Path to Italian Dual Citizenship

These are photos of our great grandfathers through whom we obtained Italian citizenship with jure sanguinis. Both were fathers of the fathers of our mothers. They immigrated to the USA from Italy in the early 20th century.

Summary ~ Overview ~ Jure Sanguinis ~ Naturalization ~

Be prepared ~ Resources ~ Update 2011 ~ Update 2021 ~ Update 2022 ~ Update 2025

Summary

Years 2010 - 2011

We both applied for Italian citizenship through jure sanguinis. We're close, but not quite there. Last month, we sent in a few missing pieces of information. At this time, our applications are being processed. That’s all we know.  

Years 2021 and beyond

See the updates for how our story played out and recent changes, especially and unfortunately the 2025 new laws severely restricting paths to citizenship.

You can consider this post as an example of how it use to be before 2025.

Overview

Our initial appointments to review our applications and associated paperwork for Italian citizenship took place two months ago. We had each requested our consulate appointments via email. Submitted within minutes of another, the earliest dates they had available were over a year and a half later and exactly a week apart. Does the consulate process only one application per week? Not all consulates have the same lead time or appointment scheduling. Here’s a list of Italian consulates in the U.S. You must work with the one that serves the area you live in. We opted for “mail-in review” since we don’t live near the consulate office in San Francisco which serves the Northwest.

The idea of dual Italian citizenship came to us in 2007 as we were planning our sabbatical to Italy. Part of the sabbatical then became a quest to gather the necessary paperwork – and there is no shortage of that. For our 2007 trip we decided that Visas were the best strategy and so we got them for that trip.

If your family members live in the same consular jurisdiction as you, and are interested in citizenship, then seriously consider combining efforts and doing the citizenship interview together. For example, if your sister or brother wants to apply for citizenship, the only difference between your paperwork and theirs may be an additional birth certificate. Again, check with the consulate that serves your area.

Jure Sanguinis

We engaged the Italian Consulate in San Francisco under whose jurisdiction Seattle comes. If you look at the forms section of the site, you’ll see a form called Application for Italian citizenship “Jure Sanguinis” (link as of today). What’s jure sanguinis? I’ll quote from a story of someone who did gain dual-citizenship:

Jure sanguinis - the Latin phrase meaning “continuity of blood” or “by the right of blood” - is the right of citizenship under Italian Nationality Law by virtue of one’s ancestry. As with many aspects of Italian and Italian-American life and culture, the rules surrounding Italian citizenship jure sanguinis are complex and, in some cases, counterintuitive. [source: article by Michael Votto]

Now back to the Jure Sanguinis form. To find it, go to the San Francisco Consulate web site; go to the part of the web site dealing with citizenship. There is a form called Jure Sanguinis. There are a number of ways to claim Jure Sanguinis. To illustrate by way of example, we’ll focus on what was relevant for us. For Travelmarx (both of us) option #5 applies which is:

Your paternal or maternal grandfather was born in the United States, your paternal or maternal great grandfather was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your paternal or maternal grandfather’s birth, neither you nor your father/mother nor your grandfather/grandmother ever renounced your right to Italian citizenship.

In each of our cases, our Italian bloodlines are most easily proven via our paternal great grandfathers (pictured above). So one reads down to the section applying to option 5 and finds this list of required documents:

1. Your paternal/maternal GREAT GRANDFATHER’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
2. Your paternal/maternal GREAT GRANDMOTHER’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
3. Your paternal/maternal GREAT GRANDPARENTS’ MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
4. Your paternal/maternal GREAT GRANDFATHER’S CERTIFICATE OF NATURALIZATION
5. Your paternal/maternal GRANDFATHER’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
6. Your paternal/maternal GRANDMOTHER’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE
7. Your paternal/maternal GRANDPARENTS’ MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
8. Your father’s BIRTH CERTIFICATE
9. Your mother’s BIRTH CERTIFICATE
10. Your parents’ MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
11. Your BIRTH CERTIFICATE
12. Your APPLICATION AND YOUR DECLARATION THAT YOU AND YOUR ASCENDANTS NEVER RENOUNCED ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BEFORE ANY ITALIAN AUTHORITY (Attachments: 2A - 2B)
13. DEATH CERTIFICATE/S RELATING TO THE ITALIAN BORN ASCENDANTS ONLY.
14. ORIGINAL AND COPY OF YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE

