Italian Family History




Granting of the Italian Citizenship

These are the main ways to get Italian Citizenship:

1) Italian citizenship may be granted to the spouse of an Italian citizen. Aliens who married to an Italian citizen and who have lived in Italy for at least 2 years before the marriage can apply for citizenship; (Art. 5 Legge No. 91/1992 and modifications and additions).


2) Italian citizenship may be granted to the foreigner who is son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter of an Italian citizen. Italian citizenship may be granted also to the foreigner who resides legally in the Italian territory for at least 10 years. (Art. 9 Legge No. 91/1992 and modifications).


3) Italian citizenship may be granted to descendants of former resident in the territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire if the ancestors migrated from the provinces of Trento, Bolzano, Gorizia, Fiume or Italian-Jugoslavia before 1920. (Art. 1 Legge n. 379/2000 and Legge n. 124 2006)


4) Aliens descendants from Italian citizens may request to be granted the Italian citizenship (jus sanguinis). A sentence of the Italian Constitutional Court (n. 30 1983) gave the personal right to ask for the Italian Citizenship to person with demonstrated Italian origins. Thus the Department of the Interior (Ministero degli interni) recognized the possibility that the descendants of second, third and fourth generation of Italian immigrants ask for the Italian citizenship (circolare del Ministero dell'interno n. K.28.1 dell'8 aprile 1991). This right involves people born after 1948. These families with ancient Italian origins are mainly from Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia, Uraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, United States, Canada, Australia, ecc.

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