Bypassing the Consulate: applying for Italian citizenship in Court (the reality)

When your citizenship applications has issues or it proves too difficult to obtain citizenship through the regular route at an Italian Consulate or at a municipality in Italy, you may consider filing a citizenship petition in an Italian Court.

The obstacles can be many: too long waiting times to have the Consulate process our application, or the refusal of Consulates to process an application because it regards a descendant from an Italian (grand)mother born before 1948, for example.

Delays in the process

Most Italian Consulates in the world have several years long waiting times for processing applications and many applicants do not have the time to just wait.

They should not wait, since they have a right to a fair process. The Constitution of the Italian Republic, as well as the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights (legally binding on the EU institutions and on our Member States), enshrine the principle of “due process”. Every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly, and within a reasonable time by the institutions and bodies of Italy and the Union.

The Italian National law implemented such principle by specifically providing that the Consulates should take a decision on citizenship applications within 730 days from the application (Article 2 of Italian Administrative Process Act 241/1990 and DPCM – President of the Council of Ministers Decree no. 33/2014). Unfortunately, most Consulates interpret this rule in an arbitrary way: they claim that the 730-day deadline starts from the date in which the Consulate will finally admit the applicant to enter their office and the Consulate accepts the paperwork as complete. But such interpretation does not stand in Courts. 

Leverage Your Rights

The Courts in Italy ruled consistently that the 730-day deadline starts from the date in which the applicant requests an appointment to the Consulate in order to file in the citizenship application.

My team and I challenged the Consulates decisions hundreds of times on this specific point: We proved that the applicants had made reasonable attempts to obtain an appointment and each time that was enough for the judge to declare that the Consulate behaved unfaily and our clients had the right to Italian citizenship. We handed to the judge the documents proving the Italian ancestry and walked out with the positive decision. The Italian passport followed.

All applicants who try to get an appointment that is farther in time than 730 days, or those who can prove to have made reasonable attempts to get an appointment have a legitimate claim in Court to obtain citizenship. The Court’s decision can be registered directly with the Italian administration. Such registration is enough to obtain an Italian passport.

Descendants in the maternal line

The Italian Supreme Court 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, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all the Italian Consulates still refuse to process the applications of the descendants who were born from Italian women before 1948, when the equality principle between women and men was introduced with the Constitution of the Republic of Italy. As a consequence, those descendants (and their children down the family line) can obtain the application of the non-discrimination principle only through an application to an Italian Court. 

For more information about 1948 cases, see “How the 1948 rule really works”

You may also be interested to know that finally the Italian Parliament is discussing to change the law and finally equally recognise citizenship to all descendants of Italian mothers and their descendants (Bill 919/XIX AS). As a consequence, It will become mandatory for Consulates to receive the applications of these applicants. Your’re welcome to read my recent article on the proposals, including Bill 919: New Law: Your Second Chance at Italian Citizenship

How does an application in Court work in reality?

q in Court is quite different than with Consulates. It starts with a formal petition and the process is a trial, that is a dispute, not just an administrative process like obtaining a visa, or getting a driving license. It cannot be regarded as a quick or easy process. It is indtead a judicial process.

A citizenship petition in Court starts a dispute with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A judicial process follows in which the ministries can – and often do – make objections, especially concerning the citizenship status of the Italian-born ancestor from whom the applicant derives citizenship. They do so through their representative – the State Attorney (Avvocatura dello Stato). They also have  a right to appeal against the Court’s decision. They rarely do so.

The competent Court for judging disputes concerning citizenship applications is the Court located in the area of origin of your Italian-born ancestor. Specifically, it’s the Tribunal for civil disputes located in the closest city where the State Attorney offices have their headquarters, in each region of Italy.

For example, if your ancestor was born in a village in the province of Rovigo (in the Region of Veneto), the competent Court is not the local Tribunal of Rovigo, rather the Tribunal of Venice because that is the only city in the whole Veneto region where the State Attorney have their headquarter.  Some of such Courts received thousands of applications during the last years and has a considerable backlog, notably the Court of Venice, in the region of Veneto. The handling time varies widely, from 8 months in Brescia (Lombardy) to more than 24 months in Venice. 

Legal Fees 

Since the process is more complicated, the costs for assisting a citizenship process in Court can be higher than those for agencies who may assist you with a citizenship application at an Italian Consulate (administrative process). 

The official reference for Italian legal fees is set by the law and particularly the Ministry of Justice Decree no. 55/2014 (Tariffe forensi). The fees are composed of segments for various phases of the process before the civil Court and depend on the number of applicants for each family, as well as the complexity of the case (Parametri civili). The average costs are around € 7,000 + taxes and VAT per person. A commonly used tool for calculating the lawyer’s fees online in Italy is offered by Avvocato Andreani at this website.

At our law office, we try to accommodate the needs of each applicant and can offer more convenient rates, especially if the documents are well prepared and complete, if there are only few minor discrepancies in the data contained in the papers, if we can submit one application for more applicants in the same lineage, etc…

What Do Our Fees Cover?

