Uncovering My Italian Roots: The Journey to Dual Citizenship Begins

A few summers ago, I learned that my kids qualified for Irish passports because their father was an Irish-born citizen. Technically, they were already considered Irish citizens and only had to submit documentation to substantiate this. We lost no time gathering the birth certificates, getting the applications notarized, and uploading photos. A few months later, they were approved—a shiny maroon EU passport was in their hands. Easy peasy!

Darn it, I thought. Too bad I wasn’t Irish! As a full-time traveler for nearly seven years, I had been looking for a way to obtain an EU passport so I could enjoy staying in Europe for more than the 90 days allowed and eventually move there full-time.

Did my ancestry allow me to apply? I was Polish, Italian, and a few other nationalities—a true “Heinz 57” third-generation American. After some internet sleuthing, I discovered that I might qualify for Italian “citizenship recognition” through ancestry, known as jure sanguinis (‘right of blood’), as long as I met a few critical requirements and no one in my “line” had renounced their Italian citizenship before the next in line was born. Before getting too excited, I made sure I qualified (more on that below), and I did.

(Note: You are not “applying for citizenship”; you are seeking “citizenship recognition” because if you’ve met the criteria, you are already an Italian citizen.)

I began the arduous task of collecting documents proving an unbroken connection to my LIRA—“last Italy-registered ancestor.” I learned about “1948 cases” and the “minor issue”—potential issues that could adversely affect my recognition. Multiple times a day, I checked the online reservation system called prenota to attempt to book an appointment with the Chicago Italian Consulate to submit my application—to no avail. Since 2016, the consulates in the U.S. have been inundated with applications, and these hard-to-get appointments were at least two years in the future, with approval two or more years after the initial appointment.

While drowning in a flurry of paperwork, checklists, and spreadsheets, I heard about the D7/Non-Lucrative Retirement visa offered by Portugal. The timeline from application to approval was just a few short months, and it was easy enough for me to qualify. I didn't hesitate—I pivoted from the Italian citizenship route and applied for the Portuguese residency visa in June 2022.

Once that process was moving forward, I packed up the paperwork, postage stamps, and envelopes for my Italian application and shoved everything in a drawer. Just a few months later, in October 2022, I flew off to Porto to begin my new life.

Embracing European Life in Portugal

In Porto, Cindy embraced European life, enjoying the city's cobblestone streets, azulejo tiles, and Douro River sunsets.|©iStock/f9photos

Living in Porto was magical! I loved “being European”—I kept thinking, “Pinch me! I'm living in Portugal!” I was eating pasteis de nata at every opportunity, walking the cobblestone streets, admiring the colorful azulejo tiles, and enjoying golden sunsets on the gorgeous Douro River while sipping delicious port wine.

A few months later, while scrolling my favorite Facebook page, “She Hit Refresh,” someone posted about getting Italian citizenship in just a few months by applying “IN” Italy rather than applying at a consulate in the States and waiting years for approval.

It stopped me in my tracks. Portugal was great—really, it was. But it took a long time—seven to eight years—from residency to citizenship, and there was a B1 level language requirement and restrictions on how often and how long I could be out of the Iberian country. As an intrepid traveler, that wasn’t sitting well with me.

But wait a minute…I was puzzled. As an American, I was only allowed to stay 90 days in Italy (or any Schengen country in the EU) due to Schengen rules. How could I live in Italy for four or five months—or however long it took to complete this process? Where in Italy would I apply? Could I find an apartment within a town that would agree to process my paperwork and a landlord who would register my lease properly if I only wanted to stay for the few months it took to be recognized rather than a standard one-year lease? I didn’t know anyone in Italy who could assist me, and I didn’t speak the language. It sounded quick… but difficult.

Let’s compare applying for citizenship “in” Italy and applying from your home country through the Italian consulate in your jurisdiction.

Determining Your Eligibility

To learn more about both options, I joined Facebook groups geared toward dual US/Italian citizenship and expats in Italy to learn about other people’s experiences. It’s what I had done to move to Portugal and obtain the D7 visa, and those groups were incredibly helpful. Sure enough, a wonderful FB page, “Dual U.S.-Italian Citizenship,” offered step-by-step guides to applying both in Italy and through the consulates. People who have completed the process were happy to share stories and give tips and recommendations on how to apply, get documents amended, hire service providers, and more.

Whether you apply at a consulate or in Italy, make sure you qualify before you begin the monumental, time-consuming, and potentially expensive task of collecting the supporting documentation. You can contact a company that assists with this citizenship process and request a free review of your case. They’ll need your ancestor’s birth and death dates, and you’ll need to know if your LIRA naturalized, thereby renouncing their Italian citizenship. They will take a quick look at the important details and be able to discern whether you should qualify.

I wasn’t sure about the renouncing part, so I did some research and learned that before 1992, Italian citizens were not allowed to hold dual citizenship, and Italian immigrants who became American citizens (“naturalized”) before 1992 were required to renounce (give up) their Italian citizenship. If anyone in your “line” of ancestry renounced before the next in line was born, you do not qualify—the “Italian” line has been broken, and the gift of Italian citizenship did not pass to the next family member, and thereby to you.

You’ll also need to check the “1948 rule” to see if you are affected. This law, passed in 1983, enables children born to an Italian mother before 1948 to claim Italian dual citizenship. Until this rule came into effect, those pursuing Italian citizenship could only do so through the male line of ancestry because passing along Italian citizenship through a woman wasn’t recognized. If your ancestry is through a female Italian born before 1948, you’ll still be able to get citizenship recognition, but you’ll need to hire an attorney to take your case to court in Italy for approval. It’s a fairly straightforward procedure, but an extra step—and extra cost.

Navigating the Document Maze

After you’ve checked—and checked again—to confirm your eligibility, you can start collecting the necessary documents. You’ll need to order certified copies of the birth, marriage, divorce (if applicable), and death certificates for each person in your direct line of Italian heritage. If applying at a consulate, the paperwork burden doubles. You’ll need these birth, marriage, and death documents for your direct line’s spouses as well. Naturalization documents will need to be found and ordered if your LIRA became an American citizen, or a “CONE” (certificate of non-existence of naturalization) will need to be provided if they did not become an American citizen.

Whew! It’s a lot! Then all of these official documents must be apostilled by the entity (usually the Secretary of State) in which they were issued and finally translated into Italian. (Apostilling is an international format certifying foreign documents for use in other countries.)

Addressing Document Discrepancies

Often there are spelling and date errors that need to be corrected by the issuing governmental office, which is a time-consuming and potentially expensive process. Many Italian men named “Giovanni” became “John,” and many women named “Maria” became “Mary” because Giovanni and Maria wanted to become more “Americanized,” so they changed their names along the way (but not necessarily through legal means!).

For example, my great-grandfather (my LIRA) was named Vincenzo Macchiaroli, and over time his marriage and death certificates morphed into an easier-to-spell and more Americanized version of his name—“Vincent Machroli.” In the meantime, his name appeared on census reports and his naturalization documents as “Macchiarolo,” “Macchiarola,” and even “Macrawley”! I had to request changes to the official marriage and death certificates to match the spelling of the original birth certificates and pay the appropriate fees.

Birthdates, too, are often incorrect, as many people in the 1800s and early 1900s didn’t have official birth certificates. Often they used the date that appeared in the church or the comune when they were baptized, or perhaps used a date that was close to what they thought was their birthdate. For errors related to the documents of your LIRA, you will need to request a special certificate from the comune called the “positivo/negativo,” stating your ancestor’s correct birthdate and that no one with the same name was born on the conflicting date(s) shown on his or her subsequent official documents.