Documents 1 -3 were obtained directly from Italian sources. We actually got these documents in person (for example in Palermo and Piemonte). (It goes without saying, but you should get multiple copies of these documents.) Documents 4 – 13 are all U.S. documents. Some documents such as your birth certificate will need to have an apostille attached. An apostille is a legalization provided by the Office of the Secretary of State of the state in which the document is issued. The path to getting an apostille for any given document will depend on the state in which the document was issued. For example, to get a New York birth certificate apostilled you first have to get a letter of exemplification before the apostille. (See this informative post.) The place you apply to get your records will be different than the place you have them apostilled so there’s lots of researching of government agencies on the Internet, calling, mailing and otherwise running around. It’s part of the experience.

Naturalization

Document #4 in the required documents list, the certificate of naturalization, proved to be a bit tricky. In our original applications, we sent copies of our great-grandfather's naturalization certificates. (One of our great grandfather’s certificate copy came from family records the other came from Homeland Security records, a C-File.) However, these copies turned out to not be sufficient even though we thought we were following the instructions closely. Here’s the email response we received back from the consulate indicating specifically what they required:

Either the original of your ancestor’s naturalization certificate or a certified copy of what the National Archives has on file concerning his acquiring US citizenship. They will not certify the certificate, but they will certify all the rest, including the oath, which is what we need. It will have a red ribbon on it. If you send the original, you will need to enclose a pre-paid self-addressed USPS envelope for the return of the document to you. We do not accept any other form of pre-paid mail.

So we both went to the National Archives site and ordered up red ribbon copies. One of our great grandfathers was naturalized in a federal court (in New York) so the National Archives had all the supporting documentation including his oath of allegiance. The other great grandfather was eventually naturalized in Riverside County Superior court (California) and so the National Archives red ribbon copies provided some supporting documentation (his first applications via federal courts which were denied). And Riverside County Superior court archives delivered the essential documents attesting to his naturalization there. Confusing? Kind of. You just have to go with the process and find out what works.

Be prepared

The short ½ of Travelmarx had to provide, in addition to the items above, a copy of a US passport and a statement (in email) that he was never married. It’s odd because the taller ½ of Travelmarx did not have to provide that information. The other items that the shorter ½ of Travelmarx had to provide were copies of the marriage certificate and divorce decree for a first marriage of his mother. Point of the this: be prepared.

Resources

The article by Michael Votto [link] enumerates a few pros and cons of dual (Italian) citizenship. The pros: a passport from a country that is a member of the European Union (E.U.) means you live, travel, and work more freely in any E.U. country. Other possible benefits include healthcare, the ability to purchase property, and the right to pass on citizenship to heirs. The cons: tax liabilities (generally equitable, but filing will be more complex if you have foreign income), possible military responsibilities, and more trouble getting a U.S. security clearance. To tell you the truth, we don’t know which of these pros or cons will be a joy or pain because it’s still early in the process.
The United States government’s position on dual citizenship: they recognize it but don’t encourage it stating that:

The U.S. Government recognizes that dual nationality exists but does not encourage it as a matter of policy because of the problems it may cause. Claims of other countries on dual national U.S. citizens may conflict with U.S. law, and dual nationality may limit U.S. Government efforts to assist citizens abroad. The country where a dual national is located generally has a stronger claim to that person's allegiance. [U.S. Department of State Web site]

Finally, a great resource for Italian info and citizenship is Expat Talk, and this guy has a nice and recent story about his successful dual citizenship quest.

A Word About Services That Claim to Assist You

Be careful! If you search for “Italian citizenship” on the Internet you’ll find lots of services offering to gather the documents for you and perhaps shepherd them through the process. We initially tried one and it was a waste of time and money. We recommend that you don’t use them. It’s better to manage the paperwork yourself. It may be challenging at times but can be made easier by getting support from the forums or folks that have already done it.

Update January 2011

We now both have our citizenship confirmed with a letter from the consulate. Hooray! One notice came months ago and the other came recently. We are attaching the redacted notice (2 pages) below to show what it looks like. Here's post on getting passports.

