It is enough to spot a woman in a family tree to raise a flag and spark disappointment. But is that enough to ruin your chances to Italian citizenship? Is Italian law really so backward to discriminate women from men? NO!
Don’t let them intimidate you and proudly get your Italian citizenship through granny!
Most Italian Consulates published blunt statements on their websites, like:
“A person born before 01/01/1948 can claim Italian citizenship only from his/her father”
But that is simply not true. Unfortunately, such inaccurate statements on Italian citizenship in the female line are spread also by official sources and get repeated by misinformed people worldwide. It appears designed to discourage applicants from even considering Italian citizenship by lineage.
If you want to avoid wasting your time, refuse all inaccurate information. Demand the real information according to the law.
So how does it work in the law?
The short version is the following:
If you have one or more women in your direct line of Italian descent, you HAVE a right to citizenship. The application process changes according to the date in which the child of the concerned woman was born.
If the woman gave birth to her descendant after January 1st, 1948, you can get Italian citizenship by applying for it to the closest Italian authority.
Conversely, if the woman gave birth before that date, you can obtain Italian citizenship by applying for it to the Tribunal in Italy.
Why is that?
The Italian law used to provide that a person is an Italian citizen only if born to an Italian father, until the Italian Constitution declared the equal treatment principle as of January 1st, 1948.
According to the administrative authorities, the equal treatment clause applies only for the future, that is up from January 1st, 1948. So, for example:
If your Italian grandmother gave birth to your father in 1947, you have a “1948 case”. The Italian Consulate refuses to process your application.
Luckily, the Italian Supreme Court thinks otherwise: they established in 2009 that it is forbidden to discriminate between women and men even in citizenship matters (judgment no. 4466/2009). All descendants born anytime from an Italian parent, father or mother are Italian citizens by birthright.
Sadly, that appears not enough to convince the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all the Italian Consulates with it. They still refuse to process “1948 cases”. As a result, you can obtain the application of the non-discrimination principle only through an application to the Tribunal in Italy.
How can you be sure that you have a 1948 case?
Make the final check in this way:
STEP #1: Consider your line of descent from the Italian ancestor. Focus only on the direct line (let aside the spouses or partners at each passage of generation). Is there a woman along the line?
STEP #2:Â If there is a woman, did she give birth to her descendant before January 1st, 1948? Remember: the woman’s date of birth is of no relevance. Only her child’s birthdate is.
STEP #3:Â If the answer is YES, you can obtain Italian citizenship by lineage (jure sanguinis).
Your application process nowadays has to start in Court. The Italian Cnsulates still don’t take these applications.
Important: There might be a change in the near future. The Italian Parliament is discussing a new law draft that finally puts on a par all applications – both those by descendants in the paternal and in the maternal line. So all applications should be accepted at Italian Consulates, irrespective of how you derive Italian citizenship in your family.Â
STEP #4:Â If the answer is NO, you can obtain Italian citizenship by submitting your application
Repeat steps #2-3-4 for each woman you find along the direct line of descent. You may find a woman at the very start of your Italian family tree (i.e. your ancestor born in Italy was a woman) or later in the line of descent.
The result is…
Absolutely the same. Each of the two types of application brings the same citizenship by birthright. That means it operates retroactively to your date of birth, no matter
if you obtained it through an Italian Court or through an Italian Consulate, or
if you are a descendant in male or female line
To the law, you are an Italian citizen since your birth, just like any Italian who was born in Italy to Italian parents.
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I am still confused about the 1948 rule. I have all of my documents but don’t qualify by applying at a consulate since both my grandfathers became Canadian citizens before my father and mother were born. I was born in 1951 so my mother was obviously born before 1948. Neither of my grandmothers became Canadian citizens.
So can apply through a consulate or do o need to go through the courts which is expensive.
Unfortunately, the only way to obtain Italian citizenship in the described situation is still only through the courts and not through a Consulate. That is because such right has been established by the Supreme Court. The Italian administration did not accept to apply that until the law will be changed accordingly.
My maternal Great Grandparents were Italian citizens when my Grandparents were born and were naturalized many years later
My Great Grandparents were all born in Italy
My Grandmother was born in the US
My father was born in 1946 in the US
I was born in 1970 in Canada
Is it possible that I am eligible? Or no, because my grandmother was born in the USA?
It is possible that you are eligible. My advice is to start looking for your great-grandparents’ birth records in Italy and their naturalization records. Sinve your father was born to an Italian mother before 1948, you may need to apply for citizenship through Court in Italy. If you need help, you are welcome to contact us.
My great-great grandparents, came to America from Pertosa Italy. My great great grandfather was born in Italy in 1870…..My great great grandfather did not naturalize as a US citizen until 1928 and my great grandmother was born in NY in 1895….so she was born many years before her father naturalized….Her daughter, my grandmother was born in NY in 1925, then my mother was born in NY in 1947 then me in NY in 1968. I can trace all of this back to Italy and am in contact with family still in Italy and still live in the area where my great great grandparents came from….So best I can tell this would be a 1948 case….is that correct?…..Thank You!
It certainly looks like that. Please consider that citizenship in this case can only be declared by an Italian Court and not by a Consulate. Moreover, your eligibility has to be confirmed by the information on the vital records regarding each person in your lineage. For more information, you are welcome to ask for advice.
Hi Lara,
Thanks so much for compiling this information. I believe I qualify for Italian citizenship (via the 1948 Case), but I’m struggling to find information about a lineage where two females were born in the US before 1948. Could you tell me if this prevents me from citizenship in any way?
Some backup info: My Great-Great Grandfather came to the US from Italy in 1905, had my Great Grandmother in Boston in 1916, and then naturalized as a US citizen in 1932. My Great Grandmother had my Grandmother in 1943, and my father was born in 1963.
Thanks for your help,
Ryland
Hello, Ryland! Having two females in the line of descent does not change the conclusion. If you have one or more women in your direct line of Italian descent, you HAVE a right to citizenship. Your great-grandmother gave birth to your grandmother after January 1st, 1948: you can obtain Italian citizenship by applying for it to the closest Italian authority. Let me know, if you need further advice.
Can I have my Italian citizenship recognized? Both my grandparents on my mother’s side we’re born in Italy. The petitioned to be naturalized around 1946. I don’t know if they became U.S. citizens. My mother was born in the year 1932. Mom had me in 1956. Would I be able to apply for a jus Sanguinis case? Thank you in advance!
You may actually have a case for Italian dual citizenship since your grandparents naturalized after your mother was born. Please contact us if you need our help in researching your records and moving forward.