Reclaiming Italian Citizenship

My family, like many in the US, immigrated in the early 20th century from southern Italy. Just pre-WWI, my great great grandfather got on a boat in Salerno, just outside of Naples, and moved with his wife and family to New York, where the family has resided since. Because of this connection, and blood-right based citizenship in Italy, I was eligible for Italian citizenship. Like all good things, it’s not nearly as straightforward as I’d have liked it to be - between the snake-oil salesmen, the complexities of the process (both by design and culture), and COVID interrupting it all.

Citizenship isn’t conveyed to anyone who has Italian blood, there are myriad requirements based on when naturalization occurred for your ancestors, whether they were male or female, and other peculiarities of process. Technically the process is a reclamation of citizenship, with the country formally recognizing you as a citizen by conveying an Italian birth certificate and other related papers (such as a passport).

The web is filled with shady services - lawyers, document acquisition, translation, etc. - of people who set expectations far from reality on their capabilities and the process as a whole.

I was successful in my journey - with many mistakes made. I started in early 2019 looking at a consulate-focused path, only to have COVID interrupt my place in line. I later moved to Italy and took up residency, where my citizenship was ultimately recognized in December 2023.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Consulate or reside-in-Italy pathways, please drop me an email and I’m happy to give you 30 minutes of my time at no cost.