IT · Citizenship by descent

Italian citizenship by descent

Reaches a grandparent. A great-grandparent only if you had already applied by 27 March 2025. Every answer on this page is what Postern’s rulebook returns, word for word, with the law it cites. The free check runs the same rules.

Last verified 25 September 202617 sourcesNot legal advice

IT · PARENTPOSSIBLEThrough a parentRecognition by descentIT · GRANDPARENTPOSSIBLEThrough a grandparentRecognition by descentIT · GREAT-GRANDPARENTUNLIKELYThrough a great-grandparentClosed in 2025Likely if you had already applied by 27 March 2025
Routes
Recognition by descent (parent or grandparent)
Dual citizenship
Kept on every open route
Cutoff
27 March 2025
Comes with
EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

The stamps assume no one in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born. What changes each answer is below.

On this page
  1. 01Who qualifies
  2. 02Dates that matter
  3. 03Mothers’ lines
  4. 04Keeping your citizenship
  5. 05The routes and the law
  6. 06The documents
  7. 07What it takes
  8. 08Where the records live
  9. 09Former places
  10. 10Law changes
  11. 11Other doors
  12. 12Sources

01Who qualifies

Who qualifies, generation by generation

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Italian citizenship through a parent?

Recognition by descent

Through a parent born in Italy, recognition is possible under the 2025 law, subject to conditions on your parent's citizenship.

What changes the answer

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    If your ancestor became a citizen of another country before their child was born, the Italian line was broken.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth decides the claim; the US naturalization index and court records answer it. Law 91/1992 on citizenship

  • LIKELY
    If you had already applied by 27 March 2025Recognition under the old law

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit, and your line is unbroken.

  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    Your parent held another citizenship, so under the 2025 law you qualify only if your parent lived in Italy for two continuous years before you were born, or one of your grandparents held only Italian citizenship.

  • LIKELY
    If your parent held only Italian citizenship, all their life

    Your parent held only Italian citizenship, which meets the 2025 law's condition, so recognition by descent is open to you.

  • POSSIBLE
    If your parent took another citizenship at some point

    Your parent held another citizenship, so under the 2025 law you qualify only if your parent lived in Italy for two continuous years before you were born, or one of your grandparents held only Italian citizenship.

  • POSSIBLE
    If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1948

    Before 1 January 1948 citizenship did not pass through the mother; such lines are recognised only by the courts. Constitutional Court judgment 30/1983; Court of Cassation, Joint Sections, 4466/2009

If you had already applied by 27 March 2025, 5 more cases
  • POSSIBLE
    If the parent is your mother

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    Your application runs under the old law, but under it an ancestor who naturalized elsewhere before the next birth broke the line.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • LIKELY
    If the parent is your mother and you were born in 1948 or later

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit, and your line is unbroken.

POSSIBLE

Can you claim Italian citizenship through a grandparent?

Recognition by descent

Through a grandparent born in Italy, recognition is possible under the 2025 law, subject to conditions on the grandparent's citizenship and the unbroken line.

What changes the answer

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    If your ancestor became a citizen of another country before their child was born, the Italian line was broken.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth decides the claim; the US naturalization index and court records answer it. Law 91/1992 on citizenship

  • LIKELY
    If you had already applied by 27 March 2025Recognition under the old law

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit, and your line is unbroken.

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    Your grandparent took another citizenship, so under the 2025 law the line holds only if your parent held only Italian citizenship or lived in Italy for two years before you were born.

  • LIKELY
    If your grandparent held only Italian citizenship, all their life

    Your grandparent held only Italian citizenship, which meets the 2025 law's condition, so recognition by descent is open to you.

  • UNLIKELY
    If your grandparent took another citizenship at some point

    Your grandparent took another citizenship, so under the 2025 law the line holds only if your parent held only Italian citizenship or lived in Italy for two years before you were born.

