If you are seeking dual Italian citizenship, you may be wondering, “Does my Italian citizenship transfer to my kids ?”
Like many countries, Italy recognizes its citizens’ children, even when they are born out of the country. Unlike many countries, however, Italy allows you to claim your citizenship through several generations.
If you believe you or your child may be eligible for dual citizenship, we can help. Reach out to Get Italian Citizenship today. Our experts have gone through the process and can guide you with ease and confidence. Get started today to claim this incredible opportunity to be an Italian citizen.
First, How Do I Claim My Italian Citizenship?
If you have an Italian ancestor, you may be able to claim Italian citizenship by descent. Italy honors jus sanguinis, or ‘right of blood.’ So if your parent was a citizen, you have the same right, regardless of where you were born.
Many countries that adhere to this concept require the citizen ancestor to be a parent or a grandparent. But Italy doesn’t have a generational requirement. If you have an Italian relative in your bloodline from any point after March 17, 1861, you may be eligible.
You will need to trace your family tree back to a blood relative who was born in Italy. If that family member was a man, the process will be quite straightforward. Italy allowed men to pass citizenship to their children at any time without restrictions. This has always been true as long as the man was an Italian at the moment of his child’s birth.
However, women do not have it as easy. Italian law did not allow women to pass citizenship to their children before January 1, 1948. So be sure to look at all of the dates in your family history.
Italy has since revised this anti-feminine position, but the consulate cannot approve female-ancestor-based claims. If your relative was a female born before the law changed, you will apply through the Italian courts. And don’t worry. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds when you have the Get Italian Citizenship team working on your behalf.
Did your male ancestor receive naturalized citizenship to another country before having children? If so, and if that naturalization occurred before August 16, 1992, you won’t qualify for Italian citizenship. But if your ancestor had children before naturalization, as many immigrants to the US did, you could be eligible.
Furthermore, if your ancestor was a married woman who either married an American man before September 22, 1922 or whose Italian husband naturalized before this date, you might still have a right to Italian citizenship. Before that time, women had no say in whether they became US citizens when their husbands naturalized.
It’s All About the Records
You will need all applicable certificates for any ascendants making up the route between you and your Italian ancestor:
- Birth
- Adoption
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Death
You will also need proof of naturalization or proof that your relative did not naturalize to their new home.
The records will need to be in Italian, so expert translation services are crucial. Any errors in the translation and formatting can slow down your application. Working with a professional team for this step is best.
Additionally, US records require an apostille, which is a bit like notarizing public documents.
You will also need to provide a detailed list of the places you have lived throughout your life. And you must confirm that you have never renounced your Italian citizenship.
Does My Italian Citizenship Automatically Make My Child Italian?
When you are a legal Italian citizen and give birth in Italy, that child is a citizen. If you become a parent outside of Italy, however, your child’s path to citizenship requires a few more steps.
Italy does not track births outside of its borders, so the government does not register those children as citizens at birth. You have to apply for citizenship for them, but the process is relatively straightforward. When you adopt a child, the same rules apply.
If you are a natural-born Italian, your child only needs to demonstrate their connection to you through a birth or adoption certificate. However, if you renounced your Italian citizenship before your child’s birth, they are not eligible.
And for those who have established dual citizenship for themselves, their minor children immediately become eligible, as well. The process tends to move quickly for children in these situations since the documentation is already in place.
If you become an Italian citizen through marriage, your minor children will be entitled to citizenship as well.
Can I Claim My Italian Citizenship Without Professional Help?
There are no requirements that you must use professional assistance to claim your citizenship. If you wish to navigate the process on your own, Italy will work with you directly.
Handling this on your own might be the right fit if the following situations apply:
- You live in Italy.
- You speak Italian.
- You have all pertinent records in hand, accurately translated into Italian.
- You feel confident representing yourself at the Italian consulate or hiring an Italian attorney to represent you in the Italian courts.
If you have easy access to necessary information, acquiring your dual Italian citizenship might not be too overwhelming. But if any of these pieces sound stressful to you, then using a professional citizenship expert is the way to go.
What Are the Benefits of Dual Italian Citizenship for My Kids?
Even if you don’t intend to live permanently in Italy, there are benefits to Italian dual citizenship. Here are just a few of the highlights:
- Italian citizens are free to live and work throughout the EU without additional permits. Dual citizenship makes traveling to many European countries much simpler for you and your children.
- Italy has one of the highest rates of doctors per capita in the world, and the WHO ranks the Italian healthcare system second-best in the world. Italy considers healthcare a right, and even its non-resident citizens are entitled to care.
- The Italian government provides free public education to all children living within its borders, regardless of citizenship. And college in Italy is markedly less expensive than a comparable education in the US.
I’m Ready for My Italian Citizenship, and So Are My Children!
If you’ve decided to move forward and claim your dual citizenship, reach out to Get Italian Citizenship today. We have gone through this journey ourselves. So our guidance along the citizenship path will get you where you want to be, without stress. Let’s get started!