NOTICE APRIL 11, 2025
Pending further instructions regarding the recent legislative changes (see below), please be informed that we have reopened the Prenot@mi portal for new appointments.
URGENT NOTICE MARCH 28 2025
While apologizing for any inconvenience, we inform our users that – due to urgent legislative changes, approved on March 28, 2025 by the Council of Ministers, effective from March 27, 2025 (https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2025/03/28/25G00049/SG) and pending instructions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation – we are going to temporarily suspend:
– all the scheduled appointments for the submission of documentation related to iure sanguinis citizenship recognition procedures;
– the scheduling of new appointments, via the Prenot@mi portal, for the aforementioned procedures;
Please refer to future updates of this page for further information on this matter and new requirements for eligibility.
Please understand that any other information under the section “Citizenship” of this website might be subject to sudden updates and cannot be considered fully accurate.
As soon as we get new instructions on this matter it will be our priority to keep this website up-to-date and provide the most accurate info during this legislative transition.
New interpretation guidelines for citizenship jus sanguinis
To the attention of users who are potentially interested in having their Italian citizenship by descent recognized: please be aware of the significant implications of some of the recent rulings of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Civil Court of Appeal, Section I, Orders No. 454/2024 and No. 17161/2023) and Circular No. 43347 dated October 3, 2024, of the Ministry of the Interior issued pursuant to the new interpretation guidelines on the matter as dictated by the aforementioned judicial authority.
Adopting the guidance of the Court of Cassation, the circular clarifies first and foremost that – in accordance with the law of 1912 (and, even earlier, with the Civil Code of 1865) – an Italian citizen who lost his Italian citizenship as a consequence of the voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality concurrently caused his minor child living with him to lose Italian status civitatis, even if said child was born in a country, such as the United States, that applies jus soli (and therefore, the child was a dual national at birth: Italian citizen by paternal descent based on the principles of jus sanguinis and foreign citizen based on the place of birth in accordance with the principles of jus soli). In all such cases, therefore, the citizenship line of transmission is to be considered discontinued; as of the date of his or her father’s naturalization, the minor in question no longer has the ability to pass on the right to his or her prospective descendants.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, however, it is possible to prove that one’s own ancestor, who incurred the loss for the reasons above, then carried out a deed to recover Italian status civitatis after coming of age. In the cases in which this happened in fact and can be documented, the event must still have taken place before the birth of the direct descendant of the person concerned. Otherwise, the line of transmission cannot be considered restored.
PROCEDURES
Applicants for Italian Citizenship by descent are required to make an appointment through the online Prenot@mi system.
Before scheduling an appointment, please read carefully the general guidelines: Applying for Recognition of Italian Citizenship by Descent.
On the day of your appointment for Recognition of Italian Citizenship, please follow the instructions at Document Requirements and Check-list for completeness and accuracy of the documentation to be submitted. All documentation must be submitted in original and will not be returned.
All applications for the Recognition of the Italian Citizenship by Descent (jure sanguinis) are subject to a fee of 600 euro. This fee must be paid in USD and changes every trimester. Until June 3oth 2025 it will be $630.00.
The fee must be paid at the Consulate the day of the appointment with a cashier’s check or a money order made out to: Consulate General of Italy – Boston.
The application fee is NON REFUNDABLE, regardless of the outcome of the petition.
FORM 1 and 2 – To be completed by the applicant and should be signed before a Consular Officer the day of the appointment.
FORM 3 – To be completed and signed by the living ancestor in the lineage, to be signed in person, before a Consular Officer on the day of the appointment, otherwise the ancestor’s signature must be notarized by a notary public. If living in a country outside the US, his signature must be legalized by the competent Italian Consulate in such Country.
FORM 4 – To be completed by applicant and should be signed before a Consular Officer the day of the appointment. for each deceased ancestor (direct line only) born outside of Italy.
Acquisition of Italian citizenship for minors (click here for Vital Records)
Additional requirements: Copy of the parent’s passport and a copy of the foreign parent’s birth certificate (translation, if in English, not required).
Information and forms: