The Unofficial Guide to
ITALIAN DUAL
CITIZENSHIP by Kate Hash
Š KATE HASH 2011 This e-book is copyrighted material. All rights reserved. It is against the law to make and distribute copies of this material without KIXXMRK WTIGM½G [VMXXIR TIVQMWWMSR MR EHZERGI JVSQ /EXI ,EWL No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronics, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written consent of the publisher.
Foreward
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created and wrote The 9RSJ½GMEP +YMHI XS Italian Dual Citizenship in response to what I perceived as a lack of resources available to those interested in pursuing dual citizenship. Everything I learned over the course of what was for me a year-long process, was gleaned from numerous message boards, reading the websites of every single Italian GSRWYPEXI MR XLI 9 7 ERH XLVSYKL EFWSPYXI HYQF luck. As I sat down to write this guide and record the accompanying videos, my goal was to create the
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP
handbook that I wished I had when I began my Italian dual citizenship quest in early 2010 – a guide that would have saved me time, money, and frustration. Writing a handbook for Italian dual citizenship turned out to be trickier than I expected. Why? As you’ll soon learn (or may have already discovered), while there are many “rules” to the process, a lot of it is up for interpretation and, as such, the process varies wildly from case to case. Therefore, I’ve tried to approach the creation of this guide from many different perspectives, taking into account different scenarios that you may run in to. The single most important thing that I have learned throughout this process is to trust your gut, and trust others only after thoroughly researching all possibilities and asking a lot of questions. The cold hard fact is this: most people that you encounter will have never heard of Italian dual citizenship before,
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so their answers to your questions are educated guesses at best and, at worst, completely random answers to get you off the telephone. But then, like magic, you’ll meet people – like the front desk woman at the Pennsylvania agency that handles Apostilles – that are extremely familiar with Italian dual citizenship and even dole out advice based on interactions with other applicants.
I would be remiss if I didn’t include this very important disclaimer: the truth about dual citizenship is that the process can be quite different from person to person, consulate to consulate, and (if you apply in Italy) comune to comune. As such, it’s important to heed the advice, strategies and ideas presented in this guide, but to also adjust them as necessary for your purposes.
3/ WS XLI WIGSRH QSWX MQTSVXERX XLMRK - PIEVRIH MW this: have patience. Some parts of the process move really fast and others move painfully slowly. You’re bound to get both pleasant (my records from Sicily arrived in just two months!) and unpleasant surprises. If you have patience and are persistent, you will eventually work through any challenges that arise. I promise you that.
In bocca al lupo!
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP
Kate Hash
Blogger, Writer and Italian Dual Citizen www.lavitaebellablog.com
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Introduction
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MRGI ]SY TYVGLEWIH XLI 9RSJ½GMEP +YMHI XS Italian Dual Citizenship, it’s safe to assume that you are, even at a basic level, familiar with the phrase “Italian dual citizenship.” Even so, I’d like to take a moment to talk a bit about it. What is Italian Dual Citizenship? Simply stated, Italian dual citizenship allows descendants of Italian citizens to apply for and obtain citizenship to Italy, in addition to their home country. Italy believes in the principle of jure sanguinis -- “right of blood.” Essentially, Italians believe citizenship is passed through the blood and is not lost if never renounced. We’ll talk more about [LEX UYEPM½IW E TIVWSR JSV HYEP GMXM^IRWLMT MR XLI next chapter.
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP
Can I just show up at a consulate or in Italy and receive my citizenship? 9RJSVXYREXIP] RSX *SV QSWX TISTPI XLI TVSGIWW SJ obtaining Italian dual citizenship takes a lot of work. The burden of proof falls to you, not the Italian government. You must prove that you are eligible. Why would I want dual citizenship? What are the FIRI½XW# If you plan to live in or retire to Italy (or anywhere in Europe, for that matter) having dual citizenship is a big advantage. You’ll have access to the Italian LIEPXL W]WXIQ ERH SXLIV WSGMEP WIVZMGIW ,EZMRK Italian citizenship also gives you de facto European 9RMSR GMXM^IRWLMT QIERMRK XLEX ]SY GER PIKEPP] [SVO ERH PMZI MR ER] GSYRXV] MR XLI )9
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If you have no interest in or plan to move abroad, having dual citizenship can simply be just a “fun” thing. It may help you travel to certain places (Cuba, for instance) where it can be trickier for an American to travel. Why did Italy create the opportunity for Italian Dual Citizenship? 8LIVI MW RS SJ½GMEP WXEXIQIRX SR [L] XLI] SJJIV it, but we can assume it has something to do with the declining birth rate and aging population. By offering dual citizenship, Italy is encouraging people from around the world to relocate to Italy—and, as a result, pay taxes, raise children and boost the economy here. It’s interesting to note that not many countries look JSRHP] SR HYEP GMXM^IRWLMT 8LI 9RMXIH 7XEXIW JSV
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP
example, does not encourage it, but allows it. Some countries, like Germany, don’t allow it at all. If you’re an international reader, be sure to check your home countries regulations on this topic. How “far back” can my ancestry go for me to qualify? It depends (get used to that answer). The most commonly accepted connections are parent, grandparent or great-grandparent. Although, in some places you can only go as far as a grandparent. In others, they will let you go back to the mid-1860’s. 4VMSV XLMW XMQI -XEP] [EWR´X YRM½IH ERH XLYW HMHR´X offer what we would consider citizenship. There are some exceptions that will be discussed more in depth later on in this guide, but it’s important to know that you can’t go through the maternal line unless the ancestor in question was born after 1948.
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How do I use this guide to help me get dual citizenship and better understand the process? As I mentioned in the forward, this guide is intended to serve as a jumping off point for your own dual GMXM^IRWLMT UYIWX 9PXMQEXIP] Q] LSTI MW XLEX VIEHIVW will get all of the information that they need to create and execute a plan of action in order to obtain Italian dual citizenship. I highly recommend reading this entire guide before creating your plan of action. There are MQTSVXERX RYKKIXW SJ MRJSVQEXMSR JVSQ XLI ½VWX EPP the way to the last page and I want to make sure that you create your plan fully-educated on the process and with reasonable expectations.
Time to get started...
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP
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Quick Tips In most chapters you will see ¹UYMGO XMTW ² [LMGL GER FI MHIRXM½IH by the icon to the left. These tips are included to provide you with knowledge that can help expedite a certain step in the process or to clarify a popular misconception. If they don’t apply to your situation you can just ignore them. But, you may ½RH XLI XMTW I\XVIQIP] LIPTJYP ERH enlightening. My Personal Anecdotes Throughout the course of this book (as well as in the videos), I share stories from my dual citizenship process. In this book, they appear with the icon you see to the left. In some cases I share these stories to underline common experiences many people have. In other cases, I use my stories to show how widely one experience can stray from what you QMKLX I\TIGX - LSTI ]SY ½RH XLIWI anecdotes helpful.
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Chapter One
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he process of actually applying for Italian dual citizenship is remarkably simple: you walk into your consulate (or local comune, if applying MR -XEP] ½PP SYX EX ETTPMGEXMSR LERH SZIV ]SYV documents and wait. -R JEGX MJ ]SY LETTIR LEZI GIVXM½IH GSTMIW SJ all of the required documents lying around the LSYWI ]SY GSYPH FI E GMXM^IR MR E JI[ QSRXLW ¾EX 9RJSVXYREXIP] JSV QSWX SJ YW XLI TVSGIWW MW QYGL more drawn out than that. On the next few pages, I’ll outline what I believe to FI XLI ½ZI WXEKIW SJ XLI HYEP GMXM^IRWLMT TVSGIWW STAGE ONE: Determine if you qualify Many people who purchase this guide will already know for certain that they qualify, but others will
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP | STAGE ONE
need a little assistance to determine their eligibility. This is the stage when you conduct a lot of your initial research. Much of your research will be done online, but you will also want to talk to older relatives and develop a family tree with important dates and milestones. The research that you conduct during this stage will make the remaining steps of the process either much easier or much harder. The more people you talk to and the more concrete evidence you can collect, the easier and faster you will make it to Stage 5. 9WI WXEKI SRI SJ XLI TVSGIWW XS MHIRXMJ] any holes or discrepancies in the family history. During my initial research – which included talking with family and exploring a Sicilian comune’s online database – I was able to piece XSKIXLIV E ½VWX QEVVMEKI JSV Q] KVIEX KVERHJEXLIV XLEX ended when his wife died...that no one knew about!
