Hello, I have a tricky question here. I was wondering if I would qualify for Italian citizenship by ancestry decent.
Here is the background. My grandfather was born in Gamberale, Italy in 1931. His father (my great-grandfather), was working in the United States at the time and sending money back to his family. Because of this, my grandfather was somehow a US citizen. My grandfather emigrated to the United States in 1945 to escape the Germans during WW2. When he came to the US, he was already a US citizen.
Here is what I'm wondering: since my grandfather was born on Italian soil in 1931, that would have to mean that he was an Italian citizen, as well as a US citizen. Would I qualify to acquire an Italian citizenship in this case?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I'd be happy to answer any more questions.
Question about qualifying for Italian Citizenship
Re: Question about qualifying for Italian Citizenship
It sounds like while your great-grandfather was working in the USA, he became a naturalized US citizen. If his son (your grand-father) was a minor at that time, the actions of the father affected the minor son and your grand-father was naturalized at the same time. This means he lost his Italian citizenship and it did not matter that he was still in Italy. So your grand-father did not have dual citizenship. He was an American citizen only and you are not qualified to acquire Italian citizenship.