CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT
NEW! – FAQ’s/Frequently Asked Questions – CLICK HERE for answers to frequently asked questions regarding Italian Citizenship
NOTICE:
All official information, documentation, and procedures regarding Italian citizenship is posted on the webpage of this Italian Consulate (www.conssanfrancisco.esteri.it), 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.
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- IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS
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- This Consulate General accepts applications for Italian citizenship by descent only from applicants who are legal permanent residents in this consular jurisdiction.
- 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 CARDresiding in this consular jurisdiction.
- Applications will be accepted only if complete with all the required documentation.
- All vital records, with the exception of original Italian certificates issued by the Italian authorities, must be properly legalized (or with an “apostille”) and need to be translated into Italian.
- If a relative has been recognized as an Italian citizen by descent through our Consulate, the applicant will not have to submit any overlapping documentation that was already submitted with that family member’s application.
- If a relative was recognized as an Italian citizen by descent through the same ancestor by another Italian Consulate, the applicant must present complete and original documentation starting from the most recent Italian-born ancestor in their line of descent.
- It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all documents contain the correct and consistent information throughout the entire documentation. Discrepancies in names, last names, dates and places of birth must be amended. If certificates cannot be amended, applicants should provide an official statement from a Court Judge or a Vital Statistics Officer asserting which is the true and correct information.
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- CATEGORIES OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT
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The following categories may help you find out which one applies to your case:
- Category 1 (direct descent): father born in Italy, Italian citizen at the moment of your birth and you never renounced your right to Italian citizenship.
- Category 2 (direct descent): mother born in Italy, Italian citizen at the moment of your birth – occurred after January 1st 1948 – and you never renounced your right to Italian citizenship.
- Category 3: father born in the United States or other Country (except Italy), your grandfather was Italian at the time of his birth and neither you nor your father ever renounced your right to the Italian Citizenship.
- Category 4: mother born in the United States or other Country (except Italy), your grandfather was Italian at the time of her birth and neither you, born after Jan. 1st 1948 nor your mother ever renounced your right to the Italian Citizenship.
- Category 5: your direct paternal or maternal ancestors were born in the United States from Italian parents and they never renounced their right to Italian citizenship.
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- DOCUMENTATION TO SUBMIT
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All documentation must be submitted in original and will be kept on file at the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco.
- Application forms:
- Form 1 – (to be filled out EXCLUSIVELY on a computer) – click here;
- Form 2- click here;
- Form 3- click here; – an individual form must be completed and signd by each livingperson in your Italian line of descent
- Form 4- click here; – an individual form must be completed for each deceased person in your Italian line of descent and must be signed by you (the applicant).
- Application fee(Money order or Cashier’s Check) in $USD and made out to “Italian Consulate General – San Francisco” (Click here for current consular fees)
- Copy of passport and driver’s license;
- Birth certificate of the Italian ascendant born in Italy(to be issued by the Comune in Italy);
- Proof of residency(electricity or other utility bill);
- All original Vital Record certificates with Apostille and translation into Italian for the applicant AND his/her Italian ascendants – (Click here for vital record information and instructions)
- IMPORTANT: Please see the FAQs section regarding errors and discrepancies – click here
- Copy of the “DECLARATION OF INTENTION”/”PETITION FOR NATURALIZATION”issued by the National Archive (archives.gov) no translation is required;
- NATURALIZATION CERTIFICATE: CLICK HERE for where to request the naturalization certificate(no translation is required)
- In case your Italian born ancestor never naturalized US citizen, please provide:
- ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE OF NONEXISTENCE OF RECORDSissued by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (uscis.gov) no translation is required;
- COPY OF THE CENSUSfirst available immediately after the birth in the US of the direct descent (census.gov) no translation is required
If a family member, residing in our jurisdiction, is interested in submitting an application for the recognition of the Italian citizenship in the future, the same ancestors’ original documentation will apply, but he/she must present his/her original certificates.
Residents of San Francisco jurisdiction, whose family members have obtained the recognition of the Italian citizenship at a different Consulate or Comune, must submit at this Office all original documentation from the Italian ancestor.
PLEASE NOTE
In the event that the documents submitted are not sufficient to determine citizenship eligibility, the citizenship office will request additional documents from the applicant.
Incomplete applications will not be accepted.