Update 2021

It's 2021 and it's hard to believe it's been 10 years since this post was written. Since then, we moved to Italy, established residency, and obtained our national identity cards and health cards. All of this comes with expected and unexpected consequences that we discovered along the way. For example, how taxes work. (We pay taxes in both countries and it's complicated. In the future, we'll write more on this subject.) 

Despite the times we were ready to throw in the towel and call it quits, we persevered and now live in Italy. We like to think our great grandfathers pictured at the beginning of this post would be proud. But then again, they left Italy for a reason and maybe they would find it bizarre that we returned?

Friends joke with us and say we are living a "postcard-life" and that we are "living the dream". That makes us chuckle. Whose dream? What dream? We just followed our instincts and curiosity, and that led us here. 

Update 2022

CNN article Want to become Italian? The 007 of lost Italian documents may be able to help

Update 2025

The Tajani Decree (Decree-Law 36/2025) introduces significant changes to Italian citizenship laws, particularly affecting those seeking citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis). This change went into effect in March 2025. We'll try to write more about it, but if we were applying today, we would not have been able to get citizenship.

The most important parts are

• Stricter Eligibility: Citizenship by descent is now limited to two generations—meaning only children and grandchildren of Italian citizens born abroad qualify.
• Residency Requirement: If a child is born abroad, their Italian parent must have lived in Italy for two consecutive years before their birth and still held Italian citizenship at that time.

Reason for the change? According to the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale: a flood of applications that were overwhelming the system where applicants are more interested in the value of the passport rather than citizenship. This seems to be the case especially with Argentina and Brazil. Quoting from the link above: "For example, Argentina increased from approximately 20,000 recognitions in 2023 to 30,000 the following year. Brazil rose from over 14,000 recognitions in 2022 to 20,000 last year.".

Permesso di Soggornio – Questura Letter

One of these letters arrived for each of us at the school. It is an appointment sometime next April (!) for a 5 minute slot with an official. We must bring some documentation and fill out another module. Hmm, not sure we will even be here in Florence. The letter:

Oggetto: Convocazione per integrazione pratica e fotosegnalemento.

In riferimento all Sua richiesta di rilascio/rinnovo del permess/carta di soggiorno, Le comunichiamo che risulta carente della sequente documentazione:

• 4 fototessere su fondo bianco


• tutti i documenti in originale per il rilascio/rinnovo del permesso di soggiorno


• passaporto l’orginale


• questa stessa convocazione

Elenco documenti mancanti:

• Istanza 209 Modulo 2


• Fotocopia della documentazione attestante il possesso di risorse economiche, proprietà immobiliari, e assegni pensione

La predetta documentazione dovrà essere prodotta presso:
Questura – Ufficio Immigrazione sito in Via della Fortezza 17, 50129. Il giorno xx/xx/xx alle ore 11:55.

Per cui dovrà pressentare:

• questa stessa lettera di convacazione


• 4 fotografie in formato tessera e fondo bianco


• passaporto in corso di validità


• originali dei documenti allegati alla richiesta di rilascio/rinnovo

Distinti saluti,
Il Dirigente,
Ufficio Immigrazione

Codice Fiscale Card Arrives

It came pretty quickly. I got mine but the half of Travelmarx is still waiting for his. Included a picture of the card.

2021-07-23 Update:  Now that we've lived in a Italy for a bit, we realize how important and requested our codice fiscale is for fiscal and administrative transactions. The codice fiscale is not like a social security number, which we guard in the US. Anyone could guess your codice fiscale.

I had two numbers for a while because in one application, I used my middle name and the other case I didn't which led to two codes.

To see what your codice fiscale is in case you forgot, you can use this codice fiscale generator.

As an example, using the following data:

John Smith
03/03/1970
Maschile
STATI UNITI D'AMERICA

gives the following codice: SMTJHN70C03Z404T.

Tweaking the data to use a middle name, for example:

John Harold Smith
03/03/1970
Maschile
STATI UNITI D'AMERICA

gives the following codice: SMTJNH70C03Z404Q. This one differs only in the last letter.

What's more: you don't really need a codice fiscale "card" with the number on it. You just need the number. The codice fiscale appears on your Italian carta d'identità and your tessera sanitaria. In most of our transactions where the codice fiscale is needed, we show one of these cards.

