italian

My personal notes on recognizing my jure sanguinis Italian citizenship source

FAQs

I encourage you to visit this site which has many more FAQs than I have listed here.

Q1: Will I be drafted into the Italian military?
A1: Since 1995, the Italian military has been a strictly volunteer service. Should that change however, you will not be exempt from mandatory service if you otherwise meet the requirements. source

Q2: Will I have to pay taxes to Italy?
A2: If you elect to live in Italy for more than 180 days in a calendar year, you will be subject to Italian taxation. source

Q3: Will acquiring Italian citizenship affect my U.S. or other citizenship(s)?
A3: You will not have to relinquish your U.S. citizenship in having your Italian citizenship recognized, the laws of both countries now allow for dual-citizenship. source
A3: Most Western countries allow their citizens to acquire dual (or multiple) citizenship(s). In some cases, people employed in critical areas of the government (where a person may come across state secrets) are prevented from getting dual citizenship. If you are concerned that obtaining dual citizenship may affect your current citizenship you should contact the local authorities for your country; in any case, according to the principle of jure sanguinis, you have actually been an Italian citizen since birth (if you qualify). Obtaining dual citizenship through ancestry is much different from obtaining it through naturalization, which in many cases can result in the loss of your native citizenship. source

Q4: How much will this cost?
A4: About $1200 per person. You can read more details in the cost section below. This is only for those over 18 with Noni blood. The answer will highly depend on how many descendants of our Key ancestor decide to join the party. Anyone under 18 will ride for free on their parent’s application. Women who married into the family prior to 1983 will also be included for free with their husband’s application. This estimate is based on a quotation from the the Italian/American law firm behind italiancitizenshipassistance.com. The major cost will be from hiring a law firm to take the Italian government to court (in Italy) on our behalf (see the 1948 section below for why we need to do this). Note that italiancitizenshipassistance.com has a “100% MONEY BACK” guarantee. That ends up meaning we’d be refunded about 2/3 of the $1000 if for whatever reason the Italian consulate rejects our application(s).

Q5: How long will this take?
A5: Longer than 24 months (potentially much longer). I understand that we could be ready to submit our documentation packages to the Italian consulates that serve our places of residence 1.5 - 2 years after we “start the process.” Then, “the wait lists at many of the consulates exceed 18 months.” source See The process for more details.

Q6: What are my obligations as an Italian citizen residing abroad?
A6: Italian citizens who reside outside of Italy for more than 12 months, are required to register with the AIRE registry. AIRE is the acronym for “Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all’Estero”, (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad), and it is a registry jointly held by the local Italian Consulate and the municipality of last residency in Italy (for Italian citizens by descent, the municipality of birth of the Italian ancestor). This registration is necessary to be able to access the consular services, including the issuance of an Italian passport and the registration in Italy of vital record documents issued in the foreign country. The registration in the AIRE registry is also necessary to vote in the Italian elections while living abroad. source

Q7: What are the benefits of having Italian/EU citizenship?
A7: Access to the European public welfare system: Comprehensive, affordable health care, excellent and affordable university-level education source
A7: Pass Italian citizenship to your offspring (which allows them to pass it on to their offspring as well, and so on forever!). This means you’d be giving Italian citizenship to everyone who descends from you forever! source
A7: You will be able to transfer Italian citizenship to all you children under 18 years old for free source
A7: Reside, retire, and travel freely within any of the 27 countries of the European Union source
A7: Further reading, further reading, further reading

Q8: Who is eligible to join this Italian citizenship party?
A8: See Eligibility

Q9: What about the spouses of people who do not meet the requirements in the Eligibility section?
A9: Foreign women who married Italian men prior to 27 April 1983, automatically acquired Italian citizenship, and therefore are entitled to apply simultaneously for recognition. Additionally, it seems that ALL spouses are also eligible for citizenship after registering the marriage in Italy. source But maybe they must learn Italian? source In any case, the foreign spouse of an EU citizen living in Europe can certainly live indefinately with them and work freely in that country.

Q10: Do I have to know/learn the Italian language?
A10: No. Except potentially for the spouses who married in after 27 April 1983 (see above question) who wish to become Italian citizens through marriage (which is via a separate application).

Q11: Do we all have to be in Italy for any part of this process?
A11: No. None of us have to set foot in Italy for any of this. The rule actually is that you have to submit your paperwork to the Italian consulate where you live. HOWEVER, one approach I’ve read about that many people take is they do an extended “visit” to Italy (on say their US passport), and register with a commune as living there. Then they submit their paperwork to a local office and they get their citizenship recognized SUPER quickly. It’s like the fast track method to skip the (possibly very long) waiting and processing times that the foreign Italian consulates have. source and source

Eligibility

Who’s eligible to join the Italian citizenship party? i.e. who of us is actually an Italian citizen now, but just doesn’t have the paperwork (e.g. passport) to prove it?

Further reading here
Further reading here
Further reading here

The process

Here is an outline of the process to obtain an Italian passport as I understand it now: source

Preface – Since our Key ancestor passed on her citizenship before 1948, we must win a court case in Italy before it makes any sense to submit our applications for recognition of our Italian citizenships to the Italian consulates where we live.

  1. As a group, we hire an Italian law firm to file a lawsuit through the Civil Court in Rome to challenge the 1948 rule – 0 Days
  2. Law firm does a bunch of stuff for us, including – 1.5-2 years
    • collection of all required documentation proving our Italian citizenship
    • translation of said documentation into Italian
    • authentication of said documentation by Apostilles
    • taking the Italian govt. to civil court in Rome to argue on our behalf that we’re Italian citizens
    • winning said lawsuit
  3. Law firm delivers each of us a “citizenship packet” – 0 Days
  4. Each of us goes to the Italian consulate that has jurisdiction over the county in which you legally reside, pays them 300 EUR and signs up for an appointment to apply for our Italian citizenship to be recognized by Italy – 0 Days
  5. Wait for appointment at the Italian consulate – 3-12 Months source
  6. Attend appointment with the Italian consulate and deliver them our “citizenship packet” of documentation to them – 0 Days
  7. Wait for the Italian consulate to process our application – 2-6 Months source
  8. Receive proof of Italian citizenship in the mail – 0 Days
  9. (optional) Go back to the consulate and show them your proof of your Italian citizenship, pay them $150 and they print and give you your Italian passport that day – 0 Days
  10. Profit – forever more

Professional services

Here are some links to sites advertizing help in obtaining Italian citizenship (in no order). These sites contain TONS of extra info. Many questions I haven’t addressed here are answered in one or several of these.

  1. https://italiancitizenshipassistance.com <– I’m dealing with them currently
  2. http://www.youritalianpassport.com
  3. http://getitaliancitizenship.com
  4. https://www.italiandualcitizenship.net
  5. https://www.italymondo.com <– seems like the most expensive, but seems to offer many “above and beyond” perks

1948

Watch this two minute youtube video

Prior to 1948, under Italian Law only men were able to transfer Italian citizenship to their children, whereas women were discriminated against doing so.
It was only after the promulgation of the 1948 Italian constitution, which stated that men and women have equal rights, that Italian women were considered by Italian Law to be able to transfer their Italian citizenship onto their children, however, only to those born after January 1st 1948.
Recently a trial case challenged the above situations as discriminatory and unjust. As a result, those applicants who have a case falling in one of the above categories now have a very good chance of obtaining Italian citizenship due to the precedent established in 2009 in Italian courts and in the many cases that have been won since then. source

Further reading here

Cost

Everything is in Euros here (except where you see $). Here are the components of the total cost:

A) €6,500 - hiring the law firm to win the 1948 court case (in Rome) and to provide complete “citizenship packets” for three immediate fmaily members
B) €200 - the law firm to produce one additional immediate family member’s complete “citizenship packet”
C) €300 - the law firm to produce one additional non-immediate family member’s complete “citizenship packet”
children (under 18) of anyone here seem to be automatically included for free
D) €1,686 - variable costs charged by the law firm, they’ve told me it is very unlilkely to be more than this
E) €300 - the fee for submitting one’s “citizenship packet” to their local Italian consulate, this gets you a document that proves your italian citizenship
F) $150 the cost of an Italian passport

“immediate fmaily member”: siblings, parents or adult children (of the person the law firm is dealing with)
“citizenship packet”: all the documentation an Italian consulate needs to recognize our citizenship and issue us a passport

I estimate that A, B, and C will total €9,600 (depending on how many of us are in). It’s payable in four installments to the Italian law firm we hire and will be retuned if the Italian consulate rejects our paperwork. I assume D will be charged at the end. The Italian consulate will charge €300 for each application for recognition of citizenship which is non-refundable. It will charge $150 for each passport issued (of course that’s an optional expense). I think children (under 18) are included on their parents applications here so I won’t count them as needing to apply (though I believe their passports will cost still be $150 each if you’d like one for them now).

