Main Benefits After Acquiring Italian Citizenship:
ACCESS: Having an Italian passport will give you access to all twenty-five EU countries, granting you the right to reside and work anywhere within the territory of the member states.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNIES: Having an Italian passport will give you the opportunity to work in any of the 25 EU countries, without the hassle and costs of applying for a work visa. In addition, some American-based multinational corporations may put a premium on hiring executives who have dual nationality. Under the terms of Article 17 (ex Article 8) of the Treaty on European Union, "any person holding the nationality of a member state is a citizen of the Union." "EU citizenship, which supplements national citizenship without replacing it, grants citizens the right to move freely and to reside on the territory of the member states" (Article 18).
HEALTH & EDUCATION: Having an Italian passport makes available to you free public medical care and/or free public education (some taxation may apply).
PENSION: Having an Italian passport may entitle you to collect a pension along with your Social Security if you worked long enough in Italy.
FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS: Having an Italian passport will allow you to purchase foreign securities without restriction, including Eurobonds, unit trusts, investment funds and real estate.
VOTE: Having an Italian passport gives you the right to vote in Italy without losing your American citizenship.
STATUS: Having an Italian passport allows you to pass it on to your children and secure any potential advantage that this status may grant them. The Italian law states that spouses of Italian citizens and children can apply for citizenship. Spouses after six months of marriage if a couple is living in Italy and after three years of marriage if they are living abroad and children if they are under the age of 18, otherwise they will have apply separately.
RETIREMENT: Having an Italian passport may fulfill those sentimental purposes to reconnect to your Ancestral land and give you the choice to spend your retirement years either in Italy or in the U.S. (or in both countries).
Main Obligations After Acquiring Italian Citizenship:
TAXATION*: Although the United States taxes its citizens even when they live abroad, you can qualify for tax exclusion for all income earned in Italy or elsewhere in the European Union up to $70,000 USD per year. In order to qualify you must establish a tax home outside the U.S. and pass one of two tests:
- Physical-presence test: you need to be at least 330 days outside of the U.S. over a consecutive 12-month period.
- Foreign-residence test: you become a bona fide resident of Italy or of any other EU country for an entire taxable year. If you live in Italy or in Europe and have an Italian passport, you should pass this test.
Remember that even if you don’t qualify for this exclusion, Italy and the United States have tax treaties to protect their citizens from dual taxation. Generally, you don't pay U.S. tax on foreign-earned income if the foreign tax rate is higher than the U.S. rate. If the foreign rate is lower, you will have to pay US taxes on the difference between these rates.
*Always check with your tax and/or immigration attorneys for more information.
MILITARY SERVICE*: On May 8, 2001, the Italian government passed a law (Art. 7 del D. Lgs. 8 maggio 2001 n. 215) making military service completely voluntary as of January 1, 2007. Females do not have any military obligations, nor does any male born on or after January 1, 1986. If you have already served in the US military or you are forty-five years or older, you do not have to serve in the Italian military. If you are twenty-seven or older and younger than forty-five, you can avoid military service by filling out some paperwork. If you are a male born between 1976 and December 31, 1985 and you want to live in Italy, you are obliged to complete your military service unless you are enrolled in a university. Work exemptions also exist for those who meet certain qualifications (e.g. independent business-owners or members of a family business).
Please contact the Bureau of Military Services (LEVA) of the area in Italy in which you are planning to live for more information.
*The above information is very general and we strongly suggest you discuss it with the Italian Consulate of the state where you reside (for a list of Italian Consulates in the U.S. click here) and/or with a law firm specialized in Immigration matters (for legal assistance, click here).
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