Italian citizenship for Australians - Official info from Sydney's consulate

Consolato Generale d’Italia – Sydney ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP General Information Agg: 15/03/16 Italian citizenship can be acquired: 1. by birth (from a parent who is/was an Italian citizen at the time of birth) – see point 1 2. through marriage to an Italian citizen – see point 2 3. by re-acquisition (for former Italian citizens only) – see point 3 1. DETERMINING CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT Italian citizenship can be acquired by descent at the time of one’s birth, as long as one parent was an Italian citizen at the time. Due to previous laws in force before the formation of the Italian Republic women can only transmit citizenship to children born after 1 January 1948. Prior to this date, only fathers could transmit the Italian citizenship. Any claim for Italian citizenship must be supported by documentary evidence. Once the relevant documents have been produced to this Consulate General, they will be forwarded to the competent Italian Municipality for registration. Therefore a waiting period between 2 and 8 weeks should be expected. Once the procedure has been concluded, applicants will be notified via email from one of our staff members. As of 8 July 2014, according to the Italian law (art. 5-bis of the D.L. 24.04.2014, n. 66, and the act n. 89 of 25.06.2014) every application for the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) is subject to a non-refundable administrative fee (irrespective of the outcome) of 300 EUR, payable only in cash in Australian dollars. This fee only applies to adults applicants (18+) and must be paid on the day of lodging. 2. ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MARRIAGE Case 1: Foreign women who married an Italian citizen prior to 27 April 1983, automatically acquired Italian citizenship on the date of marriage. An original copy of the woman’s birth certificate is required (please note an original copy of the marriage certificate may be required). Please refer to the “How To – Certificate Registration” leaflet for further information. Case 2: Spouses of Italian citizens residing abroad can apply for Italian citizenship after 3 years of marriage (or 1.5 years if they have children (Further details may be found in the “How To – Naturalization Through Marriage” leaflet). 3. REACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP Re-acquisition is automatic after one year of legal residence in Italy, or it can happen in a shorter time frame if one decides to reside in Italy for this purpose for a few weeks. Once in Italy, one must register as a resident in an Italian Municipality of choice and submit the citizenship request to the Mayor of that Municipality (Comune). Further details may be found in the “How To – Reacquisition of Italian Citizenship” leaflet Important Note Under Italian law, children who were naturalized Australian citizens along with their parents prior to 16 August 1992, would lose Italian citizenship at the time. Please note that before 8 March 1975 adulthood in Italy was reached at the age of 21; after this date, it changed to 18. After 16 August 1992, Italian citizens who acquire another citizenship, do not lose their Italian citizenship. Consolato Generale d’Italia – Sydney ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT Step by Step Guide Agg: 15/03/16 PRE-REQUISITES The General Consulate of Italy in Sydney is competent for processing citizenship applications for NSW residents ONLY (Please note: The cities of Queanbeyan and Cooma are under the jurisdiction of the Embassy of Italy in Canberra). A proof of residence is required upon submitting the application. STEP 1: ONLINE BOOKING Visit our website http://www.conssydney.esteri.it and follow the instructions to book an appointment for citizenship. One appointment only must be booked all members of the same family, living at the same address. However, one “main applicant” must be chosen for the time of booking. STEP 2: WHAT TO BRING AT THE CONSULATE  Documentary evidence of citizenship of the main applicant’s parent/ancestor (old Italian Passport, Italian certificates, and any other documentation providing proof of the parent/ancestor Italian Citizenship).  If the parent/ancestor is/was not Australian, original and copy of the Australian visa if issued after 16 August 1992 or Certificate of Evidence of Resident Status (from the Australian Department of Immigration).  Simple copies of all birth/marriage/death/change of name/divorce certificates of all applicants, starting from the ancestor.  Simple copies of all applicants ID (driver license, passport).  Completed citizenship form (see next page)  Fees of 300 EUR, payable only Australian dollars for applicants (18+) and must be paid on the day of lodging - CASH ONLY Please Note: If you don’t have all the required documents on the day of your appointment, please do attend our offices anyway to allow us to assist you with the application process. For any question or other enquiry on Italian citizenship applications please write to [email protected] quoting CITIZENSHIP ENQUIRY in the subject of the email. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ AL CONSOLATO GENERALE D’ITALIA IN SYDNEY Informativa ai sensi dell’art. 13 del D.L. 196/03: i dati sotto riportati sono prescritti dalle disposizioni vigenti ai fini del procedimento per il quale sono richiesti e verranno utilizzati esclusivamente per tale scopo. Oggetto: Istanza di riconoscimento di cittadinanza italiana. Il/La sottoscritto/a, _____________________________ nato/a il _________________ a _______________________________________________ telefono ____________________________ e-mail _______________________________________________________________________________ CHIEDE il riconoscimento della cittadinanza italiana iure sanguinis con conseguente trascrizione nei registri di stato civile del Comune competente degli atti allegati relativi a me medesimo/a e, a tale fine, sotto la propria responsabilità e consapevole di quanto disposto dall’art. 76 del D.P.R. 28/12/2000, n.445 e dall’art. 495 del C.P. in caso di dichiarazioni mendaci, in quanto :  Figlio/a di _________________________________________ nato/a il___________________ a ________________________________ cittadino/a italiano/a al momento della mia nascita  nipote di ___________________________________________ nato/a il ___________________ a ______________________________ cittadino/a italiano/a al momento della nascita di mio padre/ mia madre  pronipote di _________________________________________ nato il ____________________ a ____________________________ cittadino italiano al momento della nascita di mio nonno (eventuali altri antenati da cui si eredita la cittadinanza sono riportati nel foglio seguente, da me redatto) DICHIARA che né i suoi ascendenti in linea retta, né il sottoscritto hanno mai rinunciato alla cittadinanza italiana ai sensi dell’art. 7 della legge 13 giugno 1912, n. 555 e dell’art. 11 della legge 5 febbraio 1992, n. 91 per il periodo di residenza all’estero successivo al 16 agosto 1992. A tale scopo allega la documentazione relativa a tale riconoscimento. In fede, Sydney, ______________________________________ (firma del richiedente) Consolato Generale d’Italia – Sydney CITIZENSHIP Check List Agg: 15/03/16 IMPORTANT  Please note this is considered a temporary list. We reserve the right to request any further documentation we shall deem necessary to complete the application.  Documents will not be returned, therefore we strongly recommend that you obtain new copies from the relevant offices if needed. Pre-Requisites Documentation providing proof of parent or ancestor’s Italian citizenship (1) (*). Documents Grand Father Grand Mother Father Mother You Minor children Certificate of Evidence of Resident Status (2) (*) Certificate of Australian Naturalization (*) Birth Certificate (3) Marriage Certificate (3) Divorce Decree Certificate (3) Document of Identity + Photocopy Other Documents (1) Accepted documents: Italian ID, Italian Passport or Certificate of citizenship issued in Italy. (2) Issued by the Australian Department of Immigration. (3) Refer to our “Certificate Registration How-To” for legalization (Apostille) and translation. (*) Original and photocopy CONSULAR FILE NUMBER ____________ DATE____________________ APPLICANT NAME _________________________________________ CONSULAR OFFICER _________________________________________  Needed  Not Needed