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STAGE TWO: Conducting research and getting organized Organization is critical in this process, particularly if you are collecting three generations worth of documents like I did. The chapters that cover Stage Two will deal in depth with how to stay organized and keep your sanity during this process. 78%+) 8,6)) 6IUYIWXMRK ERH TSXIRXMEPP] ½\MRK ZMXEP records 8LI ½VWX LEPJ SJ XLMW WXIT VIUYMVIW E PSX SJ TLSRI GEPPW XS WXEXI KSZIVRQIRX SJ½GIW XS GSPPIGX MRWXVYGXMSRW for requesting records, including how much they cost, where to send requests, how long they take to arrive, etc. The second half of this step can be the most painful: waiting for the records to show up. In many cases, it can take months. If you qualify, you will need to collect birth, marriage and death records for everyone in the direct line, and maybe spouses, as well.
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP | STAGE ONE
Most problems and delays arise during stage three for a handfull of reasons: t Incorrect oral family histories t 8VSYFPI ½RHMRK %QIVMGER HSGYQIRXW t ,SVVIRHSYW REQI GLERKI TVSFPIQW t (MJ½GYPXMIW GSQQYRMGEXMRK [MXL ]SYV ERGIWXSV´W
comune in Italy If any of these situations end up applying to you, you QE] ½RH WXEKI XLVII GER XEOI WM\ QSRXLW XS E ]IEV of time to complete.
Create a spreadsheet that tracks all of your activities and records interesting ½RHMRKW IZIR MJ XLI] HSR´X WIIQ XS matter at the time. Don’t assume you will remember it all. Trust me, pretty soon your brain will be so full of family history dates, names and places that you will feel like you’re ready to explode!
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STAGE FOUR:Translating and “Apostillingâ€? Records The quality of your translations is very important ERH ]SY [MPP [ERX XS FI WYVI XS ½RH E UYEPM½IH translator (we’ll talk about this more in a bit). Of IUYEP MQTSVXERGI MW XLI %TSWXMPPI ER SJ½GMEP WIEP XLEX allows documents to be used internationally.
STAGE FIVE: Apply for Citizenship This is the step where you walk in your application to a consulate or comune and formally request citizenship. It can be a smooth (and exhilarating!) step or extremely stressful if they request additional documents from you in order to formally process your application.
Each of the remaining eighteen chapters deals with E WXIT XLEX JEPPW MRXS SRI SJ XLI ½ZI WXEKIW SJ XLI process. You can identify the stage by looking at the bottom bar on each page.
Stage four is where things can start to get very expensive. Mentally prepare yourself for translations that cost $25-$50 per document and Apostilles that cost anywhere from $5 TIV HSGYQIRX ;I´PP XEPO PEXIV EFSYX ½RHMRK KSSH deals on translations.
THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO ITALIAN DUAL CITIZENSHIP | STAGE ONE
Remember, the dual citizenship process is different JSV IZIV]SRI WS ]SY QE] ½RH XLI WXITW ERH WXEKIW XS FI E FMX QSVI žYMH ERH XLEX´W 3/ -X´W MQTSVXERX to customize this process in a way that works best for you.
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