When applying for Italian Dual Citizenship or researching your Family History, the starting point is the official Italian birth record of that first Italian born ancestor who migrated to the U.S. We must remember that all family documents in Italy are only maintained in the exact town where the person was born. Surprisingly, many Italian Americans today often do not know the exact town of their Father or Grandfather or Great Grandfather.  The good news is that there are several U.S.

The Italian Consulate needs indisputable proof of the link between the applicant (you) and the Italian ancestor through whom you are obtaining Italian Dual Citizenship. What is required and expected is clearly defined on each Italian Consulate website. This means that to get to your appointment with a “near” perfect document portfolio, you will need to take care of all the discrepancies that may be present in some of your vital records.

On Thursday, May 21, in partnership with the National Italian American Foundation, we had the first of a three-part WEBINAR on Italian Genealogy and Dual Citizenship. In the first session, we answered both Genealogy and Italian Dual Citizenship questions. 

Great question! Knowing that somewhere in your Family Tree, an unidentified ancestor was Italian is a good start but definitely not enough. Italian dual citizenship is based on the principle of “jure sanguinis," i.e. right of blood; this means that individuals who have an Italian ancestor may be eligible for Italian citizenship, depending on several factors, such as the date and place of birth of his or her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. Remember there is no limit to the number of generations one can go back to apply. But here is the catch: 

No doubt that this sudden global health crisis has forced us to put a few projects aside. However, with more restrictions on our daily activities, we may have more time available. For those of you who are thinking or are in the process of applying for Italian Dual Citizenship, this could be a good time to get started. In order to assist you, we are providing the answers to a few of the most common questions: