reclaiming italian citizenship

Over 25 million Italians have emigrated between 1861 and 1960 with a migration boom between 1871 and 1915 when over 13,5 million emigrants left the country for European and overseas destinations.
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ciao
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reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

hi all, i am new here. i was wondering if anyone can help. i am in the process of reaquiring italian citizenship. i have 2 adult children and i read here from mary that i can maybe try to have their birth certificates registered at the comune in italy. has anyone had success with this? if they somehow agree to do it does hat mean that they will be recognized as italian citizens or can the consulate at home refuse it?
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mler
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by mler »

If you are applying for citizenship jure sanguinis, your adult children are also eligible to apply.

However, if you are reacquiring citizenship that was lost through naturalization, the reacquisition applies only to you and your minor children. Your adult children would obliged to reside in Italy for three years before they can naturalize.

You may also want to explore the possibility of eligibility through your spouse.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

thanks for your answer. i am reaquiring my citizenship . i became a canadian citizen when i was 18 and apparently lost my italian citizenship even though i applied on my own. my husband was 9 when his father became canadian. it's very frustrating that we are not eligible j.s. my children were born after we became canadian and i had high hopes after reading mary's post even if it was in 2010 about trying to register the children in italy. is there really no other way? has anyone contested the law regarding minors. if the minor doesn't lose italian citizenship from 2007 why should we have lost it before that date. sorry but i am really frustrated about this.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by mler »

Were you naturalized before 1975? The age of majority in Italy was 21 until 1975 when it changed to 18. This may make a difference.

Actually no one, minor or adult, lost Italian citizenship if naturalization took place in 1992 or later. The 1992 law permitted dual citizenship so if you naturalized after that date, you retained your Italian citizenship. I'm not sure what Mary's situation is, because I did not read her post, but if you direct me to it, we may be able to determine what the dates mean.

I do understand your frustration. My husband also lost his citizenship through naturalization making our children ineligible through his line. Fortunately, I qualified jure sanguinis, which solved the problem. It seems to make little sense that my children qualify by tracing a line to their maternal ggf, when they could not qualify through their Italian born father. But that is the law as it stands.

That being said, after you and your husband reacquire your Italian citizenship, there is nothing that prevents you from attempting to register the births of your adult children at your comune. According to current Italian law, they would not be permitted to do so, but you never know.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

mary's post was on september 17 2010. she had the same situation as mine. i became canadian in 1971 and my husband in 1959. we were born before our parents became canadian. as i said i was 18 and my husband was 9. we were married in 1978. all lost wars.my dad waited for all jis children to reach adult age before he applied for canadian citizenship so all my siblings are fine and italian citzens and i lost out. he thought we would be ok. he also applied with my mom in 1971. i am still waiting for his exact date, i don't know if that would make any sort of difference. if mary is still out there i would really love to know if she succeeded in registering her children. anyway any help i can get will really be appreciated. just your answers are very welcome and make me feel not alone in this situation. do you know of anyone who contested this part of the law?
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by mler »

I read MaryL's thread, and I responded in the same way to her query. She doesn't indicate whether or not her comune was willing to register her adult children, so there is no indication that she was successful.

The date of your parents' naturalization does make a difference. If they actually naturalized after you became 21, you would be eligible jure sanguinis. Based on the dates you give, this seems unlikely, but it's worth checking.

As an explanation, the reason this would work is that your naturalization as a minor (according to Italy) would not cause you to lose citizenship unless your parents also naturalized. If they naturalized after your 21st birthday, you would be in the clear.

There have been several lawsuits successfully challenging citizenship law, but these have primarily focused on the 1948 rule. I've not heard of any that relate to your situation.

You can try to PM MaryL. She is more likely to see your question in a private message, but please post any information you obtain. It may help someone else with a similar problem. You can also try the legal route, but it may be expensive, and since this is new territory, there is no guarantee of success.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

thanks. i will try to contact maryl. i will also certainly let you know if i have any news from her. i check here very regularly so if anyone has any news about this area i would very much appreciate it.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by mler »

One additional thing to keep in mind--if Mary was successful (or unsuccessful) in getting her children's birth certificates recognized, her experience would not necessarily mean your comune would respond in the same way.

Your best approach is to reacquire your citizenship, and then try to register the birth certificates of your children. If your comune is willing to do so, your problem is solved. If your family has maintained strong ties in the comune, that may be very helpful.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

i will certainly try. we do still have a lot of family there and the ties are strong. i also contacted maryl and am waiting to hear from her. i realize that if she was successful i may not be but success could be catchy. never know unless we try. thanks for all your support.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

hi again, cant seem to cotact marl,she is not answering. has anyone out there tried the strategy of trying to register their adult children at their commune after reacquiring their citizenship? thanks again.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by jennabet »

Comunes in Italy register Italian citizens and non Italian legal residents. They do not register non Italian adult children who are not legal residents.
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Re: reclaiming italian citizenship

Post by ciao »

thanks for the info.
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