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 obtain 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 Rome Tribunal.
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 consequence, you can obtain the application of the non-discrimination principle only through an application to the Rome Tribunal.
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: 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: If the answer is YES, you can obtain Italian citizenship by lineage (jure sanguinis). It is relatively easy nowadays to submit your application to the Rome Tribunal. That is a routine legal process and ensures citizenship for the applicant.
STEP #4: 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 the Rome Tribunal 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.
Are you interested in knowing more about that?
Do you want to discover if you can derive Italian citizenship through the female line of your family?
Send me a message and tell me about your family tree. Together we can
1 – check if you have a RIGHT to the Italian citizenship by lineage, even if there are women in your line of descent and
2 – devise the most effective PLAN to obtain the Italian citizenship
Stay in touch!
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More about this subject:
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Dual citizenship: do I have to give up my passport?
Free your family from bureaucracy in 5 steps! Italian visa for family members
Hi Lara, thank you for this wonderful explanation! If I am reading it correctly, then I think my wife would qualify. Would you mind helping me understand if this is the case?
Great grandfather born in Italy 1879, emigrated to United States, 1906, first applied for naturalization 1911, actually naturalized 1915
Grandmother born in United States 1912
Mother born in United States 1951
Applicant born in United States 1979
Thank you!
That appears to qualify for Italian citizenship by lineage, congratulations! You may find it useful to check the news about possible changes in the law and the need to obtain a language proficiency certificate: New Italian Citizenship Law: What’s the Buzz and Why You Should Care
Hope this finds you well.
My Great grandfather and great grandmother were both born in Italy 1865 and 1872. They both moved to the us and never naturalized here. My grand mother was born in 1900 in Boston, MA. My father was born in 1936 in St.Louis , MO. I was born in 1960 in St .Louis, MO. Do I qualify? Thanks Mike
Should your family records align with this scenario, and provided that none of your ancestors ever renounced their Italian nationality, you would qualify for Italian citizenship. However, due to the reasons outlined in my preceding article, you must present your application in Court. Wishing you success in your journey toward obtaining Italian citizenship!
My great grandfather was born in 1864 in the Calabria region. He moved to the U.S. and then had a daughter (my grandmother) in 1900. My father was born in 1935 in Connecticut. Would this qualify as a 1948 case?
If your family documents correspond with this situation, and assuming that no ancestors of yours have relinquished their Italian nationality, then you meet the qualifications for Italian citizenship. For the reasons detailed in the article above, your application will need to be submitted in Court. Best of luck with your pursuit of Italian citizenship!
My mom was born in 1946 in Italy and gave up her citizenship in 69 her parents were still Italian citizens how can I get mine
You may obtain yours if you were born before your mother forfeited her Italian citizenship. That could be in 1969 or at an earlier date, when she applied for it.