Eligibility

[retailacc]

Hello guys,

My name is Albert and I have a bit of an odd situation. I visited multiple immigration lawyers and no one is 100% certain about this. Some even told me that I am not eligible.

The story is as follows:
My father was born in the austro-hungarian empire (yes, I'm not young). He was born in a part of the territory that now belongs to Italy. His passport (which I have with me) is Austrian, and clearly indicates that he was an Austrian Citizen.
Now my father (and my family) is of Italian ethnicity. We have an Italian name, and some of us even speak Italian.

My question is, am I really not eligible? What are my options? Is the Italian citizenship really not possible? Should I go for the Austrian?

Thank you very much in advance!

[mler]

What about your grandfather? If he was an Italian citizen and did not naturalize before your father was born, that would work for you. (I am assuming your father did not naturalize in any country before you were born.)

[jennabet]

You're not eligible because the window of opportunity for former citizens of the Austro-Hungarian empire was finally closed in 2010 after having been open and extended several times. You missed the deadline.

[mler]

I'm not sure how that window actually worked. Did it apply to Italians born in what is now Austria or to Austrians born in a territory that is now Italy (or to both)?

Check in with BBCWatcher at http://www.italiancitizenship.freeforums.org He knows quite a bit about Italian citizenship law.

[jennabet]

The immigration lawyer that told you you're not eligible is correct for the reasons I stated above. Italian citizenship is no longer available to the descendants of people who were born in the Austro-Hungarian empire.

[mler]

That does appear to be the case. You may, however, want to check the birthplace of your grandparents. If either was born in Italy, citizenship would be transferred to your father even if he was born in Austria.