Are you thinking about getting your Italian dual citizenship this year? You're not alone! Follow my previous guide and this handy checklist of 14 documents you need, and you'll be good to go! (of course, if you need more help, you know where to find me!)
Where to apply: in Italy or in your country?
It is essential to bear in mind that the documents you need depend on your application location, which could be either in Italy or in a consulate overseas. Furthermore, the translation requirements for the two can differ. Thus, make sure to check for any specific details with the comune/consulate you have selected before you begin the translation process.
In my experience, having translations done in Italy is the best option if you are applying in Italy. For further explanations, you can read here.
If you are applying at a consulate in the US, it is recommended to have your documents translated there as this will save you time and money in the long run.
What documents do you need for Italian dual citizenship? To prove your citizenship, you must provide documents that demonstrate the connection of each person in your lineage from the one prior. Additionally, papers verifying whether and when your LIRA (last Italy-registered ancestor) naturalized, to prove that the next person in your line was born with Italian citizenship, are also needed. Moreover, each accepted Italian citizen is responsible for keeping their home comuni (town halls) aware of any changes in their status, including marriage, divorce, or the birth of their children. The individual consulates (or comune) assemble a selection of paperwork that must be provided to apply. A few consulates may post the specifics on their website, although this list is not always correct.
Italian dual citizenship: documents checklist
Everyone in your lineshould have:
1. birth certificates The birth certificates of all ancestors in one's lineage (including of oneself) are essential to establish Italian citizenship. For one's LIRA, the birth certificate from Italy is particularly important. If the LIRA migrated as a minor, then the birth certificate of the Italian parent(s) of the prior generation might be necessary. The birth certificates should be "long form" and include the names, ages and places of birth of the parents, along with the date, town and name of the child. Long-form certificates may also include other details such as the newborn's length and weight. When the birth certificate does not list a father, evidence of paternity must be supplied, such as a court-issued document. 2. Marriage certificates/license applications should be obtained for your line, plus their spouses who are the parents of the next generation They help to connect one generation to the next and eliminate coincidences. Without marriage certificates, only having birth certificates could create the risk of two individuals being born in the same place, with the same name, and in the same year. However, since the marriage certificate of someone's parents includes the same names as on that child's birth certificate, but also has the parents' parents' names, which correspond to the names on the parents' birth certificates, it binds both generations together and makes it much simpler to identify the parents. Marriage certificates are often not very detailed, so a marriage license application may be necessary. This is filled out before the wedding and usually provides info on the parents of both the bride and groom, as well as their places and dates of birth. Different consulates have different requirements for the application; some always require it, others only when the certificate lacks necessary details, and some never ask for it. It is advisable to get the application whenever you request the marriage certificate. Inheriting citizenship does not necessitate that the child's parents were married. In general, no paperwork is needed to prove that the parents were not married, however, if a death or naturalization certificate states that they were wed, complications may arise.
3. Obtain death certificates for a few of the people in your line These documents contain data that is similar to birth and marriage records, such as the time of birth, the names of the parents, a potential spouse's name and so on; however, since the information is usually given by someone not particularly close to the deceased, mistakes tend to occur. On the other hand, a piece of data present on death certificates that is not found on other vital records is the nationality of the deceased. Consulates will often verify if someone claims that their ancestor never naturalized that the death certificate states that the ancestor was an Italian citizen at the time of death; not doing so may cause some problems (see below). Not every consulate needs death certificates for every deceased family member - some may require them just for those who were born in Italy and others for all the deceased in the family.
