Italian Citizenship
Italy is one of the countries which acknowledge citizenship through jus sanguini, or blood right. That means that brazilians who have italian ascendance may apply for the dual citizenship, no matter if they are children, grandchildren, great grandchildren or even great great grandchildren of italian nationals.
There are no generation limits to obtain italian citizenship. People who are children, grandchildren, great grandchildren or even great great grandchildren have the right to apply for dual citizenship.
Italian citizenship is obtained through jus sanguini principle (blood right), which means it is enough to have any italian relative to apply for italian citizenship. However, it is necessary to pay attention to law limitations and restrictions for its obtainment.
The first step to getting the italian citizenship and applying for it is verifying if you have the right to it. There are no requirements as to speaking italian, knowing italian history or legislation.
Legal restrictions:
Children of italian women born before jan/01/1948: the problem with the law 01/01/1948 can already be overcome through the sentence n. 4466, de 25/02/2009, which acknowledges the right of transmitting citizenship from italian women to their children born before the republican Constitution of 01.01.1948. To be applied administratively (through Consulares or italian Comunes), the decision must be normalized by the italian Ministero Dell’Interno, which hasn’t manifested itself on the matter yet. As long as this doesn’t happen, the only way to obtain the citizenship is through court process;
Problems with the documents to obtain italian citizenship: mistakes in the birth/death/marriage certificates or when such documents are not found;
Single parents’ children in cases in which the one who declared the birth wasn’t the same person who passed on the italian last name to the child. For example: your parents aren’t married and who declared your birth was your father, but who gives you the italian last name is your mother. In this case, the child cannot apply for citizenship unless the mother is already an italian citizen. Once the mother’s citizenship is confirmed, the child can apply for it. The process of obtaining citizenship can be done simultaneously for mother and child.
Who has a right to italian citizenship?
If the ascendance comes from the men in the family — great grandfather, grandfather, father and you —, there are no limitations as to the date of birth of the children. Which means that you have a right to citizenship no matter when you were born.
In cases where there is a woman in the ascendance line to pass on the citizenship, she can only pass on the citizenship to her direct children so long as they are born AFTER jan/01/1948.
Italian great grandfather, grandmother and child: born AFTER jan/01/1948.
Italian great grandfather, grandfather, child: date of birth doesn’t matter.
Italian grandmother, child: born AFTER jan/01/1948.
Italian grandfather, child: date of birth doesn’t matter.
Great great grandchildren also have the right, but only if the great grandfather/mother applied for citizenship in Brazil. The great great grandchild can apply for it directly in Italy.
Great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather, father, children: receive citizenship no matter when they were born.
Great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather, mother: she receives the italian citizenship, but can only pass it on to her children if they were born AFTER jan/01/1948.
Great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandmother, grandchildren born AFTER jan/01/1948: they receive citizenship through their grandmother because she, beforehand, received citizenship through her own father and, therefore, can pass it on.
If a woman is the granddaughter of an italian woman, descendant of an italian man, whose children were born AFTER jan/01/1948.
If the italian grandmother is descendant to an italian man, and whose children are born AFTER jan/01/1948.
If the great grandfather, grandfather or grandmother, or italian mother or father naturalized themselves as brazilian, it is still possible to obtain citizenship. To do so, the child (be it the grandfather, father or mother) must have been born before the ascendants naturalized themselves.
Citizenship by marriage
Women married to italian men may apply for the double citizenship if they got married before april/1983.
A man won’t be able to have the double citizenship if he marries a woman whose italian or of italian descent, only the children of the couple will be able to have the double citizenship. The man can only become an italian national if he naturalizes himself italian.
