Circular no. K. 28.1 of April 8, 1991 (issued by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs)
Recognition of ownership of status civitatis Italian to foreign citizens of Italian origin.
There has been a growing number of requests for clarification regarding the procedures to be followed to determine the citizenship status of people from foreign countries (mainly Argentina, but also Brazil or the United States) holding foreign passports, who claim Italian citizenship status.
It is clear that, due to the simultaneous operation of the provisions of articles 1 and 7 of law no. 555 of June 13, 1912, associated with the current provisions regarding citizenship of numerous foreign countries that in the past were chosen as destinations for Italian emigration (for example, all countries on the American continent, Australia, etc.) that attribute the “iure alone” for status civitatis, the offspring born in the territory of the emigrant’s destination country (Argentina, Brazil(Uruguay, United States of America, Canada, Australia, Venezuela, etc.), born to an Italian citizen father, acquired from birth both Italian citizenship (through the father) and the citizenship of the country of birth, remaining in the condition of dual nationality, even if the father, during the child's minority, changed his citizenship by becoming a naturalized foreigner.
At the same time, individuals born in a foreign country that grants iure soli citizenship and recognized by a citizen father or whose paternity has been declared judicially, also fall into the same situation of dual citizenship.
As a result, second, third, fourth and subsequent generation descendants of our emigrants have a real possibility of obtaining Italian citizenship.
This possibility was also extended to members of families of ancient Italian origin who were born after the 1st. January 1948, therefore, from this date onwards, in accordance with the provisions of sentence no. 30 of February 9, 1983 of the Constitutional Court, they must be considered Italian citizens at the time of their birth as long as they are recognized by the mother or the attribution of maternity is judicially declared.
Subsequently, the descendants of an Italian emigrant or the daughter of an Italian emigrant are also considered “iure sanguinis” Italian citizens through the mother, as long as they were born after January 1, 1948, the date of entry into force of the Republican Constitution.
However, it is important to highlight that the recognition of the possession of the Italian civitatis status for this category of people must be subject to the occurrence of certain conditions and the documented certification of some essential circumstances.
- A) Preliminary conditions for the recognition of Italian citizenship.
Firstly, it is necessary to clarify that the eventual possession of the Italian civitatis status must be certified by the Mayor of the Italian Municipality of residence and, therefore, the respective procedure can be initiated upon request from interested parties only if they are registered in the register of the resident population of a municipality Italian.
Furthermore, the registration of these individuals, who entered Italy with a foreign passport, must follow the rules governing the registration of foreign residents, and presupposes, on the part of those concerned, compliance with the requirements of the current regulations on the matter. It should also be added that if registration of these individuals is not possible because they are not included in the resident population as stipulated in Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 123 of May 30, 1989, the procedure for recognizing possession of Italian citizenship status must be carried out, through a specific request, by the competent Italian consular representation in relation to the foreign locality of habitual residence of the individuals claiming Italian citizenship.
- B) Procedure for recognizing Italian citizenship.
Applications for recognition of Italian citizenship based on Article 1 of Law No. 555 of June 13, 1912, must be submitted to the mayor of the Italian municipality of residence or to the Italian consulate within the consular jurisdiction where the foreign applicant of Italian origin resides.
They must be accompanied by the following documentation:
- birth certificate of the Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad issued by the municipality where he was born;
- birth certificates, accompanied by an official Italian translation, of all your direct lineal descendants, including that of the person applying for Italian citizenship;
- marriage certificate of the Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad, accompanied by an official Italian translation if the marriage took place in a foreign country;
- marriage certificates of their descendants, in a straight line, including those of the parents of the person applying for Italian citizenship;
- certificate issued by the authorities of the emigrant's country of destination, accompanied by an official translation into Italian, capable of certifying that the Italian ancestor who emigrated from Italy in the past did not acquire the citizenship of the foreign country prior to the birth of his or her child, which is an ancestor of the person concerned;
- certificate issued by the Italian consular authority, capable of certifying that the ancestors in a direct line, nor the person applying for possession of Italian citizenship, have never renounced it under the terms of art. 7 of law no. 555 of June 13, 1912;
- residence certificate.
It is important to highlight that the application submitted in Italy must be written on letterhead and that the attached certificates, if issued in Italy by Italian authorities, must be produced in accordance with current provisions on tax stamps. Certificates issued by foreign authorities must be written on plain paper, and duly legalized, except in cases where exemption from legalization is provided for based on international conventions ratified by Italy. The aforementioned documents must be accompanied by an official translation into Italian, which must be written on paper on which a tax stamp is to be affixed if the documents are presented in Italy.
Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that, in order to fully certify that the individuals requesting Italian citizenship have not exercised the right to renounce it, based on Article 7 of Law No. 555/1912, it is necessary, on the one hand, to conduct appropriate research in the Italian municipality of origin or last residence of the Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad, or even in the Municipality of Rome, and, on the other hand, to directly contact all the competent Italian consular representations for the various foreign locations where the individual in question has resided or, if necessary, to consult the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – General Directorate of Emigration and Social Affairs – Department VIII, so that information can be requested from the officials of the relevant Consular Representations.
The Mayors, after verifying the basis of the applicants' claim for the attribution of Italian citizenship through the “iure sanguinis” principle, will determine the transcription of the civil registration certificates referring to the subjects recognized as our compatriots and will be able to issue the specific certification of citizenship, as well as carrying out subsequent tasks within its competence.
Mayors must, finally, communicate the decisions made to the local Federal Police Authorities and this Ministry.
In turn, if doubts arise regarding the effective citizenship status of applicants for our status civitatis, mayors must contact this Ministry, transmitting the respective documentation.
It is requested that the necessary instructions be transmitted to the Mayors of the Municipalities of the Province and that all necessary support be provided to them.
Check out Circular K28 in Italian here.
Circular k28 – text translated from the original Italian by Mariângela Souza Ragassi.
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