Get Italian Citizenship in 2021: Did Your Ancestors Lose Their Italian Citizenship?

Let's continue our series on Italian citizenship. Today we talk about losing citizenship. For the full article, see this link. 
If you're interested in Part 1 and 2, read here.

Losing citizenship

Italian citizenship can be lost in the following ways:

• A. By naturalizing voluntarily as an adult (age 18 and over after 10 March 1975, age 21 and over before then) in a foreign country before 15 August 1992.
  
  B. By renouncing one's citizenship abroad in front of an Italian diplomat or consular official OR stating the intention to renounce one's citizenship to a government official while still residing in Italy and then moving abroad within 1 year.
  
  C. By continuing to serve in a foreign government or military after being ordered to cease by the Italian government and failing to do so within a specified time period. After 15 August 1992, one can also lose Italian citizenship by serving in a foreign military at war with Italy.
  
  D. For an Italian woman,
  • 1. by marrying, and residing with, a foreign man, before 1 January 1948, whose citizenship is automatically transmitted to the woman by marriage.
    2. by the loss of Italian citizenship of her husband, with whom she resides, before 1 January 1948, if she also posses another citizenship (and thus would not be rendered stateless by losing Italian citizenship).

E. For an Italian minor child,

• 1. before 1 July 1912, by the loss of citizenship of the father, if the child resides outside Italy. (This is the so-called 1912 rule.)
  2. on or after 1 July 1912, by the loss of citizenship of the father or legal guardian (after 27 April 1983, of both parents), if the child resides with the father or guardian abroad, if the child is not emancipated, if the child possesses a foreign nationality, and if the child did not acquire that foreign nationality by virtue of being born in a foreign country. An exception to this rule was also made if the mother was the guardian and she lost citizenship by virtue of a new marriage after the death of the child's father.

How can you use this information in practice?

Start with your last Italy-registered ancestor (LIRA). Check that by the time the next person in your line was born your LIRA ha not lost his Italian citizenship (reasons include: naturalization, marriage - for women -, moving abroad as a child). If your LIRA has not lost his citizenship, then the next person in your line is an Italian citizen. Rinse and repeat for all the people in line up to you. 

Why do you need to know if someone in your line lost citizenship?

The main reasons for losing citizenship is through naturalization. Therefore, your line may be failing for these reasons:

1) your LIRA naturalized as a citizen of another country (usually your home country) before the birth of the next person in line
2) your LIRA naturalized as a minor, and his father or mother did too
3) someone in your line's father naturalized before 7/1/1912
4) someone in your line was born after 1948 from an Italian mother, but not an Italian father
5) an Italian woman in your line married to a non-Italian man and got his citizenship, before 1948 and before the birth of the next person in line
6) the husband of an Italian woman in your line naturalized before 1948 and before the next person in line


After examining the above rules and your family history, you can arrive at one of the following conclusions:

• 1. You qualify as a citizen. In this case, you should apply (if you wish).
  
  2. You may qualify, but you're not sure because you lack certain information, such as whether an ancestor naturalized or the date of such naturalization if it occurred. In this case, you may as well make an appointment to apply while you continue to search for this information.
  
  3. You clearly do not qualify, because an ancestor naturalized before the next person in your line was born. In this case, it is advisable not to apply because you will certainly be rejected at any consulate.
  
  4. You fail to qualify, because of the 1948 rule, or because a female ancestor lost her Italian citizenship due to a marriage. In this case, if you wish to pursue this, you should file suit in Italian court, or wait until the law is changed (if it is).
  
  5. You fail to qualify, because of the 1912 rule. In this case, if you wish to try, you should seek to apply at a consulate that is known to not enforce this rule.
  
  6. You seemingly fail to qualify because an ancestor who was born in Italy with both Italian and a foreign citizenship had a parent naturalize after 1912 while that ancestor was still a minor. In this case, you could apply at a consulate that has recognized people in your situation before, or at least one that is not known to have properly understood that such a person would not qualify.
  
  7. You can't determine whether you qualify or not because your case is too complicated. In this case, you should ask experts whether they think you qualify, and if there still is no consensus, apply at a consulate if you wish, being cognizant that you may be rejected.

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