4. Naturalization papers for your LIRA, and possibly their parent, should be acquired. Otherwise, documents confirming they did not naturalize These include certificates of naturalization (sometimes referred to as a certificate of citizenship, not to be confused with item 14 below), certificates of derivative citizenship (also sometimes referred to as a certificate of citizenship, distinct from the other two meanings), and petitions for naturalization with an oath of allegiance, and other supporting documents, such as declarations of intent to naturalize or certificates of arrival. Additionally, documents proving that someone did not naturalize can be found, such as no-records letters from the proper agencies, certificates of non-existence of record, census records, passports, alien registration forms/cards, or draft cards. It may be necessary to provide the birth certificates of the non-direct line parents of the applicants, such as their spouses, to certain consulates. This is usually done to double-check if the female ancestor in the line could have passed on their citizenship. However, the absence of these certificates may not be an automatic rejection of the application. It is best to come prepared with them in case the consulate does require them. 5. Birth certificates should be collected for the non-line parents of the people in your line (depending on the consulate)
6. Death certificates should also be collected for the non-line parents of the people in your line (depending on the consulate) This is similar to the situation with birth certificates for those not in your line, but they are even less likely to be needed and consulates usually accept errors on them more readily. Rarely, a death certificate may have to be used in place of another certificate that cannot be obtained, such as a birth certificate. 7. If you are married, obtain a marriage certificate/license application for your marriage Even though this is not necessarily required to certify your own citizenship, unless you are a female who was married before 1948 and may have lost your Italian citizenship, the consulates will permit you to apply without it and permit you to register it after your recognition, as all Italian citizens are expected to do. This certificate will be essential for the recognition of your children, if you have any, as well as for citizenship by marriage that your spouse may acquire through you. If you have any children, it is important to have their birth certificates. Although these documents may not be necessary when applying for your own recognition, they will be necessary for registration and any citizenship claims. Generally, only minor children need to be registered, as adults will have to submit their application for recognition on their own (with you as their LIRA). In some cases, the consulate may permit registration of adult children as if they were minors. When applying for Italian citizenship, your spouse's birth certificate may be necessary in the same conditions as your marriage certificate. Even if you do not have children, it is not always requested until after your marriage is legally recognized. If you or someone in your line has been through a divorce, you will need to provide records of this event as part of your civic duty. Though not explicitly part of your application, some consulates may still require it in order to recognize you. For those in your family who are not applying for recognition, divorce records are usually only needed when there is evidence of a divorce, such as a different spouse's name on either a marriage certificate or death certificate. In this case, you might want to consult the ConsulateFAQs to find more information about what divorce and other marriage records are needed. Depending on the consulate, the paperwork necessary for a divorce can differ. Generally, it would include the complete divorce judgment (which is often a document with thirty pages) and the certificate of no appeal. Getting the latter is often tricky as it is not generated in all states. 8. Birth certificates for any children should be acquired
9. Your spouse's birth certificate is also required
10. Get divorce records for any divorces that occurred with you or anyone in your line
11. Marriage certificates/license applications from previous/other marriages for yourself or anyone in your line should be obtained This means that you must have evidence of any of your previous marriages, or the marriages of any of your relatives in which the couple was not the parents of the following person in the line. For your own case, you need to supply your own history and information. If you are a man who was married before 1983, your former wife may be an Italian citizen, and you will be required to show the marriage certificates. For your ancestors, if there is no evidence of other marriages in the documents you submit, you don't need to produce them, and consulates may overlook them. 12. In some cases, birth or death records for a spouse of someone in your line, when that spouse was not the parent of the next person in your line, should be collected This would be birth or death certificates for a partner listed on a marriage certificate from (11). This isn't very typical, but it has occurred in certain instances when the initial partner passed away and the second partner was the parent of the next person in the line, and there was an annotation on the birth certificate from Italy for the LIRA's marriage to the original spouse. Refer to the example in the link in (10) for more information. 13. Court records should be acquired for any legal name changes done by anyone in your line, including yourself If you or any of your family members have legally changed either a given or family name, a court record is necessary. Even if the birth certificate has been modified to reflect the new name, some consulates might still ask to see the court document. If the legal name alteration was on a naturalization paper, there is no need to present any additional court records. In some cases, a consulate may request a Certificate of Citizenship for an ancestor's LIRA (from their comune) in addition to a birth certificate. This is because, even though birth in Italy does not automatically mean citizenship, it is possible for someone to have been born there and not be a citizen. The need for this certification is not always necessary and is inconsistently requested. In addition to the aforementioned documents, you may need to provide further supporting paperwork depending on what discrepancies and missing documents you have. These can include baptismal certificates, obituaries, birth announcements, censuses (not for naturalization purposes), letters from vital records officers, no records letters, letters from your comune (e.g., a "positivo/negativo"), or court orders for declaratory judgments. 14. If asked for by your consulate, get a certificate of citizenship for your LIRA
Getting your Italian dual citizenship may seem overwhelming, but it doesn't need to be. With the right information and help, you can definitely make it! I have helped a lot of clients like you, in various ways: through translations, by recommending the right expert, finding Italian documents for their ancestors... If you need help, just reach out!