  • POSSIBLE
    If the grandparent is your grandmother and you were born before 1948

    Before 1 January 1948 citizenship did not pass through the mother; such lines are recognised only by the courts. Constitutional Court judgment 30/1983; Court of Cassation, Joint Sections, 4466/2009

If you had already applied by 27 March 2025, 4 more cases
  • POSSIBLE
    If the grandparent is your grandmother

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    Your application runs under the old law, but under it an ancestor who naturalized elsewhere before the next birth broke the line.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

UNLIKELY

Can you claim Italian citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Closed in 2025

The 2025 law ended new claims through great-grandparents. A residence route remains open.

What would settle itWhether anyone in your family applied, or booked a consular appointment, before 27 March 2025; those applications proceed under the old rule.

What changes the answer

  • LIKELY
    If you had already applied by 27 March 2025Recognition under the old law

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit, and your line is unbroken.

If you had already applied by 27 March 2025, 4 more cases
  • POSSIBLE
    If the great-grandparent is your great-grandmother

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    Your application runs under the old law, but under it an ancestor who naturalized elsewhere before the next birth broke the line.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    Because you applied before 27 March 2025, your case runs under the old law, which had no generation limit; one point in the line needs checking.

02Dates that matter

The dates that matter

  1. 1948
    1 January 1948

    Before 1 January 1948 citizenship did not pass through the mother; such lines are recognised only by the courts. Constitutional Court judgment 30/1983; Court of Cassation, Joint Sections, 4466/2009

  2. 1992

    Under the pre-1992 law, an Italian who voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship lost Italian citizenship; a child born after that loss did not receive it. Law 555/1912 on citizenship, arts. 8 and 12

  3. 2025
    27 March 2025

    An application lodged with a consulate or comune, or an appointment given, or a court case filed, by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 is decided under the law in force on that date, without the 2025 limits. Law 91/1992, art. 3-bis, inserted by Decree-Law 36/2025 as converted by Law 74/2025 (citizenship by descent), art. 3-bis(1)(a), (a-bis), (b)

  4. 2026
    July 2026

    The Constitutional Court referred the 2025 law to the Court of Justice of the EU in July 2026 (order 147/2026); the law applies while the reference is pending. Constitutional Court, order 147/2026 (filed 23 July 2026): preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the EU

What counts as having applied by 27 March 2025: An application lodged with a consulate or comune, an appointment the consulate gave you, or a court case filed, by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 (Law 91/1992 art. 3-bis(1)(a), (a-bis), (b)).

03Mothers’ lines

How mothers’ lines were treated

In Italy’s rule, the answer changes when the line runs through a woman:

In the law’s words

04Keeping your citizenship

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

05The routes

Every route, and the law behind it

Recognition by descent

Open through a parent or a grandparent

  • POSSIBLE
    Through a parent
  • POSSIBLE
    Through a parent, if someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor
  • LIKELY
    Through a parent, if your parent held only Italian citizenship, all their life
  • POSSIBLE
    Through a grandparent
  • LIKELY
    Through a grandparent, if your grandparent held only Italian citizenship, all their life

The law

What would settle an unsure case

  • The exact date of the naturalization against the birth date of the next person in your line. A few months' difference decides it.
  • Whether your ancestor, or anyone between you, naturalized elsewhere before the next person in the line was born.
  • Whether your parent lived in Italy for two continuous years after becoming Italian and before you were born; a parent born and raised in Italy usually did.
  • Whether your parent lived in Italy for two continuous years after becoming Italian and before you were born, or holds only Italian citizenship; or whether you applied before 27 March 2025.

Recognition under the old law

Open through a parent, a grandparent or a great-grandparent

  • LIKELY
    Through a parent, if you had already applied by 27 March 2025

The law

What would settle an unsure case

  • Whether the line passed through a woman to a child born before 1948; those claims go to court.
  • The exact date of the naturalization against the birth date of the next person in your line. A few months' difference decides it.
  • Whether your ancestor, or anyone between you, naturalized elsewhere before the next person in the line was born.
  • Where the child was born: a child born in a country that gave them its citizenship at birth kept Italian citizenship when the parent naturalized (Cassation 24045/2026).

