The legislation in force prior to the current new regulations will apply only to applications submitted with an appointment booked prior to the 27th of March 2025 at 23:59 Italian time.
The Italian ancestor who emigrated must have been born in Italy on or after 17 March 1861 (the date the Kingdom of Italy was established), or after the date their birthplace was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. The ancestor also must not have become a citizen of another country before that date. You may still apply for citizenship by descent if the ancestor was born before 17 March 1861, as long as they died after that date.
PLEASE NOTE: If the Italian ancestor through whom citizenship is being claimed, or any of their descendants in the direct line, voluntarily became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born or reached legal adulthood, and in any case before 16 August 1992, that ancestor automatically lost Italian citizenship. This loss occurred even without a formal renunciation and breaks the transmission of citizenship to subsequent generations (Article 8, Law No. 555/1912; Ministry of the Interior Circular No. 43347 of the 3rd of October 2024).
Transmission of citizenship through the maternal line is possible only if the descendants were born after the 1st of January 1948.
PLEASE NOTE: An Italian woman married to a foreign citizen before the 1st of January 1948 automatically lost her Italian citizenship if the citizenship law of her husband’s country provided for the automatic acquisition of citizenship of that country by virtue of the marriage.
Example: An Italian woman married to an Australian citizen on the 31st of December 1947 automatically acquired Australian citizenship, thereby losing her Italian citizenship.
For further information, click here.
PROCEDURE
The application for recognition of citizenship by descent must be submitted in the applicant’s state of residence.
Accordingly, this Consulate General will accept applications only from:
- Australian citizens residing in NSW;
- Citizens of other nationalities residing in NSW who hold an Australian permanent residence visa.
On the day of the appointment, the applicant must submit all the original documents duly legalized and translated into Italian.
The required original documents do not expire and will not be returned.
This Office reserves the right to request additional evidence or supporting documentation once the case has been evaluated.
COSTS
For the processing of the citizenship application, a payment of €600 is required, to be made in Australian dollars (pursuant to Article 7B of the consular fees), either in cash or by debit card.
Please note that this is a mandatory contribution required by law for the processing of the application and does not in any way guarantee a positive outcome of the procedure.
APPLICATION FEE IS NOT REFUNDABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
PLEASE NOTE THAT:
- The application is individual and must be submitted in person, accompanied by the required documentation.
- If two or more members of the same family intend to submit an application for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent from the same ancestor, whether simultaneously or at different times, it is sufficient to submit only one set of documents concerning the ancestor and the common descendants, provided that all applicants reside in New South Wales (NSW).
- Residents of NSW whose family members have obtained recognition of Italian citizenship through another Consulate or in Italy must, in any case, submit all the original documents relating to the ancestor.
- The Citizenship Office reserves the right to request additional documentation should the elements provided be deemed insufficient for a proper evaluation of the citizenship application.
- The applicant is solely responsible for gathering all required documents.
- The processing time of the Italian citizenship is 730 days, as established by Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers No. 33 of the 17th of January 2014, published in the Official Gazette No. 64 of the 18th of March 2014.
- The Consulate General will send the applicants an official communication by email regarding the outcome of the procedure, and — in the event of a positive result — will simultaneously transmit the relevant documentation to the Italian municipality for registration
- All original documents submitted will not be returned, but will be retained on file by the Consulate for record-keeping purposes.
IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO RESPOND BY EMAIL OR PHONE TO GENERAL INQUIRIES REGARDING PROCEDURES OR REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION.
DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED ON THE DAY OF THE APPOINTMENT: