Eligibility Quiz
Application Process
You'll apply through your Italian consulate, which handles citizenship-by-descent cases for people living outside Italy. The process is entirely by mail—you won't attend an in-person appointment. Book your appointment online through the Prenot@mi portal, then mail your complete application by certified mail on or before your appointment date.
Standard Consular Route (For Most Applicants)
Step 1: Verify Your Eligibility
Before you invest time and money gathering documents, confirm you meet the current requirements. As of May 24, 2025, Italian citizenship through a grandparent is recognized only if:
- Your grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship (no dual citizenship) at the time your parent was born, or
- Your parent resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before you were born, or
- You submitted a complete application before 11:59 PM Rome time on March 27, 2025 (the old rules allowed claims through great-grandparents and beyond)
If your claim passes through a female ancestor who gave birth before January 1, 1948, you cannot use this consular route. Instead, see the Court Application Route section below.
Step 2: Gather All Required Documents
You must submit every document listed below in a single package. Incomplete applications will be rejected with no opportunity to add missing documents. All documents must be certified copies in long form (not abstracts or summaries).
For your Italian grandparent:
- Birth certificate (estratto dell'atto di nascita) issued within the last six months by the Italian municipality where they were born
- Marriage certificate—if married in Italy, get the estratto dell'atto di matrimonio issued within the last six months; if married abroad, get the original long-form certificate, legalized with an apostille, and translated into Italian
- Death certificate (if deceased), in long form, legalized and translated into Italian
- Naturalization documentation: A certified statement from the U.S. government (USCIS or NARA) proving your grandparent never naturalized as a U.S. citizen, or a certified copy of their naturalization certificate showing the exact date they became a U.S. citizen. This date is critical—if naturalization occurred before your parent was born, the citizenship chain is broken.
For your parent and yourself:
- Your parent's birth certificate (long form, certified copy)
- Your parent's marriage certificate (long form, certified copy, legalized and translated if issued abroad)
- Your parent's death certificate (if deceased), long form, legalized and translated
- Your birth certificate (long form, certified copy)
- Your marriage certificate (long form, certified copy, legalized and translated if issued abroad)
- Your divorce decree (if applicable), long form, certified copy, legalized and translated
- Birth certificates of any minor children (under 18) you have, long form, certified copies
Your personal documents:
- Copy of your valid passport
- Proof of residence in the consulate's jurisdiction (driver's license, recent utility bill, or latest tax statement showing your name and address)
Application forms (must be notarized, then legalized with an apostille):
- Application for Italian Citizenship Recognition
- Form 1 (with your notarized signature)
- Form 2 (with your notarized signature)
- Form 3 (if your grandparent is living, with their notarized signature) or Form 4 (if your grandparent is deceased, with your notarized signature)
Forms must be dated within six months of your appointment date.
Step 3: Obtain Apostilles and Translations
All documents issued outside Italy must be:
- Legalized with an apostille according to the Hague Convention (a single-page certification attached to each document)
- Officially translated into Italian by a certified translator
The only exception: U.S. naturalization certificates do not require translation.
Step 4: Book Your Appointment Online
Visit the Prenot@mi portal and select your Italian consulate (the one with jurisdiction over where you legally reside). Choose your preferred appointment date and time from available slots. As of March 2026, you cannot join a waiting list—you must book a specific date.
Write down your request code (generated by the system) and your appointment date.
Step 5: Confirm Your Appointment
Between 10 and 3 days before your appointment date, log back into Prenot@mi and confirm your appointment. If the system offered you an appointment (rather than you selecting it), you must confirm within 5 days or you'll lose the slot.
Step 6: Prepare Your Payment
The consular fee is €600 per adult applicant (as of January 1, 2025). This fee is non-refundable regardless of the outcome.
Obtain a money order (not a personal check, not from Bank of America) made payable to the Consulate General of Italy. Do not send cash.
Step 7: Mail Your Complete Application
On or before your appointment date (not before), mail your entire application package by certified mail to your consulate. The postmark date must be on or before the appointment date.
On the envelope, write:
- Your name and address
- Your appointment date
- Your request code from Prenot@mi
Include:
- All documents listed in Step 2
- The money order for €600
- A printout of your appointment confirmation from Prenot@mi
Important: You do not go to the consulate in person. The entire process is by mail.
