN
Italian citizenship is a right recognized by the Italian State to the descendants of Italians who emigrated abroad, always when the legal requirements exist.
However, the consular way can prove to be very difficult due to operational problems in some Consulates, which lead to very long waiting times just to start the citizenship recognition procedure. This administrative dysfunction can be recognized as detrimental to a fundamental right, the citizenship, and represents a “denial of the right to justice” guaranteed by the Constitution.
It is therefore possible to request an Italian court to recognize citizenship judicially when a similar situation arises. The applicant has the great advantage of not having to travel to Italy to acquire citizenship in a reasonable time. The judgment can have a positive outcome if adequately supported with documents and evidence of the concrete impossibility of obtaining recognition in a reasonable time through the consular process.
CITIZENSHIP BY
ADMINISTRATIVE – CONSULAR WAY OR BY RESIDENCE IN ITALY
Citizenship can be obtained through the Consular request or directly in Italy, through residence and the application for recognition of citizenship to the Italian Municipality chosen by the applicant.
The consular way has the advantage that Italians by blood do not have to travel to Italy, however the disadvantage is that it is currently very complicated to get an appointment at the Consulate. This is because a large number of people apply for citizenship. In the case of non-direct Italian ancestors (for example, not the father) the procedure requires 8 to 10 years of waiting.
The advantage of completing the process to be recognized as an Italian citizen in Italy is to have much shorter times, which can vary from 3 months to a maximum of one year. In this case, the citizenship applicant must travel to Italy and establish residence in the municipality for at least three months.
CITIZENSHIP
FOR MINORS
Children under the age of 18 are automatically Italian if one of the parents is an Italian citizen.
It’s mandatory to register their birth to the Italian Registry Office,.
A minor recognised by an Italian parent as their biological child or declared by a court as the child of an Italian citizen, is an Italian citizen
Adoptees under 18 years of age may be declared Italian citizenship.
