Thursday, February 18, 2016

Step-by-Step Guide to Applying for Italian Dual Citizenship through Jure Sanguinis

1. Do You Qualify?


Find out if you qualify here!

The first thing you should do is identify if you qualify for Italian Dual Citizenship through Jure-Sanguinis. If you were born in the United States or a country other than Italy you can be recognized as an Italian Citizen if any one of the categories below applies to you:

Category 1 - Your father was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth (Had not become American/other Foreign Country citizen yet) and you never renounced your Italian Citizenship.

Category 2 - Your mother was born in Italy and was an Italian Citizen at the time of your birth (Had not become American/other Foreign Country citizen yet), you were born after January 1, 1948 (Italian women could not transmit the citizenship to their children prior to such date) and you never renounced your Italian citizenship.

Category 3 - Your paternal grandfather was born in Italy, your father was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, and your paternal grandfather was still an Italian Citizen at the time of his birth (had not become American/other Foreign Country citizen yet), neither you nor your father ever renounced your Italian citizenship.

Category 4 - Your maternal grandfather was born in Italy, your mother was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, and your maternal grandfather was still an Italian citizen at the time of her birth (had not become American/other Foreign Country citizen yet), you were born after January 1, 1948 (Italian women could not transmit the citizenship to their children prior such date), and neither you nor your mother ever renounced Italian citizenship.

Category 5 - Your paternal or maternal great grandfather was born in Italy, your paternal or maternal grandfather was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, and your paternal or maternal great grandfather was an Italian citizen at the time of his son's birth (had not become American/other Foreign Country citizen yet), neither you nor your father or mother, or your grandfather ever renounced your/their Italian citizenship. A grandmother born before 1/1/1948 can claim Italian citizenship only from her father and can transfer it only to children born after 1/1/48.

2.) Book Your Appointment NOW!


Ready or not, get set, GO! Appointments to apply for Dual Citizenship through Jure Sanguinis at an Italian Consulate are already booked through 2021. The earliest appointment for the Boston Consulate is March 2021. (This goes for all other consulates as well). Even if you still aren't sure if you are going to follow through with the application, it is a good idea to book the appointment now so that you have it for the future. (Making the appointment is free). You can always cancel if you decide you aren't ready.

*Trust me on this one! When I first did research on applying for dual citizenship, I didn't listen to this advice because I still wasn't sure if I was going to apply or not and I wasn't ready. I had to wait 4 months just to make the appointment. And the next appointment wasn't even available for several months. Make the appointment now, you won't regret it!

Consulate Jurisdiction

You have to make an appointment at the Italian Consulate that has jurisdiction over the area that you reside in. Don't know which consulate has jurisdiction? Look here!

Helpful Hints (Boston Consulate)

The Boston Consulate makes all of their appointments online only here.  The calendar only opens every FIRST Monday of the Month and it opens in the afternoon around 4 pm. Appointments are made only on Tuesday/Thursday and there are only two-time slots on each day. Needless to say, appointments fill up fast, so you need to be online at the exact time it opens.

If you call the consulate on that Monday morning you can ask them what time they think the calendar will open and they will try their best to give you an accurate time.

3. Get Those Documents!


It's time to start gathering all of the documents you will need for your application. Depending on what category you qualify for, there are different documents you may need.

All documents must be submitted in original copy and will NOT be returned.

Category 1

  • Your father's birth certificate and apostille - if you don't have it yet, write to the Italian "Comune" where your father was born, request a birth certificate in "formato internazionale" or in"estratto per riassunto" (showing his father's and mother's names) in original. You can easily find the address of the "Commune" on the internet.
  •  Your parent's marriage certificate and apostille - if the marriage took place in Italy you have to request the document from the "Comune" where the marriage took place. If it took place in the United States, you must obtain a certified copy of the certificate and an "Apostille" from the Secretary of the State in which it was issued. ("Apostille" information follows). If it took place outside the US, please see below (*)
  • Your mother's birth certificate and apostille (if applicable) - If she was born in Italy, see above, or, if she was born in the US, request a "certified copy" of a "long-form" or a "full form"; if she was born in another Country, please see below (*)
  • Your father's certificate of naturalization - or Italian passport and Alien Registration card ("green card")
If your father became a U.S. citizen but his Certificate of Naturalization is not available, you must provide:
    •  Certified copy of the "declaration of intention" / "petition for naturalization" issued by the National Archives.
    • Naturalization certification
In case your father never naturalized as a US citizen, please provide:
  • Your father's death certificate - (if applicable) in "certified copy" with "apostille". If your father became a U.S. citizen by naturalization before your birth, you might not be entitled to Italian citizenship (unless you fit into another category).
  • Your mother's birth certificate apostilled - if she was born in Italy see above, or, if she was born in the US, request a "certified copy" of a "long form" or a "full form": If she was bron in another country see below (*)
  • Your birth certificate - You must obtain a "certified copy" (in "full form" or "long form"), with the apostille from the Secretary of State of the State in which it was issued. The birth document must be translated in to Italian.
* All documents outside the USA must follow legalizations and translations procedures required by the Italian consulate in each foreign country. They must be apostilled (if applicable in such country, if not please have the original document legalized by the local ministry of foreign affairs). All documents must be translated into Italian and the translation must be either stamped at the competent Italian consulate in such country or apostilled as well.

