Judicial recognition of Italian citizenship through maternal lineage (1948 case).

The descendants of Italian women emigrated abroad, born before 1 January 1948, can obtain the Italian citizenship only by legal proceedings. In order to obtain the Italian citizenship, the transmission line of the citizenship shall not be interrupted by renunciations to the Italian citizenship or by naturalizations of the ascendants and of the applicant. The naturalization of the ancestor is not relevant if it takes place before the birth of his/her children. In order to file with success the case, the following documents are mandatory:

1) Ascendant’s birth certificate(s) from the Italian Municipality (Ufficio Anagrafe-Stato Civile) where he/she were born, in the form of “estratto dell’atto di nascita”;

2) Birth certificates (long/extended form) of all lineal descendants, from the Italian Ancestor to the applicant;

3) Marriage certificate of the Italian ascendant who emigrated abroad (in case the marriage was celebrated in the U.S.A., it is requested a “long/extended form” marriage certificate. If applicable, it is required to provide the final judgment of divorce);

4) In case the Italian ancestor became a U.S. citizen his/her certificate of naturalization.

It is required a certified copy of the U.S. certificate of naturalization showing his/her full name, place of birth and date of birth, date of naturalization, and certificate number. Please note that it is possible to obtain the Italian citizenship only if the naturalization date is later than the birth of the descendants, because from the date of naturalization, he/she lost the Italian citizenship. 5) In case the Italian ancestor never became U.S. citizen, it is required an official statement issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (certificate of non-existence of records) specifying that he/she never became U.S. citizens. This document must show the full name of the ancestor, any and all aliases and date and place of birth; 6) A limited power of attorney to give to the attorney the power to represent the applicants before the Court. All the foreign documents shall be legalized with Apostille from the Secretary of State of the State in which they were issued and translated into Italian. Before establishing a civil lawsuit, it is essential for the Attorney to examine all the relevant documents, in order to verify their correctness and suitability for the legal proceedings. The judicial proceedings usually take between 6 months and 2 years; mostly depends on the activity of the counterparty, the Ministry of the Interior. Usually it does not appear before the Court, in such cases the duration is limited to about 10 months. The competent Court for applicants residing abroad is the Court of Rome; it is not necessary for the applicants to come to Italy during the legal proceedings or to be present at the Court hearings.

Legal actions against the delay of Italian Consulates.

The descendants of Italian ancestors residing abroad may file applications for citizenship by descent before the competent Consulate in order to obtain the dual citizenship (with the exclusion of 1948 cases). According to Article 3 of Presidential Decree no. 362/1994, the deadline established by Italian law to terminate the administrative procedures for acquiring the Italian citizenship is 730 days. Nevertheless, Consulates usually fail to comply with such term, considering that the consular procedure may last also 4-6 years. According to a very recent decision of the Court of Rome, descendants of Italian people who asked for the recognition of dual citizenship by consular channels are entitled to bring their case directly before Italian courts where the Consulate delay the conclusion of the administrative procedure. The Court stated that the expiry of a relevant period of time for the administrative procedure amounts to a violation of the right to citizenship of the applicant, giving the reasons for the legal action before an Italian Court. However, in order to bring the case before the Court it is required a “significant delay” of the Consulate, that has not been quantified by the Court. In my opinion, this should coincide with the aforementioned deadline of 730 days established by law, considering that such term has been predetermined directly by the Italian legislator as maximum duration period of the proceedings.

The judicial proceedings usually take between 6 months and 2 years; mostly depends on the activity of the counterparty, the Ministry of the Interior. Usually it does not appear before the Court, in such cases the duration is limited to about 10 months. The competent Court for applicants residing abroad is the Court of Rome; it is not necessary for the applicants to come to Italy during the legal proceedings or to be present at the Court hearings.

Legal actions against the delay of Italian Consulates.

The descendants of Italian ancestors residing abroad may file applications for citizenship by descent before the competent Consulate in order to obtain the dual citizenship (with the exclusion of 1948 cases). According to Article 3 of Presidential Decree no. 362/1994, the deadline established by Italian law to terminate the administrative procedures for acquiring the Italian citizenship is 730 days. Nevertheless, Consulates usually fail to comply with such term, considering that the consular procedure may last also 4-6 years. According to a very recent decision of the Court of Rome, descendants of Italian people who asked for the recognition of dual citizenship by consular channels are entitled to bring their case directly before Italian courts where the Consulate delay the conclusion of the administrative procedure. The Court stated that the expiry of a relevant period of time for the administrative procedure amounts to a violation of the right to citizenship of the applicant, giving the reasons for the legal action before an Italian Court. However, in order to bring the case before the Court it is required a “significant delay” of the Consulate, that has not been quantified by the Court. In my opinion, this should coincide with the aforementioned deadline of 730 days established by law, considering that such term has been predetermined directly by the Italian legislator as maximum duration period of the proceedings.

For Further Information, Please Contact:

Lawyer Luca Salvi

Phone: +390697996050

Email: luca.salve@ssalex.com