Codice Fiscale

We went for the codice fiscale this afternoon. It wasn’t so bad. We went first to Agenzia Delle Entrate, Ufficio di Firenze 1 (via Nazionale) near Via Spartaco. We were behind a girl from Tuscany who lost hers and needed a replacement. The man at the information desk shushed us along and told us to follow her to Ufficio di Firenze 2 which was around the corner on Via Spartaco. Once in that office (2nd floor) the process was fairly straightforward. Grab a form (1 page), grab a ticket (what else did you expect!?), fill out the form and wait a few minutes. Watch the ticker board to see when you number gets called. You need your passport.

The lady who processed my form (which takes less than 5 minutes) asked me some questions – I don’t remember what she aske exactly, but I think something to the effect: was my name on the door where I lived and how long I was in Italy. (She had the biggest mole/wart I every saw in my life so I was rather preoccupied studying that.)

You get a receipt and a card should show up in the mail in a few weeks (what did you expect!?). The card doesn’t matter a whole lot because the receipt has the “code” which is a combination of letters from your name and birthdate. You need the codice fiscale to open an Italian bank account (at least in the bank where we asked, but I think this is the case in general). So far, we haven’t opened an account.

Submitting the Permesso Di Soggiorno

At the language school, an assistant gave us the final bit of information we needed to get the permesso di soggiorno submitted. Here is the list she gave us that helped:

1. moduli compilati
2. fotocopia di tutto il passaporto
3. fotocopia certificato scuola debitamente timbrato dall’Ambrasciata o Consolato
4. fotocopia assicurazione
5. fotocopia disponibilità economica
6. ricevuta pagamento bollettino di 27,50
7. marca da bollo da 14,62 da applicare sul modulo 1 di prima pagina

Item 1: Is all of module 1. The yellow kit comes with two modules, we only filled out module 1. The second module is for working in Italy. For module 1 only the first 3 pages had anything on them, but we submitted the empty pages too. 8 sheets of paper total.

Item 2: Copy of all pages of the passport – even blank ones. Do full sized copies, not ½ sized pages. We did that and there was some question about it (but they accepted it), so stick to full to be on the safe side. A typical passport will have 24 pages, when you put 2 pages per copy it comes out to 13 photocopies (because of back and front cover pages), so 13 sheets of paper total.

Item 3: We did not do this because we are not on a student Visa.

Item 4: Proof of insurance. We copied a sheet demonstrating our travel health insurance plus our regular health insurance card (now on Cobra). 2 sheets of paper total.

Item 5: Proof of economic means. We scanned a credit card and a letter from our financial institution. 2 sheets of paper total.

Item 6: This is a payment receipt. We did not have this and the assistant gave us the form. You can get it at the post office I’m guessing. This form is three connected receipts where you fill out your name and address three times. The three pieces are later separated. One piece becomes your receipt, one goes into the permesso package, the other stays with the post office. You count the receipt as 1 sheet of paper.

Item 7: You unpeel the marca da bollo (like self-adheseive stamp) and stick it to the front page of module 1 in the space provided. You can buy these a tobacco shops with a black sign that have a certain term on the sig…I forgot the term, maybe “valorati”?

When you count all the pages (in our case 26) you write this in the space provided on page 1 of module 1. The number of pages is important. Then you got to the correct post office (not all will accept the completed kit) and submit the kit. In Firenze, the central post office on Via Pellicceria near Piazza della Repubblica is one of the offices to do it at. We were past the 8 days allowed, but not sure it’s that big of a deal. When you enter the post office on Via Pellicceria first notice what a beautiful building it is and then take a ticket for the “amico sportello” / the friendly(?) window and wait to be called. In our case it was immediately even though the post office literally had 100+ people waiting. We had to go separately to submit our kits, but went one after the other. Each of us handed over the yellow kit envelope with just the items listed above. Remember to remove all the instruction pages that come with the kit. You pay 27,50 euro plus another 30 euro and after a flurry of writing and vigorous stamping you get a couple of receipts – one is essentially your temporary permesso di soggiorno. What a precious receipt because it is necessary for us to stay here legally! The real permesso di soggiorno card may come long after we leave, but that’s okay.

