Getting back lost citizenship,

[or100cohen]

I am in the process of getting back my Grandmother Italian citizenship.

My grandmother was born in Tunisia (and her GGF was born in livorno,Italy)

After World war 2 , my grandmother lost her passport

Now i want to receive it back,

I have contact the Italian Embassy in my country, they told me to get a few certificates (like Italian birth record , Marriages and so on .. ) i got all of the certificates.

Now the Embassy want me to write in the name of my GM (because she have Alzheimer's disease) have why we want to get back the citizenship,

Please help me write a letter in English why i want to get the Italian Citizenship back .

Thank you .

[jennabet]

If it's an Italian passport you're trying to get back, you would need to write the letter in Italian and not in English.

[or100cohen]

Yes , but i have a meeting with the ambassador ,
She ask sme me to write to the metting a few words why we want the citizenship back.

[mler]

I think there is some confusion about what you are trying to do.

Are you trying to get another passport? (That would mean your grandmother is still a citizen but only needs a new passport.)

Are you trying to prove that your grandmother is a citizen through her father?

Was your grandmother once a citizen and then lost it through naturalization?

Which one are you trying to do? Also, what is your country, and are you trying to establish citizenship for yourself as well?

[or100cohen]

I think there is some confusion about what you are trying to do.

Are you trying to get another passport? (That would mean your grandmother is still a citizen but only needs a new passport.)

Are you trying to prove that your grandmother is a citizen through her father?

Was your grandmother once a citizen and then lost it through naturalization?

Which one are you trying to do? Also, what is your country, and are you trying to establish citizenship for yourself as well?

My grandmother was citizen of italy (didnt live in their BTW)
In ww2 she lost her passport with her citizenship
(because she got citizen in other country.)
I have all the documents i need to get the citizenship back.
Just need to write a touching letter why i want it back.

If my grandmother will receive the citizenship . i will receive it too.

[mler]

That's not the way it works.

If your grandmother lost her citizenship by naturalization, she does not need a touching letter. She needs to follow the specific required procedure.

I've copied that procedure below. It is from the NY Consulate, but the procedure is the same everywhere.

Note that there are two methods (either one works).

Keep in mind, though that your obtaining citizenship is totally unrelated to your grandmother's reacquisition.



--------

Reacquisition of Italian citizenship

2012-02-16

Reacquisition of Italian citizenship
Maeci
According to Italian law individuals born in Italy who automatically lost Italian citizenship by acquiring U.S. citizenship before August 16th 1992 are eligible, under certain conditions, for reacquisition of Italian citizenship by establishing the residency in Italy for a period of up to one year. The application may be submitted directly at the Comune.

The Consulate is competent in forwarding to the Comune the following documentation provided by the interested party:

Form, filled out and signed
proof of residency in the jurisdiction of this Consular Office (electricity bill or other utility)
birth certificate;
marriage certificate and divorce decree if occurred prior to the naturalization (if they occurred in the United States, pls. see “Vital Records” for requirements
copy of Italian passport (if available);
certificate of naturalization (original plus a photocopy);
U.S. passport or valid photo ID;
Receipt of payment of € 200 - As required by the new Law n. 94/2009, as of August 8th 2009, there is a fee of € 200 to be paid by all those applicants presenting their applications for the reacquisition of Italian citizenship.
The fee of € 200 must be paid prior to the appointment, through international bank transfer, following these guidelines:

BENEFICIARY: CONTO CORRENTE POSTALE “MINISTERO DELL’INTERNO

D.L.C.I. - CITTADINANZA" Piazzale del Viminale, 00184 – ROMA (ITALIA)

IBAN CODE : IT54D0760103200000000809020

SWIFT CODE: BPPIITRRXXX

Eurogiro: PIBPITRA

REFERENCE: NAME & LAST NAME “ISTANZA DI RIACQUISTO CITTADINANZA”