Here’s an example: Vincenzo’s marriage and death certificates showed his birthdate as February 15, 1862, but when I received the actual birth certificate from his village, it was October 31, 1858—completely different from the other important documents of his lifetime. His comune provided the positivo/negativo to clarify this date discrepancy.

While you’re in “document retrieval mode,” request a “codice fiscale” (tax ID number) from your consulate in your home country, or you can apply for one in Italy. I suggest you do it before you get to Italy, as you’ll need it for your lease and your application.

Choosing the Right Comune in Italy

"My ancestral castle" - Castello Macchiaroli in Teggiano, Cindy's family's historic village.|©Cindy Sheahan

A common misconception is that you must apply in the village/town where your ancestors were born—but you can apply anywhere in Italy!

Choosing where to apply in Italy can be overwhelming, as many smaller villages haven’t had much experience processing many (or any!) citizenship recognition applications and might be unfamiliar with the process. Larger cities, although well-versed in the process, often use misspellings or date discrepancies on your documents to deny your application. Other towns are working on many jure sanguinis applications and won’t get to yours for many months. Asking “which comune is the best in which to apply?” is the one piece of information folks won’t disclose on Facebook because if they share the name of the comune that successfully processed their application, that village/town/city will be inundated by applications!

If you are bringing your non-Italian spouse or partner and/or your children to Italy while you are awaiting your citizenship recognition, you’ll need to look into this as well to understand how to do so to ensure they can stay in Italy with you while you wait.

Another important thing to keep in mind if you choose to apply in Italy is that you are not allowed to work for the duration of time you’re in Italy. This means your “digital nomad” plans of working East Coast hours from the Mother Country need to be scrapped. Unfortunately, that’s the law.

Once you’ve chosen to apply in Italy and made the critical decision of where you’ll apply and which home or apartment you’ll be residing in, you will need to submit proof of residency to your comune when you arrive—either a lease registered by your landlord, a deed showing that you own a residence in the comune where you’re applying, or a “declaration of hospitality” if you’re staying in the comune with a friend or relative. An Airbnb booking won’t suffice—you need an actual lease.

Managing the Waiting Process

Cindy enjoys a sunny afternoon at a cozy outdoor café.|©Cindy Sheahan

And now you wait. The first thing you wait for is a visit from the police. You can expect an impromptu visit at your home by the vigile (police) to verify that you are indeed a resident. They are required to do this within 45 days, and you would be wise to be home most of this time until they show up. The vigile in my comune arrived within the first week, but friends of mine waited nervously and impatiently for a full month, terrified to leave in case they missed that knock on the door. If you’re not home when they stop by, they will return…but it could be weeks! When you meet with them, they will ask some questions, take a look at your passport, take a quick look around your apartment or home, and then report back to the comune to validate your residency.

Once your residency has been confirmed, the comune will accept and review your documents and reach out to all the consulates under whose jurisdiction you and your line have lived to request proof of Italian citizenship renunciation, if applicable.

Waiting for the consulate(s) to reply to the comune regarding renunciation takes the bulk of time in this process. Some consulates, like Chicago, are known for quick response times under 30 days, but others, like Philadelphia, drag their feet and may not respond for two months or more.

During this time, your allotted 90 Schengen days may run out; if so, you’ll need to apply for a permesso di soggiorno, which is permission from Italy to remain in the country for the duration of this process. Application for the permesso is made at the post office, and your receipt will be proof of applying since the actual appointment to obtain the official ID card could be three to six months away (at which time you will most likely be approved as a citizen and won’t need the permesso). I applied for my permesso in April, and my appointment is set for September, but my citizenship was approved and recognized on June 19. I won’t need to attend that meeting in September!

As the waiting dragged on, I found myself in a constant state of suspense, wondering when the next step would finally come. The uncertainty was challenging, but I knew that each day brought me closer to my goal of becoming a recognized citizen of Italy. Little did I know, the journey was far from over, and the next phase would bring its own set of surprises and challenges.

Read part two of Cindy's journey to Italian citizenship, here.