Obtaining Italian Passport and Citizenship through Marriage

[Kaj17]

I am a college student that has traveled to many countries in the world, thanks to my mother being a flight attendent. I am currently a student at University of Southern California and am studying international business. I am sure that my future holds a lot more traveling to come and I know that it would be a great convenience having more than one passport besides my American one.

Although I do not have any Italian blood in me, I do want to eventually obtain EU citizenship and passport in case I eventually work there. Knowing that Italy is one of the easier countries in the EU to do so, I was thinking of marrying someone just for citizenship, nothing platonic.

In fact, I was also thinking of paying/arranging a marriage with either a Brazilian or Argentine woman that could possibly give me both citizenship as well as the Italian one(assuming that she gotten Italian citizenship through bloodline by the time I marry her). Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I have been pondering this question for some time and have finally come to this former to seek advice as to how plausible is this idea.

Also, I am planning on studying abroad spring semester in Italy in a year. If I were married to someone with Italian citizenship by then, could I count the months I study abroad as having residency in Italy? Also, I speak nearly fluent Italian if that helps in gaining Italian citizenship in some way.

[ricbru]

You can marry someone who has italian citizenship, and then you can apply for italian citizenship but you have to be married at least for 3 years before getting divorced

here there are some informations about getting married in Italy

http://www.comune.firenze.it/servizi_pu ... ramatr.htm

After the marriage you can apply for you italian citizenship, if married with an italian

bye Riccardo

[mler]

Of course it's possible to do this, but marriage (even marriages of convenience) should not be entered into so lightly. Even if you are married to an Italian, the application after three years takes a while (often several years) to process. That is a long-term commitment for two people just doing it for the citizenship.

And how does this Italian woman benefit from surrendering years of her life to your citizenship quest? Do you then wait for her to be eligible for American citizenship--perhaps even more complicated?

I apologize for being so judgmental, but you seem to suggest that you are willing to pay a woman to do this; and it saddens me to think that there may be some women who need money so desperately that they would possibly consider this.

I also think that Italy deserves more. You are either born a citizen or you make the sacrifices (long-term residency) that would allow you to become one. It shouldn't be a matter of cash.

I know that Italy is one of the more liberal nations in terms of citizenship, but have you checked into obtaining EU citizenship in a country with which you have a legitmate connection? Clearly, you are more interested in EU citizenship than in Italian citizenship anyway.

[Kaj17]

Riccardo, grazie tanto per l'informazione sul processo del matrimonio. Ha chiarito molte delle domande che avevo.

mler, I didn't mean to come off as being an uncompassionate person that only wishes to exploit the Italian naturalization laws in order to gain EU citizenship. Although it is in my interest to marry someone, whether it be a mutual exchange for the woman gaining US citizenship or me perhaps paying her to be married until I obtain Italian citizenship, I don't think it would be as bad of a sacrifice is she is fully willing and happy to do so. I am only 20 years old and I do not see myself passionately marrying until I'm in my mid 30's or early 40's, so I have time and might as well get Italian citizenship when I'm young.

The truth is that Italy is my favorite country in the Europe as I have been there 4 times and have studied Italian language there for 2 full summers. Being that I am half Swedish and half Japanese in blood without any chance of obtaining either citizenship in a legitmate manner, it's a coincidence that the country that I most admire in Europe is one with more liberal citizenship laws than others.

I do see myself working in Italy one day and owning a villa in Calabria; all of which would be easily done with Italian citizenship.

Ma come mi manca l'Italia. Forza azzurri!

[mler]

No problem, and I'm glad you were not offended by my comments. Although I may not agree with your approach to citizenship, it is not my decision to make; and clearly you have a strong attachment to Italy. I also understand why other options may not be available to you.

However, just in case you do not locate an Italian woman eager to be your temporary wife, you may want to consider other paths to citizenship. You can, of course, obtain citizenship through long term residence, but generally obtaining the permessos that would permit you to live and work in Italy can be difficult.

I have heard that the Italian legislature is considering decreasing the number of residency years that is required to obtain citizenship. It's something you may want to explore.

[capitul]

If you want to be an italian citizen, then do it the right way. Dont MARRY somebody just for that purpose. If you really want to work in Europe, why not go to school in Europe? You'd be more likely to find an EU company willing to sponsor you from that approach than the one you are currently taking.


Just a heads up - when people marry people for citizenship, there is often a sum of 50,000 dollars or higher for the troubles.

[KorB]

You know this really has the potential to cause a lot of emotional problems... If not with you then it could with the other person. Problems could actually surface years down the road when one of you decides to actually marry for love. Marriage should be taken very seriously and so should divorce.

What if she falls in love with someone else while you are married, but if it is before you have obtained your citizenship? What if you fall in love before you obtain yours? Are you going to tell the girl you are dating that you are married right now, but it's just a technicality?



What if your future wife asks if you've ever been divorced... What will you say?


I wouldn't do this if I were you! There are other ways.

[capitul]

Bravo, KorB. Bravo.

[kantoku]

Please note, there has been some missinformation on this thread. Accoring to Italian citizenship law: if you are living in Italy you can apply for citizenship 6 MONTHS after you get married to an Italian citizen. If you live outside of Italy you can apply for Italian citizenship 3 years after you get married.

[mler]

You are correct about the six months, but most of us were assuming that they would not be living in Italy, given the difficulty of a non citizen's obtaining work there.

However, even the six months does not really work out to be six months. There is an extensive time lag between application and acceptance, as several posters from other web sites have indicated.

This is only speculation, of course, but I wonder what would happen if a couple divorced in Italy immediately after one spouse obtained citizenship. I wonder if this would be noticed.

I know a young couple in the U.S.--husband, an American citizen; wife, an Irish citizen. They have had to jump through hoops to prove to the INS that their marriage is legitimate, and they already have two children. 8O

I must admit, however, that I don't know how stringent they are about such matters in Italy.