GENERAL INFORMATION
New interpretation guidelines for citizenship jus sanguinis
To the attention of users who are potentially interested in having their Italian citizenship by descent recognized, please be aware of the significant implications of some of the recent rulings of the Supreme Court of Appeal (Civil Court of Appeal, Section I, orders No. 454/2024 and No. 17161/2023) and the Circular No. 43347 dated 3 October 2024 of the Ministry of Interior issued pursuant to the new interpretation guidelines on the matter as dictated by the aforementioned judicial authority.
Adopting the guidance of the Court of Appeal, the circular clarifies first and foremost that – in accordance with the law of 1912 (and, even earlier, with the Civil Code of 1865) – an Italian citizen who lost his Italian citizenship as a consequence of the voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality concurrently caused his minor child living with him to lose our status civitatis, even if said child was born in a country, such as the United States, that applies jus soli (and therefore, the child was a dual national at birth: Italian citizen by paternal descent based on the principles of jus sanguinis and foreign citizen based on the place of birth in accordance with the principles of jus soli). In all such cases, therefore, the citizenship line of transmission is to be considered discontinued; as of the date of their father’s naturalization, the minor in question no longer has the ability to pass on the right to their prospective descendants.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, however, it is possible now to prove that one’s own ancestor, who incurred the loss for the reasons above, then carried out a deed to recover our status civitatis after coming of age. In the cases in which this happened in fact and can be documented, the event must still have taken place before the birth of the direct descendant of the person concerned. Otherwise, the line of transmission cannot be considered restored.
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If you have specific questions of particular relevance that are not addressed on this website, you may send an e-mail to cittadinanza.miami@esteri.it, always indicating your personal information and a telephone number.
We will not answer questions regarding matters that are fully explained on this website.
Please do not send us e-mails with general questions regarding Italian citizenship, as well as requests for appointments (unless otherwise stated on this website) that slow down ordinary procedures.
Please do not write or call to ask for confirmation of appointments or to find out the timing of the procedure, which is set by law. The Consulate General will not respond to such requests.
The Citizenship Office operates by appointment only.
The Consulate General does not provide the following services:
- genealogical research in Italy or other countries;
- requesting certificates from Civil Status Offices or sending notices to them at the request of the person concerned;
- translations of documents or certifications into Italian.
Information on the processing of personal data
PRIVACY ACKNOWLEDGMENT: By submitting documents to this Consulate General of Italy in Miami, you confirm that you have read and understood the information contained in the privacy document “Information on the processing of personal data” regarding the processing of personal data that you send to this office in accordance with the EU Regulation (RGPD).