Once the documents have been processed by the Consular Office:

you may apply at the Italian Consulate in New York and sign a declaration of intent to reacquire Italian citizenship.
If your declaration is presented at the Italian Consulate, you will have to acquire residency in Italy, in your town of origin, within one year from the date of the declaration;
OR

you may apply at the local City Hall (Comune) in Italy, in your town of origin, and sign a declaration of intent to reacquire the Italian citizenship.
No visa is necessary in case the application for reacquiring the Italian citizenship, submitted to the Comune, takes less than 90 days, but as a foreign national you must comply with the following requirements:

as you enter Italy you must sign a Form (Dichiarazione di presenza) allowing you to be registered as a resident at the City Hall (Comune). The Forms are available at the Port of Entry or/and at the local Prefettura;
you must report to the City Hall (Comune) and obtain the “Iscrizione anagrafica”, in order to process reacquisition of citizenship during your stay in Italy.

[mler]

You will NOT automatically receive citizenship if your grandmother reacquires hers.

You are only eligible if your grandmother lost her citizenship AFTER your parent was born. If before, it won't work.

If your grandmother was still an Italian citizen when your parent was born, you can obtain Italian citizenship even if your grandmother never reacquires hers, but you have to follow the standard application procedures.

Totally different from reacquisition.

[or100cohen]

You will NOT automatically receive citizenship if your grandmother reacquires hers.

You are only eligible if your grandmother lost her citizenship AFTER your parent was born. If before, it won't work.

If your grandmother was still an Italian citizen when your parent was born, you can obtain Italian citizenship even if your grandmother never reacquires hers, but you have to follow the standard application procedures.

Totally different from reacquisition.

I think its different if she got an Israeli Citizenship
But if my grandmother receive her citizenship , my mother can get her citizenship by law (?)

This is how it is written in the Italian console website: notice 8"

Restitution of Italian citizenship lost after receiving foreign citizenship
The citizens of Italy who were born there and who received foreign citizenship before 8661.1898 lost their citizenship The Italian.

They can return it without losing the additional foreign citizenship, on the basis of
Legal residency in Italy. The restoration of Italian citizenship occurs automatically after one year
From the date of commencement of residency in Italy or through a declaration to be delivered directly to the municipality of Makom
Residency in Italy or alternatively at the Italian consulate and following relocation of residency
To Italy within a year of giving the declaration.
process:
In order to activate the process of restoring Italian citizenship that was lost following the receipt of foreign citizenship
By means of a statement to the Italian consulate:
- To schedule, send an e-mail to it.esteri@telaviv.cittadinanza
- To report to the consulate at the time set for the meeting with the following documents:
8 ) A statement on plain paper regarding the desire to regain Italian citizenship that was lost.
1. Naturalization certificate in the foreign country with apostille stamp and translation into Italian.
3. The birth registration summary in the Italian municipality where it was registered.
4 Italian passport.
Foreign passport.
- The permanent place of residence in Italy must be determined within one year of the filing of the declaration
At the Consulate (see Procedure for Application for Entry Permit).
In Italy, the citizen will be required to submit a request for a stay permit at the police headquarters in his residence
To restore Italian citizenship.
- After receiving a residence permit, the citizen will be able to register in the residents' registry of the chosen municipality
To live in it.

[mler]

Yes, the summary you have provided is a more succinct explanation of the process, but understand that in order to reacquire citizenship, you first need to have lost it. How and when it was lost determines your family's eligibility.

Israeli citizenship can be obtained in several ways.

How did your grandmother receive hers? If she received it automatically, she retained her Italian citizenship if she held Italian citizenship at birth.

If she naturalized to become a citizen, she lost Italian citizenship at that time.

It's important that you understand that your obtaining Italian citizenship recognition is not dependent on your grandmother reacquiring her own citizenship or even that your mother obtain Italian citizenship.

Italian citizen is passed from generation to generation.

