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Citizenship by Descent

WEBPAGE REGARDING NEW GUIDELINES UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 

Citizenship Office
Email: cittadinanza.losangeles@esteri.it
Aree di competenza: Arizona, Sud California, Nevada, New Mexico

 

APPOINTMENTS

Applicants who wish to apply for Italian Citizenship by descent will be able to make an appointment online through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s online portal Prenot@mi.

Each adult applicant must reserve an individual appointment – all members of the same household must reserve their own appointment (group appointments are not allowed). Appointments are not transferable.

Appointments can be scheduled only if applicants have gathered all the required documentation.

Further directions on how to submit the application will be sent to every applicant by the citizenship department once an appointment has been secured.

 

RECOGNITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR INDIVIDUALS OF ITALIAN DESCENT BORN ABROAD 

Italian Citizenship is based upon the principle of “jus sanguinis” (blood right).

In order to be recognized as an Italian citizen, applicants must prove that their Italian-born ancestor did not obtain any additional citizenship (U.S. or other) before the foreign-born child`s attainment of legal adulthood. It should be noted that prior to 1975, adulthood was attained at age 21, while from 1975 and up to the present, adulthood is set at age 18.

 

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 Appeal (Civil Court of Appeal, Section I, orders No.  454/2024 and No. 17161/2023) and the Circular No. 43347 dated 3 October 2024 of the Ministry of 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 Appeal, 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 our 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 their father’s naturalization, the minor in question no longer has the ability to pass on the right to their prospective descendants. 

Without prejudice to the foregoing, however, it is possible now to prove that one’s own ancestor, who incurred the loss for the reasons above, then carried out a deed to recover our 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.

 

FAST FACTS

  • Italian Citizenship is based on the principle of “jus sanguinis”, meaning that your father, your mother or your ancestor is or was an Italian citizen. In fact, Italian citizenship can be passed through generations without any limit unless there was an interruption in the line of descent due to naturalization or renunciation.
  • If that ancestor became a U.S. citizen (or citizen of another foreign country) by naturalization before August 16, 1992, you will not be entitled to Italian citizenship if your ancestor’s child(ren) was a minor on the date of obtaining foreign citizenship, even if born before your Italian ancestor’s naturalization.
  • If there is a woman in the line of descent, Italian citizenship can be transmitted only if the son/daughter was born after January 1, 1948. For individuals born before January 1, 1948, the transmission of citizenship occurs only through the male line.
  • From an Italian citizen mother to a child born before January 1st, 1948: applicants who fall into this category will have to appeal directly in Italy to an Italian civil court to obtain recognition of citizenship.
  • An Italian citizen who acquired a foreign citizenship before August 16, 1992 automatically lost his/her citizenship according to art. 8 of the law 555/1912.
  • The acquisition of a foreign citizenship by an Italian citizen on or after August 16, 1992 does not cause the loss of his/her Italian citizenship.

 

BEFORE YOU START

  • You can submit your application to this Consulate if you are a resident of the following States: South California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada.
  • Your application is individual and must be presented personally together with all the supporting documents.
  • In order to present your application and related documents you need to make an appointment through our online booking system  Prenot@Mi (esteri.it)
  • If a family member, residing in our jurisdiction, is interested in submitting in the future an application for the recognition of the Italian citizenship, the same ancestors’ original documentation will apply, but he/she must present his/her original certificates.
  • Residents of South California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada whose family members have obtained the recognition of the Italian citizenship at a different Consulate or in Italy, must submit at this Office all original documentation from the Italian ancestor.

 

U.S. NATURALIZATION AND NONEXISTING RECORDS

The Italian ancestor’s naturalization document is crucial for the recognition of your Italian citizenship. Click here for details.

 

COST AND PAYMENT METHODS

It is hereby announced that, pursuant to Article 1, paragraph 639 of the 2025 Budget Law, the Consular Fees related to applications for the recognition of Italian Citizenship iure sanguinis by adult applicants have been increased from 300 to 600 euros per application, equivalent, for the period from 01/01/2025 to 31/03/2025, to US $643.70.

This new fee applies to all applications for Citizenship recognition by descent that will be submitted starting from January 1st, 2025.

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 the “Consulate General of Italy – Los Angeles”.

The application fee is NON REFUNDABLE, regardless of the outcome of the petition.

Please be aware this office will not return any original documents to the applicant (except for original certificates of American naturalization/citizenship). The submitted documentation must be kept in the applicant’s personal file as proof of his/her Italian citizenship.