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DUAL ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
Property Organiser is all about assistance in anything related to Italy.
The ultimate one-stop shop for buying an Italian property - from property finding in any locations in Italy, to obtain an Italian mortgage and to help you throughout the process of restoring your new home in Italy - Property Organiser specialises in helping people obtain Italian dual citizenship.
Dedicated staff in the US and in the UK, with lawyers in Italy to oversee all operations, Property Organiser offers assistance throughout the process as well as ad hoc consultancy.
Why to apply for Dual Italian Citizenship:
- Travel freely in 26 European countries, part of the Schengen Area.
- Buying in Italy with tax discount: tax as resident without registering residency
- Access to Italy's state health service, ranked second-best in the world by the World Health Organisation.
- Stay in Italy and European countries with no VISA requirements.
- Access schools and universities, with lower college tuition costs in Italy.
- Right to vote for some elections.
- No working restrictions.
Italian law does not require you to renounce to your existing citizenship, but some countries do not accept dual citizenship.
Applications for dual Italian citizenship for citizens of United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa, will not affect current citizenship. Please check your country's law if you are a citizen of any other country.
Type of applications for Italian Citizenship:
- iure sanguinis
- by marriage and Civil Union (same sex marriage)
- regaining Italian citizenship
The length of time to complete the process of obtaining residency can range from about three months to four years depending on the complexities of the case and the wait time at the local Italian consulate.
However, if applications are completed with no missing documents that the Consulate or local Authority may need, the process could be completed within 12 months from submitting it to the Italian offices.
Iure sanguinis: also known as citizenship by descent (from Latin, by blood).
The citizenship is passed from father to child and ascendants with no limitation as long as no one renounced to their Italian citizenship.
While the citizenship is passed from mother to child and ascendants only for applicants born after 1 January 1948.
For those who wish to apply for citizenship by mother but born after 1 January 1948, a request will need to be made via civil Italian tribunal (in 2009 a trial case challenged the 1948 rule as discriminatory and consequently, applications falling in these categories have very good chances of succeeding in obtaining Italian citizenship as long as other rules apply).
APPLICATIONS FOR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP CANNOT PROCEED:
- IF ANY OF THE ANCESTORS RENOUNCED THE ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BEFORE THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT DESCENDANT,
- IF THE ANCESTOR NATURALISED BEFORE THE NEXT DESCENDANT WAS BORN.
Italy legalized dual citizenship in 1992.
Before then Italian citizenship was only kept by those born to an Italian parent in Italy or other country where the ius soli principle did not apply (commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to citizenship).
This means that in order to prove right of dual citizenship, those who gained their non-Italian citizenship involuntarily by birth and their descendants will only be able to apply for citizenship if born after 1992 and/or ancestors were naturalised after 1992.
In order to apply successfully for Italian dual citizenship it is required to have legalised copy of all birth, marriage and death certificates from the original ancestor who left Italy (from 17 March 1861, as before Italy did not exist as a nation) to the applicant, with no naturalisation or Italian citizenship renunciation as said above.
For complete list of documents required for application contact us here.
In case previous descendants have submitted their applications and obtained Italian citizenship, it is not required to submit the same documents as long as they are resident under the same Consulate's responsibility.
Children under 18, when living together with parents who obtained Italian citizenship by descent, shall acquire Italian citizenship automatically, with no further application required. They will be able to renounce it, if they wish so, once 18 years old.
By marriage and Civil Union (same sex marriage):
Someone married to an Italian citizen has the right to apply for Italian citizenship
(as long as they are still married at the moment of the application).
- If residents in Italy: after 2 years of being married or 1 year in case there are children (either born or adopted by the spouses)
- If residents abroad: 3 years of being married or 18 months in case there are children (either born or adopted by the spouses).
In case the marriage took place abroad, marriage certificate will need to be registered in the Italian local authority too.
The Italian spouse will need to be resident in Italy or registered at the A.I.R.E. (Register for Italian residents abroad).
Since December 2018: the applicant must be proficient in the Italian language to the level B1 or higher of the EU Language Framework. A certificate of proficiency issued by an approved school must be provided.
Regaining Italian citizenship:
For those who have renounced Italian citizenship before 16 August 1992 in order to obtain another citizenship, it is possible to re-apply by:
- By signing a declaration of regaining citizenship stating that they will register residency in Italy within a year from it;
- After one year of actual residency in Italy.
By residency:
Italian dual citizenship can also be granted once the applicant has permanently lived in Italy for a period of time.
As a general rule, for non-EU nationals, legal residence on the territory of the Italian State for at least 10 years is required but there are many cases for which the period of residence required is lower:
- 3 years of legal residence: for residents in Italy whose father, mother or any of the ascendants in a direct line of second degree were Italians by birth; for citizens from any other country but born in Italy;
- 4 years for the citizen of an EU Member State.