Closed in 2025

Closed: no open answer on this route

  • UNLIKELY
    Through a great-grandparent

    The 2025 law ended new claims through great-grandparents. A residence route remains open.

The law

What would settle an unsure case

  • Whether anyone in your family applied, or booked a consular appointment, before 27 March 2025; those applications proceed under the old rule.

06The documents

The documents, as the rule lists them

Recognition by descent

Through a parent or grandparent

  • Your ancestor's Italian birth record (estratto dell'atto di nascita) from the comune
  • Their marriage record
  • Proof of their citizenship status (a certificate of no naturalization, or the naturalization record with its date)
  • Birth and marriage records for each generation to you

Through a parent, if someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

  • Your ancestor's Italian birth record (estratto dell'atto di nascita) from the comune
  • Their marriage record
  • Proof of their citizenship status (a certificate of no naturalization, or the naturalization record with its date)
  • Birth and marriage records for each generation to you
  • Proof of your parent's two years' residence in Italy before your birth (residence certificate from the comune)

Recognition under the old law

Through a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent

  • Your ancestor's Italian birth record (estratto dell'atto di nascita) from the comune
  • Their marriage record
  • Proof of their citizenship status (a certificate of no naturalization, or the naturalization record with its date)
  • Birth and marriage records for each generation to you

Most countries also want proof that no one in the line became a citizen elsewhere before the next birth: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter that none exists.

07What it takes

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Recognition by descent

Time
The New York consulate takes no new sign-ups for its waiting list (September 2026), and other U.S. posts ration appointments; the decision can take up to 36 months once filed (Law 11/2026). From 1 January 2029 adults abroad file by post with a central office of the Foreign Ministry in Rome instead of a consulate. A court petition in Italy resolves in months instead.
Cost
About $1,500–3,000: the €600 application fee per adult (about $700 at 2026 exchange rates), apostilles, certified translations of every U.S. record, and copies. An incomplete file is rejected and the €600 is paid again at a new appointment.
The hard part
Since May 2025, Italy limits automatic recognition to two generations born abroad: you generally need a parent or grandparent born in Italy itself, unless a narrow exception applies (your Italian parent lived in Italy for two years, or you had already applied before 27 March 2025). Within that window, you still must prove your ancestor did not naturalize before the next birth: a certificate of non-existence of record from USCIS, or the naturalization record itself with its date.
Who decides
The Italian consulate for your U.S. address, by appointment through Prenot@Mi (New York offers dates only to people already on its waiting list), or a court in Italy through a lawyer; from 1 January 2029, a directorate-general of the Foreign Ministry in Rome, by post.
The first record
Your ancestor’s Italian birth record (estratto dell’atto di nascita), from The comune where they were born. Search Antenati, the Ministry of Culture’s free portal of scanned civil registers, by comune and name to pin down the exact date first, then write to the comune’s ufficio di stato civile for the certified copy; many comuni answer by email in 2–8 weeks. antenati.cultura.gov.it

