{"id":680,"date":"2023-04-20T07:30:32","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T21:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conssydney.esteri.it\/?page_id=680"},"modified":"2025-11-26T11:10:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T00:10:30","slug":"citizenship-by-descent","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/conssydney.esteri.it\/en\/servizi-consolari-e-visti\/servizi-per-il-cittadino-straniero\/cittadinanza\/citizenship-by-descent\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizenship by descent \u2013 PREVIOUS LEGISLATION"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legislation in force prior to the current new regulations will apply only to applications submitted with an appointment booked prior to the 27th<\/sup> of March 2025 at 23:59 Italian time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Italian ancestor who emigrated must have been born in Italy on or after 17 March 1861<\/strong> (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<\/strong> have become a citizen of another country before<\/strong> that date. You may still apply for citizenship by descent if the ancestor was born before 17 March 1861<\/strong>, as long as they died after<\/strong> that date.<\/p>\n

PLEASE NOTE:<\/strong> 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<\/strong> (<\/strong>Article 8, Law No. 555\/1912<\/strong><\/a>; Ministry of the Interior Circular No. 43347 of the 3rd<\/sup> of October 2024).<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Transmission of citizenship through the maternal line is possible only if the descendants were born after the 1st<\/sup> of January 1948.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PLEASE NOTE<\/strong>: An Italian woman married to a foreign citizen before the 1st<\/sup> of January 1948 automatically lost her Italian citizenship if the citizenship law of her husband\u2019s country provided for the automatic acquisition of citizenship of that country by virtue of the marriage.<\/p>\n

Example: An Italian woman married to an Australian citizen on the 31st<\/sup> of December 1947 automatically acquired Australian citizenship, thereby losing her Italian citizenship.<\/p>\n

For further information, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

PROCEDURE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The application for recognition of citizenship by descent must be submitted in the applicant\u2019s state of residence.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, this Consulate General will accept applications only from:<\/strong><\/p>\n