The Visas Arrive

We checked the tracking number this morning and could see the "package" was on its way to us. At 11:30 am it arrived and both Visas were inside. Hallelujah. To our surprise the Visas were issued for the full duration we requested, one year, with multiple entries. It was a relief getting this completed. Thanks to all who helped us out including colleagues and friends who helped with the paperwork.

2021-07-26 Update: At the time we originally wrote this, we applied for a visa for what we called Sabbatical I. Eventually we applied for Italian citizenship and subsequent longer visits in Italy didn't require a visa. See Path to Italian Dual Citizenship. For more info about our two sabbaticals, see Sabbatical Lessons: Thoughts and Stories from our Italian Sabbaticals.

The Visa Application, Part 2

For part 2 of the Visas, we provided notarized letters that we left or would be leaving work and a notarized copy of a revised housing contract. We submitted all of the previous paperwork that was okayed. We also simplified some of the paperwork in that we removed redundant documentation like housing contract, transportation, financial means, and health insurance details. We also did not include the FBI background check.

We organized the packet into three folders. One folder for each of us and one for the common documents. We also included a brief cover letter recapping the instructions we were given and the three new documents included. We organized each of our folders again with the aim of making it simple for them to see everything, application on top and creative use of book darts pointing to key items in other documents. Each folder had a label identifying its contents. (Of course, the passports and payment were included.)

We included a self-addressed, USPS express envelope that had tracking capabilities. We mailed it on a Tuesday and we got confirmation the next day. With the return envelope tracking number we could check daily if the consulate had mailed it back yet.

The Visa Application, Part 1

Some observations:

1. Keep your cool. The process is the process. You can’t speed it up or circumvent it by being angry or impatient. Answer questions calmly and articulately and let the process evolve. Don’t add spurious information to the process during the application interview. The consulate folks are just trying to get their jobs done.


2. You are not going to explain away something that is wrong with your application, period. Get clear instructions about what you can do to fix it and try again. We saw second timers there who got rejected again. In our case, we didn’t get approved because we were missing three specific things (see below) but were given clear instructions about what was needed. When we explained that we were from Seattle, they said we could mail everything in (together) with the additional information and continue the application, thankfully. They initialed all the paperwork that was good and acceptable so when they receive it in the mail they will see that and not spend time reviewing it again.


3. We were a bit worried about applying together as a same sex couple so we took great pains to separate everything but as we approached the service window it became apparent we were together and we were funneled to one window since so much of our paperwork was the same (financial, accommodations, flights). We didn’t anticipate that they would want to process us together and I would still give the advice to non-married couples of any kind to prepare separately but approach the window together and see how it goes.


4. Hand over the information in bits and pieces as asked for. Don’t expect to hand over your meticulously prepared packet and hope they will gladly flip through it and know what to make of it. This piece of advice was passed on by a woman who had gone before us and was going through the process for the second time. We loaned her and her husband $100 bucks because they forgot money when they got up to the window. Yes, the SF Consulate takes cash. This woman said that the consulate person said don’t hand me your “junk bible” or something like that because she tried to hand over a blob of information all at once. I don’t know if that is exactly what was said but I like that phrase. Start out by greeting the staff person and clearly stating what type of Visa you are going for and then slip your application through the window and then they will ask you for what they need.


5. Be over-prepared. You don’t know what they’ll ask for.


6. The FBI proof of good conduct (background check basically) with fingerprints was not needed! And to think that took the longest to get. Do bring your driver’s license and passport. A copy is required but they have to look at the real ones too.


7. Get there 15 minutes before they open. We got there 2 minutes before 1:00 pm and already about a dozen folks were in front of us and the door was open and applications were being processed. When we left the line was still pretty long and I expect since the office closed at 3:30pm that some people did not get processed.


8. Bring an umbrella if it looks like rain. We stood outside for at least 45 minutes before we got through the door. Luckily it was cool and dry. There is a small waiting room inside but that’s for folks waiting for other things (like email, or a finished Visa, or mail, etc.). There is a separate window for “everyday” transactions so if you see people bypassing the Visa line they are probably going in to pick up something else and not applying for a Visa.