Step 8: Wait for Processing
Once your application arrives, the citizenship office will send you an email confirming receipt of your payment. Processing typically takes 3 to 18 months, depending on the consulate's workload and the completeness of your documents.
The consulate will notify you by email when a decision has been made. Your documents will not be returned to you—they remain with the consulate.
Court Application Route (For 1948 Cases and Maternal Line Claims)
If your claim passes through a female ancestor who gave birth before January 1, 1948, you must pursue a judicial case in Italian court rather than applying through a consulate. This is not a disqualification—it is a separate legal pathway with a high success rate (95%+ for properly documented cases).
Step 1: Gather Documents
Collect the same documents as listed in the Standard Consular Route above.
Step 2: Hire an Italian Lawyer
You must retain an Italian lawyer licensed to practice in the court with jurisdiction over your Italian ancestor's municipality of birth. As of June 22, 2022, cases are filed in regional county seat courts, not centralized in Rome. The 26 courts with jurisdiction are located in: Ancona, Bari, Bologna, Brescia, Cagliari, Caltanissetta, Catania, Firenze, Genova, L'Aquila, Lecce, Messina, Milano, Napoli, Palermo, Perugia, Potenza, Reggio Calabria, Roma, Salerno, Torino, Trento, Trieste, Udine, Venezia, and Verona.
Step 3: File the Petition in Court
Your lawyer will file a petition (ricorso) in the appropriate court. The court will appoint a judge (typically within 2 to 6 months).
Step 4: Attend Hearings
The judge will schedule a first hearing, usually 6 to 8 months after appointment. You may need to attend (your lawyer can advise on whether your presence is required). The judge may request additional documents at this stage.
Step 5: Receive Final Judgment
The judge will issue a final judgment, typically 4 to 10 months after the last hearing. If the judgment is in your favor, you have acquired Italian citizenship by court order.
Application at an Italian Municipality (Comune)
If you establish legal residency in Italy, you can apply directly at the municipality (comune) where you reside. This route is generally faster than consular processing and does not require payment of the €600 consular fee, making it significantly more economical. Contact the comune's citizenship office (ufficio cittadinanza) for specific requirements and procedures in your municipality.
Fees
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Consular application fee (per adult applicant) | €600 |
| Money order (varies by bank) | €5–15 |
| Certified copies of vital records (per document) | €5–50 |
| Apostille certification (per document) | €5–25 |
| Professional translation into Italian (per document) | €50–200+ |
| Document retrieval from Italian municipalities | €10–50 |
| U.S. vital records (per document) | €10–50 |
| 1948 court case (lawyer fees + court costs) | €3,000–8,000 |
Total estimate for a straightforward consular application: €1,500–3,500 (including the €600 consular fee, document acquisition, apostilles, and translations for a typical family with 4–6 documents).
Does not include: Lawyer fees if you hire an immigration specialist to review your case before submission; expedited document retrieval services; travel costs if you need to visit government offices in person; or costs for reacquiring or correcting documents with errors.
Processing Time
Consular Processing
Standard timeline: 3 to 18 months after your application is received by the consulate.
The Italian government has set a maximum processing window of 24 months from receipt. However, actual processing varies significantly based on:
- Your consulate's workload and staffing levels
- The complexity of your case (document discrepancies, broken chains of citizenship, etc.)
- Whether your documents are complete and error-free
Document validity: Certain documents must be issued within specific timeframes:
- Birth, marriage, and death certificates from Italian municipalities: must be issued within the last six months before your appointment date
- Forms: must be dated within six months of your appointment date
Court Processing (1948 Cases)
Total timeline: 18 to 36 months from filing to a first-instance decision.
This breaks down as:
- Document gathering: 6 to 12 months (before filing)
- Judge appointment: 2 to 6 months after filing
- First hearing scheduling: 6 to 8 months after judge appointment
- Final judgment: 4 to 10 months after the last hearing
Timelines vary significantly between courts and depend on the judge's workload and case complexity. If the State appeals an unfavorable decision, additional time is required.
Future Changes: Centralization in Rome (2029)
Beginning in 2029, a centralized office within Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assume responsibility for reviewing citizenship-by-descent applications currently processed by consulates. During the transition period (through 2028), consulates will continue processing cases, though limitations may be placed on the number of new applications accepted annually.
Under the new centralized system, the administrative review period may extend up to 36 months, compared with shorter timelines previously applied to consular procedures.