We assist you along the whole journey to your Italian citizenship:

• Our detailed and trasparent Service Agreement
• Drafting and providing a Power of Attorney (in Italian and English), along with guidance on notarization
• Conducting a comprehensive study of your case
• Assisting in gathering evidence to demonstrate preliminary attempts with the Italian Consulate (mandatory step according to the law)
• Reviewing your documents in every detail
• Preparing the petition file for the Court and defendants
• Registering the petition with all necessary attachments
• Notifying the defendants of the registration and case file according tot he law
• Coordinating with the Court Clerk for a smooth start of the process
• Participating in hearings as ordered by the judge (in person, remotely, or through written submissions)
• Maintaining correspondence with the Court Clerk to monitor delays, judge changes, or other developments
• Conducting research to stay updated on changes in regulations, case law, or administrative practices that may affect the petition’s outcome
• Providing regular updates to the client
• Receiving and evaluating the judgment
• Registering the positive judgment with the Tax Authority (required by law to enforce the judgement) – please note that extra fees may be required by the Tax Authority
• Notifying the defendants of the judgment to minimize the appeal period to 30 days
• Obtaining a certificate of no appeal (Certificato di passaggio in giudicato)
• Sending the certificate of no appeal to the relevant municipality for registration, along with the applicant’s birth and marriage records.
• Corresponding with the municipality to confirm the registration of citizenship.
• Informing the client of the registration duty with the Population Registrar (AIRE)
• Assisting the client to obtain a certificate to show your AIRE registration which enables you to apply for the Italian passport
• Information to apply for Italian Passport and reply to all your questions.

State fees

You may consider that, as of January 1st, 2025, the Italian Parliament has introduced higher fees to submit citzienship applications. These have to be paid to the Italian state to start the application process, namely:

• € 600 per adult applying for citizenship at Italian Consulates and at municipalities in Italy (administrative process)
• € 600 per person (no matter if adult or minor) to submit the petition for citizenship in Court

  You are welcome to read my article with more information about higher fees for submitting citizenhsip applications.

Beware of changes in the law

We cannot give for granted that the law that was in place for decades will not change. There have been several attempts to pass reform on the Italian citizenship regulation.

One of the main points of reform is to cut the possibility to give citizenship status down to the second generation. You are welcome to read here all the details of the foreseeable changes in Italian citizenship law in my article “Italian Citizenship Law: Follow Ancestry Bill Updates”.

Time is of the essence. If (when) the reform will pass, like any new law in civil and administrative matters in Italy, it will apply immediately to all citizenship processes in course, both at Consulates and in Courts. For more information: “The Future of Italian Dual Citizenship: What Applicants Need to Know”

Our Success Rate

Our firm has achieved a 99,5% success rate in assisting almost 5,000 clients and their families since 1999. This unique record reflects the expertise and dedication of our team. I specialized early in immigration and Italian citizenship since I graduated in law school in Italy in the 90’s. . My colleagues share a very long career in the same field. Citizenship cases amount to almost the totality of our work

Our policy is to take only well-grounded cases. We intentionally limit the number of cases we accept each year to ensure quality, accuracy, and a personalized approach for every client. This approach allows us to maximize the likelihood of success while respecting the time and resources of our clients.

Beware of Possible Obstacles Ahead  

Consider carefully before signing for cheap offers. The Citizenship process in Court has become tough and longer over years. For instance:
Many Courts have built up a considerable backlog and run late, even more than 3 years to deliver a decision, 
State Attorneys object more and more often  against petitions based on new and unexpected arguments,
Some judges even challenged the very right to citizenship by lineage to the Constitutional Court,
New interpretations of the law limit the right to citizenshing, e.g. excluding applicants whose may set hearing dates in 2-3 years from now.

Your lawyer should have the expertise, the capacity and the structure to assist you throughout the process, even if it takes longer or requires more competence and expertise than than expected. Beware that many lawyers require low fees to start the process and then abandon their clients when the going gets tough or long. Are you going to risk that?

The Risks of Poor Legal Assistance

In recent years, many lawyers and agencies in Italy and abroad have taken on Italian citizenship cases by descent, especially through maternal lines. They regard those cases as “easy” and the positive result as “guaranteed”. The reality is that it is not guaranteed at all.

We receive desperate calls on a weekly basis by stranded clients who lost touch with their lawyer and their case in Court. We can hardly help because the law limits the possibilities to fix the petition after a certain time it has started. 

Moreover, inexperienced lawyers often treat cases as similar, ignoring the unique details that can make or break an application. They focus on low fees and high volumes, sacrificing quality, which courts quickly recognize. Many are unprepared to address common issues, like errors in U.S. vital records or conflicts with outdated laws, leaving their clients at a disadvantage.

Beware that poorly prepared petitions are rejected in court due to inadequate legal assistance. Once rejected, it is very difficult and expensive to appeal against the negative judgement. The chances to win are close to zero. Disappointed clients often share their frustrations online, highlighting the risks of relying on unqualified lawyers. These failures show the importance of choosing experienced professionals who understand this complex area of law and have the structure it takes to assist you throughout the process, until you actually can operate your Italian citizenship.

Conclusions

Before embarking on the process of an Italian citizenship application in court, it is crucial to consider that you are going to be on a full trial in the justice system of a country that you may not know so well. The result, although there are consistent precedents, is not certain. Especially in a legal system that is not based on precedents like that of Italy and those of all continental European states. When weighing pros and cons, time and money are not the only important variables. Rather the quality of the information and of the legal assistance to review your documents correctly and prepare an accurate application, as well as defend your case competently in court are essential to obtain citizenship in reality.

Need help?

I’m here to support you in obtaining Italian citizenship. If you feel ready, I can review your documents and discuss you options + give you my best offer based on your  specific case. Request my Private Consultation: the costs will be discounted from the legal fees for assisting your application in Court. Please read here how it works.
I’m looking forward to meeting you!