Finalmente!
You may have the world if I may have Italy.
Naples, Italy - October 6, 2022
It’s official - I am an Italian citizen! That tired redhead is me holding my Riconoscimento della Cittadinanza Italiana Jure Sanguinis (Recognition of Italian Citizenship).
It’s been a while since my last post, but it’s time to recap my story and keep you all updated on the plan ahead.
I’m excited to tell you how I made it happen (1) because it was a huge feat of will and (2) there isn’t a lot of clear information on either side of the Atlantic on how this process actually gets completed, and depending on who you ask, you’ll may get a different answer. This is, of course, just my experience. I’m not a professional, I’m not a citizenship lawyer. I’m just a super determined Italophhile.
Eligibility for Italian Citizenship Jure Sanguinis
Just to recap, the main requirements for Italian Citizenship Jure Sanguinis are:
You’re a descendant of a person who was born after March 17, 1861, which was the unification date of Italy. Before this date, there were no Italian citizens.
The Italian ancestor in question did not naturalize to any country before July 1, 1912. Based on Law no. 555 of July 13, 1992, Italian citizenship cannot be transferred to descendants.
The Italian ancestor in question did not naturalize before the births of descendants interested in becoming an Italian citizen.
If the direct line Italian ancestor in question is a woman and was born before Jan. 1, 1948, citizenship can only be claimed from her father’s line, and citizenship passed onto her children if born after this date. You can read more on this on my other blog post.
No one – you or your ascendants have renounced their Italian Citizenship – be it via naturalization or another method.
Collect Documents from the United States
Since I met all of the requirements, I set out to acquire documents from all of the relevant places to me, my father, and my grandfather in the United States (Florida, New York, Tennessee, and the relevant documents from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the National Archives).
This is a really important step, and one that is time consuming, has costs associated with it, and has several steps. One that I am sure I will have to have an entirely separate post about.
My sacred documents binder, which went everywhere with me.
If you’re not sure what documents you need to collect, the Consulate of Miami has the definitive list of what is required.
For things like birth, marriage, and death certificates, you will need to contact the Vital Records office for the state. Once you’ve obtained that document, you then need to send the document(s) to the respective Secretary of State for an Apostille. Once you receive the Apostille back, you will then need to get the documents and Apostille’s translated into Italian by a certified translate, and then notarized.
It’s really important that all names, dates, spellings, et cetera are consistent. For example, my grandfather’s Death Certificate originally said his nationality was USA, but since he never became a citizen of the United States, I had to provide additional documentation to the State of Tennessee to have the document corrected.
Another trick is to scan and save to a file on your computer/phone every single document. That way, they are easy to reference quickly and allows you to make unofficial copies as needed.
Time to go to Italy!
Cosenza, Italy - June 16, 2022
Now, the fun part begins!
You can apply for your citizenship anywhere in Italy, but wherever you chose to go through this process is where you must establish residency. A large city like Rome or Naples will know the process well, but you’re likely to face long wait times at city offices and get lost in the dreaded Italian bureaucracy. Conversely, smaller towns in bucolic Italian countrysides may not be familiar with the process at all (which was the case in my ancestral home of Carolei), which will make the process grueling and confusing. In my opinion, it’s best to find something in between. I chose Rende, Cosenza, Calabria (home of the University of Calabria) so I could be close to my family and also because it was a perfect sized town to get the process done at a good pace.
I took my son, Isaac Luce, with me, since this is his journey, too. We bought a one way ticket to Rome, took the train to Paola, where my cousin Mariano picked us up and took us to his house in Fuscaldo for our temporary stay until we could establish residency in Rende.
The next steps have to be done in a certain order, which no one explains to you. But if you do it in this order, you’ll have a much easier time:
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You can either live with family or a friend or find your own accommodations, but you need to have an address you can receive mail at, so temporary housing like an Airbnb won’t do.
Finding a reputable agency can make this process infinitely easier. Most leases are for several years at a time, so keep that in mind. I was fortunate to find a beautiful place in the heart of Rende with a one-year lease and an accommodating landlord.
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In order to do literally anything in Italy, you need to obtain a Codice Fiscale (a tax ID). Find your closest Agenzia dell’Entrate and reserve an appointment online for the soonest available date. Bring your passport (to show the stamp of when you entered Italy) and your birth certificate. You’ll be issued your Codice Fiscale the same day.
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With your rental agreement, passport, and codice fiscale in hand, you can go to your city office to fill out the paperwork to establish residency.
Within 45 days, a municipal police officer will visit your residency to verify you actually live there, and then you’re officially a resident and can begin your citizenship application!
Apply To Be a Citizen
The time has come… to fill out more paperwork! (Have I mentioned the cumbersome Italian bureaucracy?)
With all of the vital documents you collected before arriving in Italy, you can visit the Anagrafe of your comune to fill out a form called Istanza di Riconoscimento del Possesso dello Status Civitatis Italiano ai Cittadini Stranieri di Ceppo Italiano. You’ll need to get a marca da bollo, which is a stamp tax. You can get one from a tabaccheria. You will also need a stamp from the post office.
After you hand in your documents, you will receive a Ricevuta dell’Avvio del Procedimento del Riconoscimento di Cittadinanza. This document will allow you to stay in the country while you are waiting for your citizenship to be completed. Some will say you need to apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno in Attesa Cittadinanza, which is a temporary green-card of sorts, but it is generally not necessary and I did not apply for one.
Now, it’s time to take some cooking classes, walk some ancient streets, enjoy a cafe at the bar or an apertivo by the sea while you wait for your documents to be processed! But don’t stray to far - it’s likely the comune will ask you to come in a few times to review the documents or provide additional information. During this waiting period, they are sending requests to the Italian Consulates in the United States to verify that your documents are valid and correct and to provide evidence that no one of your ancestors renounced Italian citizenship.
Auguri! You’re a citizen!
Congratulations! At long last, the comune calls you to come into the office to sign your citizenship document, Riconoscimento della Cittadinanza Italiana Jure Sanguinis. This document details why you are being granted Italian citizenship. Cin cin!
Now you can apply for your Carta d’Identita and Italian Passport!
I obtained my Italian citizenship on October 4, 2022 and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. While I wasn’t able to share it with my son (he had to return home to the United States to begin fourth grade), my partner, a Spanish citizen, was able to join me that day and I am so grateful he was there to share that experience with me.