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Citizenship

Consolato Generale d’Italia
Citizenship Office
2590 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS:

THE SECTION OF THIS WEBSITE REGARDIN CITIZENSHIP JURE SANGUINIS/BY DESCENT IS IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RECENT URGENT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES APPROVED ON MARCH 28, 2025, BY THE COUNCIL OF MINISTRIES WITH DECREE-LAW NO. 36 (https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2025/03/28/25G00049/SG).

IN THE MEANTIME, THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT SENT BY MAIL AND RECEIVED BY THE CONSULATE GENERAL AFTER 11.59 PM (ITALIAN TIME) ON MARCH 27, 2025, IS TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED.

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All official information, documentation, and procedures regarding Italian citizenship is posted on the webpage of this Italian Consulate, on the website of the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (www.esteri.it), or will be communicated directly to applicants via email from this citizenship department.

Any information or instructions posted in online forums or groups (Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc) or from non-official sources (word of mouth, emails from third parties, etc) is NOT endorsed by the Consulate General or the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale and should not be used for official purposes.

 

  1. GENERAL INFORMATION
  2. APPOINTMENTS
    1. HOW TO BOOK THE APPOINTMENT
  3. FEES
  4. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
  5. INQUIRIES


IMPORTANT PRIVACY POLICY ACKNOWLEDGMENT: In submitting documentation to this Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, you confirm that you have read and understood the information in the Privacy Policy pertaining to the handling of personal data that you submit to this office per EU regulations (RGPD). 

 

 

  • GENERAL INFORMATION

 

Residents of the State of Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, American Territories of Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Marianna Islands and California, EXCEPT for the following Counties: San Luis Obispo, Kern, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial Valley, and Orange (residents of the named Counties must apply through the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles) have to submit their application for acquisition or recognition of Italian citizenship at the Consulate General of Italy – 2590 Webster St. – San Francisco, CA – 94115.

 

  • APPOINTMENTS

 

For citizenship by marriage and reacquisition of citizenship, please write to our Ufficio Cittadinanza at cittadinanza.sanfrancisco@esteri.it.

To apply for Italian citizenship by descent with our office, you must schedule an appointment online using the following link https://prenotami.esteri.it/.

This Consulate General accepts applications for Italian citizenship by descent only from applicants who are legal permanent residents in this consular jurisdiction.

As such, to apply for Italian citizenship by descent through this Consulate General in San Francisco you must either be:

  • a United States citizen residing in this consular jurisdiction,
    OR
  • a foreign citizen with a VALID GREEN CARD/PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD residing in this consular jurisdiction

Applicants who have a VISA issued by the United States authorities are not considered permanent residents of the United States and therefore cannot apply through this Consulate General in San Francisco. US visa holders must submit their application for Italian citizenship by descent to the appropriate Italian authority in their country of legal permanent residence.

IMPORTANT

The Consulate General of Italy wishes to remind all users that the booking system “Prenot@mi” is entirely FREE OF CHARGE.
Users will never be asked to pay any fee in order to book an appointment at the Consulate General.

We would recommend all users to refrain from accepting any offer made by websites, agencies or other individuals claiming to be able to book an early appointment on your behalf, provided that you pay a fee. The Consulate General wishes to stress that there is no connection at all between the Consulate itself and such websites, agencies or individuals; the Consulate General reserves its right to take action where appropriate.

NEW: The Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco is working to ensure that additional appointments slots will be released. We are currently processing more than 800 applications of citizenship by descent a year, so we appreciate your patience regarding the release of new appointments.

2.1 HOW TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT

  1. CREATE AN ACCOUNT IN PRENOT@MI: Each applicant must have a PRENOT@MIaccount and each appointment must be booked using the applicant’s PRENOT@MI Minor children will be included in their parent’s appointment. The portal does not allow you to create an account for a minor. If your child is minor at the moment of the booking, but he/she will be an adult at the time of the interview, please book a separate appointment under your account and write a note explaining the circumstances. Please specify the full name and date of birth of your child.
  2. SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE: Login to PRENOT@MIand select “Cittadinanza per discendenza”.
  3. CONFIRM YOUR APPOINTMENT ONLINE: Beginning 10 days prior to the scheduled appointment, login to PRENOT@MIto confirm your appointment. We strongly recommend that you confirm as soon as it becomes possible. The deadline for the confirmation is 3 days prior to the appointment.

We remind you that if you see the word “SCADUTA” (meaning “EXPIRED”) in your booking, it means that you DO NOT have any appointment confirmed. “SCADUTA” is used by the portal when the date suggested by the Waiting List has not been accepted by the user within the 2-day deadline allowed by the portal.

 

  • FEES

 

As of July 8th, 2014 all applications for the recognition of the Italian citizenship Iure Sanguinis (by descent) and Iure Matrimonii (in case of foreign national whose husband is an Italian citizen married prior to April 27, 1983) are subject to the payment of a € 300 fee. Fees must be paid in USD for the amount posted on the Consular Fee page.

The Office only accepts US Dollars in payment. The fee must be paid by money order made out to the Italian Consulate General San Francisco and included on your application. By law, the fee is subject to change every 3 months, each fiscal quarter.
The payment MUST BE SIGNED BY THE PURCHASER and all fields must be filled in. For assistance on how to fill out your payment, please consult the bank or office where it was issued.
The application fee is NON-REFUNDABLE, regardless of the outcome of the petition.

 

  • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – FAQ

 

Please visit the following page for our most frequently asked questions.

 

  • INQUIRIES

 

 

We are committed to dealing with all applications promptly. In order to expedite the processing of applications, we will be unable to answer general questions that are addressed by this website. Please, help us move forward by reading the instructions on this website carefully and following them as indicated.
Please, do not call or write to obtain general information available on our website.
For the same reason we cannot offer status updates regarding applications in process once they have been accepted by the Citizenship Office. We will request additional documentation directly from the applicant if necessary. We will inform the applicant as soon as confirmation is received from the Italian authorities in Italy that the citizenship procedure is complete.
The Consulate does not provide translation of documents or certifications into Italian on your behalf.

 

For further information, please send an email to cittadinanza.sanfrancisco@esteri.it.