1948 rule with respect to the marriage of a foreign national

[shibboleth68]

Hey all!

Currently researching Jure Sanguinis Italian citizenship through my maternal grandmother and getting very confused by the 1948 marriage rule. Wondering if anyone can help me out.

My Italian grandmother (born in 1924) married my British grandfather in 1947.

http://www.esteri.it/mae/en/italiani_ne ... nanza.html states:

Women married to foreigners prior to January 1st 1948, who – by virtue of marriage – automatically acquired their husband’s citizenship...

My mother was born in 1954 so my grandmother would have been able to pass down citizenship if she had it, that part is okay. My question is, prior to 1948, was British citizenship conferred automatically when you married a British national?

It is possible that when they married, she lost her Italian citizenship automatically and therefore would not be able to pass it on. It all depends, again, on if British citizenship by marriage was automatic in 1947.

The British laws got rewritten in 1948 as well but I can't seem to find anything online about how citizenship by marriage worked prior to that.

Has anyone had experience with this issue before?

Grazie!

[mler]

I don't know enough about British law to respond, but there are some things you may try.

First, you can see if there are any naturalization records for your grandmother. If yes, you can determine when her Italian citizenship ended. If there are no records, and you have other papers showing she was a British citizen, you can make a reasonable assumption that she obtained citizenship through marriage.

Do understand that if your grandmother obtained citizenship simply by marrying your grandfather, you would still be eligible because she never naturalized. In that case, if the consulate won't oblige, you will have a solid legal case.

You may want to check with the London consulate on automatic citizenship rules.