How it’s filed

Where
The Italian consular office for the member's address: Boston (ME MA NH RI VT), Chicago (CO IL IA KS MN MO NE ND SD WI WY), Detroit (IN KY MI OH TN), Houston (AR LA OK TX), Los Angeles (AZ, southern CA, NV, NM), Miami (AL FL GA MS SC, PR, USVI), New York (NY, CT, northern NJ), Philadelphia (PA DE NC WV, southern NJ, MD and VA except the DC suburbs), San Francisco (AK, northern CA, HI ID MT OR UT WA), Embassy in Washington (DC, Montgomery and Prince George's MD, Arlington/Fairfax/Alexandria/Falls Church VA). Jurisdiction follows the applicant's residence, proven by ID and a utility bill. office list
How
In person; you appear in person
Appointments
Prenot@mi (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Personal, named, non-transferable appointments. Prenot@mi suspends accounts whose booking attempts are too fast to be human (bots), and works on desktop Chrome/Edge only (Washington FAQ). Per post, September 2026: New York offers dates only to people already on its waiting list, and takes no new sign-ups; San Francisco and New York make you accept an offered date within 5 days and reconfirm 10 to 3 days before. Houston releases new slots Tuesdays at 5 pm local for about two weeks out, and requires uploading its Form_JS_prenot@ami at booking or cancels. Chicago lets you pick the first free date. Miami emails filing instructions about a month before the date.
Fee
About $699
Decision
6–36 months
What goes in the file (13)
  1. Prenot@mi appointment confirmation (printout; LA also wants its instruction email)
  2. Fee: €600 paid in USD at the quarter's rate ($699.10 until 30 September 2026) by cashier's check or money order to the consulate; personal checks refused
  3. Citizenship request form, Form 1 and Form 2, signatures notarized (NY and Miami also want the notarizations apostilled; Boston, Houston and Detroit have them signed before the consular officer instead)
  4. Family tree (LA requires it)
  5. Copy of the applicant's valid passport, driver's license or state ID from the district, and a utility bill or tax statement as proof of residence (non-U.S. citizens: green card)
  6. Applicant's long-form birth certificate (issued within 24 months at LA), apostilled, with Italian translation
  7. Applicant's marriage and divorce records, apostilled and translated, with the consulate's request form to register them in Italy; minor children's long-form births likewise
  8. Italian ancestor's birth record from the comune (estratto per riassunto in formato internazionale or integrale, with annotations, issued within six months; no apostille)
  9. Italian ancestor's marriage record (from the comune if in Italy; otherwise long-form, apostilled, translated)
  10. Proof the ancestor never naturalized before the next birth (USCIS, NARA and county no-record letters with apostille, plus a later census or alien registration), or the naturalization record showing its date
  11. Proof of the Law 74/2025 condition: evidence the parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship (no-naturalization evidence, certificato storico di cittadinanza/residenza, green card), or the parent's certificato storico di residenza showing two continuous years in Italy before the applicant's birth
  12. Italian ancestor's death certificate if applicable, apostilled and translated
  13. For each generation between the ancestor and the applicant: Form 3 (living, notarized, with ID copy) or Form 4 (deceased), and long-form birth, marriage and death records, apostilled and translated
What goes wrong (8)
  • Mail-in posts: New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco take the file by post, mailed on the appointment date (postmark must match; earlier mailings are returned unread). Chicago, from July 2026 appointments, takes it by post arriving between the 1st and 20th of the appointment month, with a prepaid return envelope. At these posts nobody appears in person. Boston, Detroit, Houston and Philadelphia require the applicant in person on the day.
  • Law 74/2025 (new art. 3-bis, Law 91/1992): a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is Italian only if (c) a parent or grandparent holds, or held at death, only Italian citizenship, or (d) a parent lived in Italy for two continuous years after becoming Italian and before the birth. Applications filed, or appointments confirmed, by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 keep the old rule. Upheld by the Constitutional Court (judgment 63/2026).
  • Self-declarations that the ancestor had no other citizenship are refused (LA). Incomplete files are rejected, and the fee is kept regardless of outcome and must be paid again for a new appointment (NY, SF, Boston). Documents are not returned (NY, LA).
  • Decision time: a 36-month legal maximum under Law 11/2026. San Francisco says it decides complete files within 24 months.
  • Law 11/2026 (in force 19 February 2026) moves recognition for adults living abroad from consulates to a central MAECI office from 1 January 2029. Filing will then be by post only, with original documents, and notices by email. Until then consulates keep deciding, capped each year at the number of cases they closed the year before.
  • Before 1 January 1948 citizenship did not pass through mothers: those lines, and any refusal, go to an Italian court (ricorso) through an Italian lawyer, not to the consulate.
  • Name discrepancies across the chain must be amended at the issuing vital-records office first (Chicago, LA, Detroit).
  • From CA, GB, AU, NZ, BR, AR, ZA: file with the Italian consulate for the member's address in that country, through the same Prenot@mi. The €600 is charged in local currency at that consulate's quarterly rate. Home records need that country's apostille (Canada has issued apostilles since January 2024). Queues vary by post; Brazil and Argentina posts have historically had the longest waits (unverified for 2026).