If your grandmother's father was an Italian citizen when she was born, she was an Italian citizen. If your grandmother was an Italian citizen when your mother was born, your mother was an Italian citizen. If your mother was an Italian citizen when you were born, you are an Italian citizen.

AND THIS IS KEY: Neither your grandmother nor your mother need to obtain Italian citizenship for you to claim citizenship. You simply need to prove that Italian citizenship was transferred from generation to generation down to you.

You also don't provide any dates, so it's impossible to determine whether you need to apply through the courts. NOTE: Italian women were not permitted to pass citizenship to their children before 1948. If that date is an issue for your family, you need to apply through the courts.

AND YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND, if your grandmother is able to reacquire her citizenship, this does NOT automatically grant you and your mother citizenship. That is a separate procedure with an entirely different process.

[mler]

As far as a letter is concerned, the consulate is not looking for a "touching" letter. Your grandmother is legally entitled to reacquire lost citizenship, and the letter is simply part of the process. You simply need state that your grandmother lost her citizenship on (date), wishes to reacquire that citizenship, and plans to return to Italy to live. That is sufficient.

Again, though, check the family line carefully to determine your own eligibility.

If you provide dates: birth years, location of birth, naturalizations if any, we can help you determine your options.

[mler]

It's important to get a sense of your objectives:

Does your grandmother want to (or do you want her to) move back to Italy?

Is your primary goal returning your grandmother to Italy or obtaining Italian citizenship for you and/or your mother?

Or is your goal to do both?

I cannot stress enough that the reacquisition process (for your grandmother) and the citizenship recognition process (for you and your mother) are separate and distinct.

If you can give us a better idea of your objectives and the pertinent dates, we can help you better.

[or100cohen]

It's important to get a sense of your objectives:

Does your grandmother want to (or do you want her to) move back to Italy?

My grandmother is too old and sick to do relocation , but i will like to move to Italy in few years.

Is your primary goal returning your grandmother to Italy or obtaining Italian citizenship for you and/or your mother?

when i was a kid ,my GM always told me stories about the culture and how she felt belong to her italian roots , but she didn't know she could get back her Italian citizenship. only now , after i did a big reserch , and got a lot of help from this forum BTW , i got all of needed documents to start the process of getting back the Italian citizenship

Or is your goal to do both?

I cannot stress enough that the reacquisition process (for your grandmother) and the citizenship recognition process (for you and your mother) are separate and distinct.

If you can give us a better idea of your objectives and the pertinent dates, we can help you better.

My grandmother was born in 1930 in Tunisia ,
in 1950 she left to Israel , because most of the jews left after WWII
so she lost her citizenship in 1950 , when she got into Israel her passport was taken away immediately .
My mother was born in 1970 In Israel
I was born in 1998
I actually asked the ambassador if i could get the citizenship too , he said yes, but only and after my GM will get her citizenship

Thank you for your time and help .

[mler]

Thank you for the clarification.

Since your grandmother was Jewish, she probably automatically received Israeli citizenship through "The Law of Return."

Acquisition of citizenship in this manner is not naturalization and, therefore, she remained Italian even after she became an Israeli. Citizenship is lost through either naturalization or formally renouncing your citizenship at a consulate but not when it is acquired automatically as was the case with your grandmother. I'm surprised that the consulate is asking her to reacquire that which she never lost, but if they want a statement for their records, it's easy to provide one.

Other consulates have specific forms in lieu of a letter, but since your consulate has asked for a letter, simply note that your grandmother's Italian passport was confiscated when she arrived in Israel in 1950, but she never naturalized and her ties to Italy are strong. She wants to ensure that she and her family can reclaim the citizenship she never voluntarily lost.

That should do it for her.

If you have the birth and marriage documents for you and your mother, you then both apply for citizenship recognition through a direct line to your Italian grandmother. You will also be asked to affirm that you never naturalized to obtain another citizenship.

Should be easy. Best of luck.