Category 2

All documents are equivalent to those in Category 1; in this case the Italian line to follow will be your mother's.

Category 3

  • Your paternal grandfather's birth certificate
  • Your grandparent's marriage certificate and apostille (if the marriage did not take place in Italy)
  • Your grandfather's certificate of naturalization (see Category 1)
  • Your grandmother's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your father's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your mother's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your parent's marriage certificate and apostille
  • Death certificate of all the deceased ancestors and apostilles
  • Your birth certificate, apostille, and translation in to Italian.
Please note: If your grandmother became a U.S. citizen by naturalization before your father's birth, you might not be entitled to Italian citizenship (unless you fit into another category).

Category 4

All documents are equivalent to those in Category 3; in this case the Italian line to follow will be your mother's.

Category 5 

  • Your paternal/maternal great-grandfather birth certificate 
  • Your paternal/maternal great-grandmother's birth certificate and apostille (if applicable)
  • Your paternal/maternal great-grandparents' marriage certificate and apostille (if the marriage did not take place in Italy)
  • Your paternal/maternal great-grandfather's certificate of naturalization (see Category 1)
  • Your paternal/maternal grandfather's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your paternal/maternal grandmother's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your paternal/maternal grandparent's marriage certificate and apostille
  • Your father's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your mother's birth certificate and apostille
  • Your parent's marriage certificate and apostille
  • Your birth certificate and apostille
  • Any pertinent death certificate/s related to the Italian ascendants. If your great-grandfather became a U.S. citizen by naturalization before your grandfather/grandmother's birth or before July 1912, you might not be entitled to Italian citizenship (unless you fit into another category) 

 

Writing to Your Comune

If you know the name of the town where your ancestor is from then you should know what region it is located in. Check here to find the website of the commune.

Once you have the contact information for the commune, reach out to them to see if you can obtain the records you need. (Birth, marriage, death, etc.)

I sent an email directly to my commune (Mondolfo), they were super friendly, and responded within a few weeks and were extremely helpful!

There are many agencies out there that will do this service for you, but you can save yourself a lot of money doing the work yourself!

Don't feel like doing it yourself? Check out a few of these agencies who have great reputations.

1. My Italian Family

2. Italian Dual Citizenship

3. Italian Citizenship Assistance Program  

Naturalization Document

If your relative became a U.S. citizen but his Certificate of Naturalization is not available, you must provide:
    •  Certified copy of the "declaration of intention" / "petition for naturalization" issued by the National Archives.
    • Naturalization certification - which you can obtain by doing an Index Search with the Genealogy Department of the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
    • Once you complete the Index Search for the document they will come back to you with a case file number in which you can then use to request the document to be sent to you. All of the steps are listed in the link provided.
In case your relative never naturalized as a US citizen, please provide:

4.) Apostilles  


Every document that is issued in the U.S. (excluding the naturalization document) needs to have an Apostille. An apostille is a form of authentication issued to documents by the Secretary of State that will be used overseas.

In Massachusetts, each Apostille costs $6 and you can find either the Southeastern or Western office here! I found it extremely easy to just go to the office in person and request these documents. They do them right there for you in less than 15 minutes!

Don't live in Massachusetts? Find your Secretary of State Information here!

5.) Translations


Every document associated with the application (excluding the naturalization document) needs to be translated from English (or any other foreign language) in to Italian. The translator should provide you with a notarized signature of statement of accuracy (also translated in to Italian).

Find a list of certified translators at American Translators Association!

**Be sure to check your consulate website for any translators that have been blacklisted from their consulate.

6.) Discrepancies


Double check all documents word-by-word to make sure that there are no discrepancies or mismatches in names, last names, dates, and places of birth. If there are major discrepancies in such fields, you must have those certificates amended through an official "affidavit to amend a record", to be obtained from the Vital Records Office that issued the document or through a competent Court Order.



There you have it! These are all the steps to applying for Italian Dual Citizenship! If you have any questions or would like help with any of the steps, please feel free to leave a comment! Good luck to you all :)


**Disclaimer: These tips are all based off applying at the Italian Consulate in Boston. Please check the consulate that has jurisdiction over your area to get the most accurate information! 



2 comments:

  1. This is gives good information about how to start and where to get help. I can see that it will take some time and effort but the steps and information here are clearly presented with links in many cases. I am looking forward to getting started now that I have a map of sorts.

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  2. Hi! I just stumbled upon this blog as I am currently trying to get citizenship through the Boston consulate. I see your last name is Giombetti and saw you also mentioned they were from Mondolfo! My relative is also Giombetti (GGF and my GM last name) and from Mondolfo. My relatives lived and settled in MA. Would be great to connect if you happen to see this :)

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