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Estimates are honest ranges from official fee tables and what families report; where a fee or time could not be confirmed, it says so.

08Where the records live

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

  • birth1866–2026

    The comune's ufficio di stato civile (the town where the ancestor was born); the second original sits at the Archivio di Stato of the province (via the Tribunale until 2001, the Prefettura after).

    The comune of birth, from the ancestor's U.S. records (ship manifest, naturalization papers, marriage record). Addresses and PEC/email of every comune are on each comune's own website; Chicago's consulate points to www.comuni.it for postal addresses. Frazioni belong to a larger comune: search Antenati's locality list to find the parent comune.

    Ask
    By email, in Italian
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (5)
    • Ask for the estratto per riassunto in formato internazionale with annotations; LA accepts 'formato internazionale' or 'estratto per riassunto'; Chicago asks for the 'extended version' (integrale). Asking for both avoids a second round.
    • Consulates want the Italian certificate issued within six months of the appointment (NY, SF, LA): order it last, after the appointment date is known.
    • Comuni with a PEC address answer PEC reliably; plain email works at many; small comuni often answer only a posted letter with an international reply envelope. Chicago's consulate form warns comuni may ask for postage or a certificate fee.
    • Fee: usually free or a few euros; unverified per comune. No apostille is needed on an Italian certificate used at an Italian consulate.
    • The certificate must be requested by the family itself; consulates do not order it.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • birth1806–1865

    Pre-unification civil registers: Napoleonic stato civile (1806–1815, most regions); kept after 1815 only in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (mainland south; Sicily from 1820) and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. Originals at the comune, duplicates at the provincial Archivio di Stato.

    Southern comuni (Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia, Abruzzo, Molise, Sicily) hold continuous civil registers from 1809/1820. Elsewhere 1815–1865 means parish registers (next entry).

    Ask
    By email, in Italian
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (2)
    • Rarely needed after Law 74/2025: only a parent or grandparent line is open, so the Italian-born ancestor is almost always born after 1866.
    • If the comune's own register was lost, the Archivio di Stato issues a certified copy from the duplicate; write to the Archivio di Stato of the province.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • birth1563–1870

    The parish (parrocchia) or diocesan archive: baptism registers, the only birth record where no civil register existed (most of the north and centre 1815–1865; Veneto and Mantua until 1871; Rome and Lazio until 1871).

    The parish of the ancestor's village; the diocese's archive holds closed parishes. Antenati lists which Archivio di Stato holds the civil series and when it starts for each province.

    Ask
    By post, in Italian
    Takes
    1–8 months
    Good to know (3)
    • Veneto civil registration began 1 September 1871 (Antenati, Archivio di Stato di Venezia).
    • Trentino, Alto Adige, Trieste and Gorizia were Austrian until 1918–1920; births there before annexation were recorded by the parish acting as civil registrar and those ancestors were Austrian subjects, a special case for recognition. Unverified in detail this pass: route to a lawyer.
    • Parish offices are slow and informal; an offering (offerta) is customary.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • marriage1866–2026

    The comune's ufficio di stato civile where the marriage took place, when the ancestor married in Italy. Marriages in the U.S. come from the county clerk or state vital records.

