Do You Have all Your Italian Citizenship Documents? Here’s How to Check.

Dreaming of becoming an Italian citizen?

I’m sure you are, what with all the perks and benefits that come with it.

To realize your dream, you have to first put in a little hard work. One of the most difficult parts of the journey is to collect all the documents needed for Italian citizenship. WIthout knowing exactly what you need, you may waste time and money.

That’s where we come in.

With our handy checklist, you can achieve Italian dual citizenship without you losing your mind. However, before you look at the documents needed, let’s look at some of the requirements you need to fulfill.

Documents You Need for Italian Citizenship – Some Requirements You Need to Know

Don’t assume that any document will be the right one. You will have to make sure that they are the correct type and meet all the necessary requirements. Some of those requirements include:

• Certification. When submitting copies of documents, they have to be certified. This means that they must be official copies released by the government, state, or local bodies that have the legal power to do so. You’ll know they’re official because they have a signature on them from someone important in the issuing office.
• Apostilles. Every document you hand in for your Italian citizenship application must be accompanied by an apostille. The purpose of an apostille is to make your non-Italian documents legal for use in Italy. An apostille is a separate certification attached your original record. You can get an apostille from the Secretary of State which issues each single document.
• Format. Make sure to request “long form” or “extended form” for all your non-Italian documents.
• Translations. Make sure to translate all your non-Italian documents into Italian. It’s only logical—Italian officials will look at them so they have to understand what they’re reading!

Documents You Need for Italian Citizenship

To ensure the success of your citizenship application, you need to have all your documents ready to go. Each consulate in the US processes approximately 2,500 applications per year so you don’t want to give them any excuse to bin your application.

Missing one or failing to meet the requirements for any document can delay your citizenship. Even worse, it can cause a rejection.

So what documents do you need to process your Italian citizenship application?

1. Birth Certificates

If you’re applying for Italian citizenship by descent, you need proof that your parent was born in Italy. You prove this by showing his or her Italian birth certificate.

(Note: make sure to request the “certificato dell’atto di nascita” from their hometown. This is the correct format you’ll need.)

The same applies if you are applying for your Italian citizenship via your grandparents.

Or, if you have to go back farter it also applies to your great grandparents. No matter how many generations back you go to get your Italian citizenship, you will need to provide the birth certificates for your ancestors in each generation. Thus, the more generations back, the more birth certificates you need to procure.

2. Your Parents’ Marriage Certificate

Just like birth certificates, you’ll need to obtain marriage certificates.

If your parents got married in the U.S., you need to get a certified copy of the marriage license and certificate. You will also need to translate these certificates into Italian and apostille them.

If they married in Italy, simply obtain the “estratto per riassunto dell’atto di matrimonio.”

If your heritage goes back further than parents, not to worry. Simply repeat the birth certificate and marriage certificate process for each generation. You cannot skip generations, either, so be sure to get them for for each generation.

3. Certificate of Naturalization

In the event that your parent(s) naturalized, you will have to include the certificate of naturalization in your Italian citizenship application. If you have them, you can also use an Italian passport and permanent resident card in place of the naturalization certificate if your parent never naturalized.

If your parents or ancestors never naturalized, you will need to provide the following:

• USCIS Certificate of Non-existence of a Record
• NARA Letter of No Record Found
• Letter from the county clerks’ offices in the counties your ancestors lived stating that there are no naturalization records on file

4. Death Certificates

If one or both of your parents (or grandparents if applying via them) are deceased, then you will need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate(s). As always, don’t skip generations here. Each single generation of ancestors’ must be corroborated with the accompanying death certificates.

5. Ancestry Records

What do you do if you want to apply for Italian citizenship jure sanguinisin the case that your closest Italian relative is a couple of generations away? In this case, you will need to dig into your family history and pull out any documents that can link you to that ancestor. Simple documents such as postcards and letters can be of great help to bolster your application.

Once you’ve established your ancestry, find a paper trail that connects you to your ancestor. To do this, you may have to travel to the municipality in which your ancestor was born to dig up the evidence that they indeed are your relative (or hire someone to help).

When you’ve narrowed down names, places, and dates, you can obtain the necessary documents such as birth, marriage, and death records.

6. Your own civil records

Naturally, your collection of documents will, of course, be incomplete without your own civil records. These include:

• Your birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Your children’s birth certificates

Make sure to include any other appropriate records too, such as a divorce certificate if applicable.

How to Ensure You Have All the Documents Needed for Italian Citizenship

While the list above is not a definitive list of documents needed for Italian citizenship processing, it gives you an idea of all the documents you need to collect. To know exactly which documents you need, you will have to enquire with your local consulate or Italian town hall.

As with all things Italy, minor document requirements may differ from place to place.

Need Help With Your Document Collection?

It’s critical that you pay attention to detail when it comes to putting together the documents needed for Italian citizenship processing. Omitting to include a document or apostille could result in your application being delayed or even rejected.

It is for this reason that it is advisable to work with someone who knows exactly what is needed and how to go about collecting every individual document. Not only will this help you submit your application faster, but it also increases the chances of your application being approved.

Need help with assembling your documents?

Get Italian Citizenship has successfully helped hundreds of applicants collect the necessary documents and process their Italian citizenship applications. If you need help, reach out to our citizenship experts and book a consultation. Here’s to the realization of your Italian citizenship dream.