9. Don’t forget your cashier’s check, money order, or cash.
   

In SF Consulate we saw a heated dispute where one couple came storming out, cursing, followed by several of the consulate staff. Heated words were exchanged and a fight looked eminent but thankfully didn’t happen. That sort of spooked everyone in line. When we got the window everyone was nice and helpful so I don’t know what happened.

For some reason the speaker system that you are suppose to talk and listen through at the service windows was broken so everyone was shouting and several times consulate staff had to come into the lobby (on our side of the glass windows) to ask “what did you say”? It also meant we were shouting what seemed like personal information for everyone to hear… “YES, I HAVE NOT QUIT MY JOB. WHAT? YOU WANT A LETTER OF TERMINATION FROM MY EMPLOYER? BUT I DON”T WANT TO QUIT YET.” “NO MY NAME IS NOT ON THE APARTMENT RENTAL APPLICATION BECAUSE HE PAID FOR IT!! BUT I’M STAYING THERE.” Etc. Don’t be shy; everyone is in the same boat.

We got in line at 2 minutes to 1:00 and finished up around 2:45pm. Don’t know if this is typical but this is what we experienced.

We are arriving in Italy 2 weeks before our apartment rental kicks in. We are going to do some sightseeing, get the permesso di soggiorno, and visit friends in Umbria. We were really worried about how to explain those days either with hotel reservations or specifics about who we are visiting. Our plans are not set in stone because we don’t know them all yet and we want some flexibility. It seems, however, that our quota of 90 days as a tourist on a US Passport will cover that time. The first day of our visa will correspond to day 1 of our apartment rental agreement since that is one of the conditions of a long term stay. This point is still is a bit murky. If you can, have a well laid out itinerary and let them tell you when the Visa will start.

Here is what we needed in our particular situation for an extended stay Visa:

• Housing contract with both of our names on it. (We blew it here and need a redo. Either one of us is the main payer and the other is the guest or both of us are the payers. In some way both our names need to be on the contract.)


• Copy of health insurance card from our preferred provider. That was the easiest to show. No medical travel insurance seemed to be needed.


• Copy of passport and driver’s license and the real version of each.


• Financial statement of worth. (They actually could tell we had everything together and suggested one would be fine between us.) They really didn’t scrutinize this that much either. We had sufficient funds from our financial institution.


• Flight info showing coming/going flights.


• Cover letter. Yes, my consulate agent actually read it. Not sure if she was chuckling though.


• Letters of termination for both of us from our employers. (We blew it here too.) This is a bit odd because it is sort of a chicken and egg situation for Marx2 who wasn’t going to tender his resignation unless the Visa was in hand or so that was the plan. Marx1 left months ago. It still strikes us as odd why this is needed. I can only suppose it is for companies trying to send people over on the sly. If that’s what they need, that’s what we are getting.
  

Not needed:

• Reservations for our language school. Mind you we are applying for an extended stay Visa, however, we thought the school reservation would help establish intent and how we plan to fill some of the time. Apparently, not.


• FBI background check with cute little fingerprints on it.


• Travel insurance. (Which still might be needed for permesso soggiorno.


• Gory details of health coverage what’s covered and what’s not.


• Birth certificate. (Brought it just in case.)


• Extra copies of Visa application and extra passport-sized pictures. Nice to have, but they only need one of each.

Even though we brought things that were not needed we felt good about preparing them (except wasting time and money on the FBI check) because they’ll come in handy later.

The saga continues…

Applying for the Visa

It's been weeks of preparation: lots of reading, discussion, speculation, and frustation. Now we are ready to journey down to the Italian Consulate tomorrow in San Francisco and apply for the Visa. Today we gathered the paper work up (lots of printing going on) and decided on the best way to present the information. We decided on a flip book like organizer (wilson jones view tab document organizer) with pockets for each of the 8 sections we've organized the Visa information into:

• cover letter, application form, passport photos, and check
• passport w/ copies
• financial statements
• health and insurance information
• accomodations information
• flight information (going and returning)
• fbi code of conduct
• supporting documents, sort of appendix of odds and end

We took organizational inspiration from the olive notes blog on what to do even though we are going for a national visa.

We fly in mid morning and the office opens at 1:00pm. We may try to go for the Codice Fiscale form if we can get the info together in time.