    Usually the bride's comune. If the ancestor married abroad, the record comes from that country and must be apostilled and translated.

    Ask
    By email, in Italian
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (1)
    • Issued within six months of the appointment, like the birth record (LA, Detroit).

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • death1866–2026

    The comune's ufficio di stato civile where the ancestor died, when they died in Italy. Deaths in the U.S. come from the state or county vital records office, apostilled and translated.

    The comune of death; a death abroad of an Italian citizen may also have been transcribed in the comune of last residence (AIRE).

    Ask
    By email, in Italian
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (2)
    • Only needed when the ancestor has died: the consulates list the ancestor's death certificate 'if applicable' (NY, LA).
    • A U.S. death certificate needs the apostille of the issuing state and an Italian translation, like every U.S. vital record on the line.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • residence

    The comune's ufficio anagrafe: certificato storico di residenza and certificato storico di cittadinanza for the Italian parent or grandparent.

    Every comune where the ancestor lived in Italy.

    Ask
    By email, in Italian
    Takes
    2–17 weeks
    Good to know (2)
    • New since Law 74/2025: these prove the art. 3-bis conditions. The two-year-residence route (lett. d) needs the parent's certificato storico di residenza showing two continuous years in Italy after acquiring citizenship and before the applicant's birth. The exclusive-citizenship route (lett. c) uses it alongside proof of never naturalizing (Chicago categories 1–6; NY, Boston).
    • Anagrafe certificates may carry stamp duty (marca da bollo) unless an exemption applies; unverified per comune.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • naturalization

    USCIS Genealogy Program (C-files 1906–1956, A-files from 1944, AR-2 alien registrations 1940–1944, visa files 1924–1944).

    Search by every spelling and birth date the ancestor used. An index search (G-1041) returns the file number; a record request (G-1041A) returns the copy.

    Ask
    Online, in English · request page ↗
    Fee
    30 USD
    Takes
    3–12 months
    Good to know (4)
    • Fee is per request: $30 online, $80 on paper, for each of G-1041 and G-1041A (fee schedule G-1055, edition 09/09/26). A full no-naturalization proof needs the index search plus NARA and county searches.
    • Italian consulates want the USCIS no-record letter with the envelope it came in, apostilled (NY). Philadelphia wants the USCIS letter to state the A-file number.
    • An Italian who acquired a foreign citizenship before 16 August 1992 lost Italian citizenship (Law 555/1912 art. 8): the date on the naturalization record against the next person's birth decides the line.
    • Turnaround unverified; USCIS genealogy requests commonly take months. Widened.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • naturalization

    The National Archives (NARA) for federal-court naturalizations (declaration of intention, petition, oath of allegiance), and the county court clerk where the ancestor lived for local-court naturalizations and no-record statements.

    Every county the ancestor lived in from arrival until the next-in-line child came of age (Chicago's guidance).

    Ask
    By post, in English
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (3)
    • NY's list: if naturalized, a notarized copy of the certificate (if it shows the correct name and birth date), or NARA certified copies of declaration/petition/oath (no apostille), or county copies (with apostille). If never naturalized: USCIS no-record + NARA no-record + every county's no-record statement, each apostilled, AND a census after the next-in-line's birth or an alien-registration record.
    • None of the naturalization documents need translating (NY, Chicago, LA).
    • NARA certified copies carry a red ribbon and gold seal; Chicago rejects plain copies. Fees unverified this pass.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Translations

Into
Italian
Who may translate
Any certified translator
About
$25–$75 a page

Every non-Italian vital record on the Italian line (birth, marriage, death, divorce, court orders) needs an Italian translation; the apostille itself and all naturalization documents do not. U.S. consulates take a translation by any translator: LA 'Italian translation on plain paper', Chicago 'accurate, complete, and typed'; the translation is not apostilled. NY, Boston and Miami ask for a 'traduzione ufficiale': NY certifies a translation's conformity for €13 ($15.20) per document (tariff 72A) and Boston publishes a translator list. Filing in Italy (court or comune) needs a sworn translation (asseverata) or consular certification instead. Per-page price is a U.S. market range, unverified.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

