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Citizenship by descent (prior 27/03/2025)

1. ELIGIBILITY

Article 1 of Law No. 91 1992 establishes that a child born to an Italian father or mother is an Italian citizen by descent.

ATTENTION

  • An Italian woman lost her citizenship if she married a foreign citizen until 1/1/1948.
  • An Italian woman only transmits citizenship to children born after 1/1/1948.

In order to be eligible to obtain Italian citizenship by descent the following points must be proven:

  • That the descent originates from an Italian ancestor
  • That the Italian ancestor retained Italian citizenship until the direct descendant reached adulthood or emancipation. Non-naturalization or the date of any naturalization of the Italian ancestor must be proven by a certificate issued by the competent foreign authority.
  • That the descent from the Italian ancestor is proven by civil status records (birth, marriage, divorce, death): these records must be certified with an apostille and official translation.
  • That neither the applicant nor their ancestors have ever renounced Italian citizenship (thus interrupting the chain of citizenship transmission).

NOTE: If the Italian ancestor naturalized before the birth or during the minor age of the subsequent descendant, the transmission of citizenship is interrupted. Therefore, there is no right to recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (cf. Articles 8 and 12 of Law No. 555/1912).

 

2. APPLICATION FOR RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT

  • ONLY adult citizens can submit an application for the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent. For minors, please refer to the information provided at the following link: Civil Status.
  • ONLY Australian citizens or citizens of other countries with an Australian permanent resident visa in South Australia can submit an application at this Italian Consulate. Proof of residence in South Australia is required at the time of application submission.
  • The application is individual and must be submitted in person, by appointment, which can be made online here, and must be accompanied by the required documentation (see below).
  • If two or more family members intend to submit an application for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent from the same Italian ancestor, either simultaneously or at different times, it is sufficient to submit only one set of documentation regarding the ancestor and the common descendants, as long as all applicants are residents in South Australia.
  • Residents of South Australia whose family members have obtained recognition of Italian citizenship from another Consulate or in Italy shall, anyway, submit all the original documentation related to the Italian ancestor.

 

3. DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED ON THE DAY OF THE APPOINTMENT

For the ITALIAN ANCESTOR and each of the DESCENDANTS:

  • Complete birth certificate issued by the Italian municipality
  • Marriage certificate (if applicable) with apostille and translation
  • Divorce decree (if applicable) with apostille and translation
  • Death certificate (if applicable) with apostille and translation
  • Naturalization certificate or Permanent Residence Certificate/VEVO (ONLY FOR THE DANTE CAUSA)

For the applicant:

  • Proof of residence (driver’s license, utility bill)
  • Completed Check list citizenship by descent
  • Birth certificate with apostille and translation
  • Marriage certificate (if applicable) with apostille and translation
  • Divorce decree (if applicable) with apostille and translation

Translations or compliance certificates for use in the Italian civil registry are free of charge.

For information on where to obtain certificates, documents, and translations, consult here.

For non-Australian documents, the applicant must verify the formal and substantive correctness of the documentation with the competent Italian Consulate.

In exceptional cases, this Consulate may certify the translation according to the methods mentioned above, provided that the foreign document is written in English.

 

4. FEES

All applications for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent are subject to a consular fee of 600 Euros for processing the application, to be paid in local currency (Article 7 of the consular fee table).

It is a mandatory and non-refundable contribution required by law for the processing of the application and does not imply any positive outcome of the procedure.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE

  • All documents must be submitted in original and will not be returned.
  • The Citizenship Office reserves the right to request additional documentation if the available information is deemed insufficient for a proper evaluation of the citizenship application.
  • The applicant is responsible for obtaining the documentation.
  • The process for determining the possession of Italian citizenship will be completed within 730 days, as established by the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers No. 33 of 17/01/2014, published in the Official Gazette No. 64 of 18/03/2014.
  • The Consulate will send an official communication to applicants via email regarding the outcome of the procedure, along with the relevant documentation being sent to the municipality in Italy for registration in the event of a positive outcome.

 

General inquiries regarding procedures or the documentation required to submit a citizenship application WILL NOT be answered individually by email or phone. Please refer to the information on the relevant web pages.