If everyone was in (say 17 of us), the total cost of the law firm would be €6,500 + 5x€200 + 9x€300 + €1,686 = €11,886. Then if we were to split that equally, we’d each owe €699.18. And after the application fee to our Italian consulates, that would come to €999.18 ~= $1,120.27 out of pocket cost for each of us (non-minors). Then it’s $150 for each passport you’d like.

Key ancestor

lucy
Papa’s mother a.k.a Noni a.k.a. Lucia Meli a.k.a. Lucy Meli Christoforo

She is the person from which the claim to Italian citizenship stems. All of her descendants originating from her children from before she Naturalized as a US citizen on 11 September 1928 were theoretically born Italian citizens (okay, this is a dubious statement because of 1948), so we simply have to deliver paperwork proving this to the Italian government so that they’ll issue us passports which we can then use to invoke our rights as Italian and EU citizens. Here’s some relevant info I’ve learned about her:

Father's name: Gaetano Meli
Father's brith date: 16 June 1862
Father's birth place (in Italian): Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia
Father's birth place (in English): Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
Father's job in 1910: Carpenter building houses
Father's job in 1920: Cabinet maker at a piano factory

Mother's Mother: Sebastiani (Sebastiana) Martelli, born abt 1847
Mother's name at birth: Giovannina Martelli
Mother's Americanized name: Jennie
Mother's birth date: 9 February 1871
Mother's birth place (in Italian): Augusta, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia
Mother's birth place (in English): Augusta, Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
Mother's job in 1910: "Finisher" in the "pants" industry
Parents' marriage date: 28 August 1894
Parents' marriage location: Syracuse, Sicily, Italy

Mother's naturalization date: 3 February 1943
Father's naturalization date: probably never (listed as alien in 1920 US Federal Census)

Name at birth: Lucia Meli
Birth date: 8 December 1901
Birth place (in Italian): Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia
Birth place (in English): Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
Sister: Carmela, born 31 December, 1893 in Italy
Brother: Giovacchino (George), born 14 May, 1896 in Italy, died 12 July 1986 in Boston
Sister: Pasqualine (Pasquala), born 28 May, 1898 in Italy
Brother: Francisco (Frank), born 3 February, 1900 in Italy, died 21 May 1998

Departure date from Italy: 8 October, 1909
Departure Port: Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Vessel name: San Giovanni
Arrival Date to Ellis Island, NY: 23 October 1909
Americanized name: Lucy (name changes between 1910 and 1920 US Federal Census)
Job in 1920: sternographer in Charles Ponzi's office
Marriage date: 25 October 1923
Spouse: John Christoforo Jr.
Name after marrage: Lucy Meli Christoforo
Birth of son: John A. Christoforo, 3 October 1924
Birth of son: William G. Christoforo, 25 May 1928
Natrualized as US citizen: 11 September 1928
Birth of Daughter: Florence L Christoforo, abt 1932
Death: 12 October 1995
Death place: Melrose, MA, USA

Documents for the whole group

[1] Old Mass records are at The Massachusetts Archives. Location: 220 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125, USA. Website: link
[2] New Mass records are at The Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Location: 150 Mt Vernon St, Dorchester, MA 02125, USA. Website: link

Documents per applicant

Some old documents

Our Key ancestor’s birth certificate: link
Ellis Island vessel manifest for our Key ancestor’s (second?) arrival boat: page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4
Ellis Island vessel manifest for her mom and eldest bro and sis: page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4
Ellis Island vessel manifest for her dad: page 1, page 2
Our Key ancestor’s petition for naturalization: link
Our Key ancestor’s mother’s naturalization papers: link
1910 US Federal Census for Meli household (41 Hall St, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA): link
1920 US Federal Census for Meli household (27 Temple Street, Revere, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA): link

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