The passport

Where
The same consulate, after recognition: the consulate registers the member in AIRE and has the birth transcribed in the comune, then issues the passport on a Prenot@mi passport appointment (fingerprints taken in person).
Fee
About $136
Time
2–17 weeks

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

09Former places

Places on old papers that lead to Italy

If your family’s records name one of these, Italy’s law may be the one that applies. The town decides.

10Law changes

Recent and pending changes

  • IN FORCE
    The Constitutional Court upheld the 2025 law

    Judgment 63/2026 upheld art. 3-bis of Law 91/1992, the 2025 limit of recognition by descent to a parent or grandparent. The two-generation limit is settled in Italian law.

    Constitutional Court, judgment 63/2026 (30 April 2026)

    Checked 25 September 2026

  • PENDING
    The 2025 law was referred to the Court of Justice of the EU

    Order 147/2026 asked the Court of Justice whether art. 3-bis is compatible with EU citizenship and suspended those proceedings. The law applies while the reference is pending; it does not reopen great-grandparent claims today.

    Constitutional Court, order 147/2026 (filed 23 July 2026)

    Checked 25 September 2026

Already in the rule

The watch re-reads the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person re-checks the rule before anything here moves.

11Other doors

If descent doesn’t reach you

6 residence programs lead to Italy without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

12Sources

Every source on this page

7 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing, then the legislative watch. Records and filing checked 25 September 2026.

  1. LawLaw 91/1992, art. 3-bis, inserted by Decree-Law 36/2025 as converted by Law 74/2025 (citizenship by descent) · art. 3-bis(1); art. 3-bis(1)(a), (a-bis), (b); art. 3-bis(1)(c)-(d); art. 3-bis(1)(c)
  2. LawLaw 555/1912 on citizenship · arts. 8 and 12
  3. LawLaw 91/1992 on citizenship · art. 1(1)(a); art. 11
  4. LawConstitutional Court, judgment 63/2026 (30 April 2026) · checked 25 September 2026
  5. LawConstitutional Court, order 147/2026 (filed 23 July 2026): preliminary reference to the Court of Justice of the EU · checked 25 September 2026
  6. LawConstitutional Court judgment 30/1983; Court of Cassation, Joint Sections, 4466/2009
  7. LawCourt of Cassation, Joint Sections, judgment 24045/2026 (filed 26 July 2026) · principles of law; Law 555/1912 arts. 7 and 12
  8. RecordsThe comune where they were born: Your ancestor’s Italian birth record (estratto dell’atto di nascita) · checked 25 September 2026
  9. RecordsHow to file: Recognition by descent · checked 25 September 2026
  10. RecordsRichiesta di riconoscimento della cittadinanza italiana iure sanguinis, with Forms 1 and 2 (applicant), Form 3 (each living ascendant) or Form 4 (each deceased ascendant); each consulate publishes its own copies · checked 25 September 2026
  11. RecordsPrenot@mi (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) · checked 25 September 2026
  12. RecordsBirth records, 1866–2026: The comune's ufficio di stato civile · checked 25 September 2026
  13. RecordsMarriage records, 1866–2026: The comune's ufficio di stato civile where the marriage took place, when the ancestor… · checked 25 September 2026
  14. RecordsResidence records: The comune's ufficio anagrafe · checked 25 September 2026
  15. RecordsNaturalization records: USCIS Genealogy Program · checked 25 September 2026
  16. RecordsNaturalization records: The National Archives · checked 25 September 2026
  17. RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait · checked 25 September 2026

Not legal advice. Postern’s rulebook is written from the statutes and tested against documented cases; where the law is unsettled, the answer says “possible” or “unsure” rather than guess.

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