Buon giorno, everyone,
Would be grateful if anyone is able to give me some advice. My grandmother moved over to the UK just after 1945. My father was born in the mid-50s in London and registered as a British citizen by birth, but my grandmother was still an Italian citizen at the time (I've got a passport from '63 stamped by the consulate) - she then naturalised as a British citizen in 1975 (married to a Pole who naturalised as a Brit himself, as it happens - all very confusing!) but I don't believe she ever renounced her Italian citizenship as part of the process. As such, I believe I'm eligible by jure sanguinis through my grandmother as it's my father's side and a) she was Italian when she was born and b) it was after 1948.
Now, my first question is - is my father technically an Italian citizen if not legally (he never registered himself at the Consulate)? And if he wanted to claim said citizenship, would he be able to simply turn up to the Consulate without an appointment and register (as per the Consulate website's guidance) himself, or would he have to take the long-form route?
Following on from that, assuming I'm indeed eligible, would I still have to go through the usual process to apply or would I be able to piggyback (so to speak) on my father's gaining citizenship? I guess I'm trying to work out if the citizenship has been passed on to myself and my brother and it's *simply* a case of getting it formalised, or do I have to go through the more long-form process?
I've gathered a whole load of documents (grandmother's birth certificate from Venezia, father's birth certificate, marriage certificates etc.) and am aiming to get the English copies notarised, but before I do, I kind of want to ascertain a) what kind of claim am I able to make and b) whether it's worth my time or not? It's something I've wanted to do for years for personal reasons (recognising my heritage etc.), but it's a of course an investment and I just want to get a bit of clarity from people with more knowledge on the subject!
Any pointers would be gratefully received.
Mille grazie!