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.
I had my jure sanguinis appointment at the Chicago Consulate a month ago. It went very well and I was told by the consular officer that I could expect to wait about a year until I receive the letter of formal recognition and can then apply for my Italian passport. Another officer told me it would be more like 2 years.
I told them that I was intending to move to Italy by the beginning of next year, which is my plan. From what I've read the consulates are a little faster to process the application if they know that you intend to repatriate imminently. I just wondered what other people's experiences were like, how long did you have to wait for the final recognition? I know that legally the application has to be processed within 2 years, but is it common to take that long?
In both cases, my own in 2001 and my companions in 2011, we stressed that we were retired and a move to Italy was imminent. Mine was approved in less than six months and his was approved in less than six weeks. If you are someone who is not retired and who must look for work after repatriating, your case may NOT be expedited.
6 weeks for your companion is astonishing, even 6 months is quite good. I'm hoping to start a university course at the beginning of 2018, and I told them that if I am not recognized before then I would have to delay my studies because I would be considered an international student and would be subject to visas, etc. I also wrote them a letter to that effect to add to my application. So hopefully they will prioritize it like they did your repatriation after retirement.
I think it can be beneficial to write letters explaining your situation but no guarantee that they would comply. I had been recognized and living in Italy for ten years when I returned to USA to help my companion obtain his passport. With his application, I included a cover letter explaining that he wanted to return to Italy with me as soon as possible and they responded in kind by recognizing him in six weeks.
Nowadays, very few Italian actors are able to emerge on the world cinema scene. Until a few decades ago it was different, but we talk about the age of the young Cinecittà, where it was not unusual to meet world-famous directors who set their stories which became known all over the world in those stu...
