I have no idea how it is in Italy. I assume one of your parents is an Italian citizen? Or does this go back to your grandparents? Do you have the appropriate documents?
I went along with a friend to London who was trying to get British citizenship (her father was English.)
She had a lot of documentation but still was unable to accomplish much.

i was born in canada but my parents were from the US, so i got my US citizenship through them. i dont know if my experience applies to italy, but it was not all that easy. make sure you have all the documentation to prove you are who you say you are as well as for your parents (or parents and grandparents if you are going through your grandparents). this is not a complete list, but stuff like; birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, death certificates (if applicable), etc… basically any piece of paper that has been issued that has relevance or could have negative relevance.

it took us three attempts when i got mine because every time we went we had ‘stuff missing’ and every time we went we learned more stuff that we didn’t know we needed.

good luck!!!

Both my grandparents are from Italy. My mom was born in the U.S. And I was also born here.

We are all going over to Italy 09-30-08 for my brothers wedding. Visit www.nomadbackpackers… to follow as my husband and I then leave Italy to backpack various countries for a year or so.

My brother is also a U.S. citizen like me, but has sorted out how to do the overseas marriage certificate and all the other paperwork.

My mom has been throwing it around for a few years now, getting dual citizenship in Italy (because of her rents). However, I think she looked into it one time and was like, dang! That’s too much work…then she gave up.

However, I say don’t give up. Go for it! The worst thing that happens is you get all of the documents, certificates, etc. in line and bring it over to Italy, and then they deny you dual citizenship right? I mean, you might as well try!

Go to http://www.italiandu… and try to educate yourself in the process. Let us all know how it works out.

Heck, maybe your success will convince my mom into getting her Italian/U.S. dual citizenship after all.

You do not have to go all the way to Italy. You can just take care of things at home, at your nearest Italian consulate. In fact, it’ll probably be better and easier this way, unless you’re going to Italy anyways and will be there for the long term. (Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend wasting the good part of a two-week Italian vacation doing bureaucratic procedures in stuffy offices).

Be prepared to prove that you have Italian citizen parent(s) or grandparent(s). You may need yours and your parent(s)/grandparent(s) birth certificates to prove that you are the legitimate descendant of such-and-such Italian citizen.

Contact your nearest Italian consulate for more info on what you need to do. It can take up to several months to receive your Italian passport.

Thanks for the advice!

I got mine because both my Nonno and Nonna were Italian citizens when my mother was born. She got hers and since I was under 18, I auto got mine.
My brother had to go to the consulate and fill out multiple forms on multiple days, and my mother had a lot of work coming her way, 90% of which was caused by the death of my Nonno during the process.
It doesn’t really matter if your heritage is italian, if your grandparents are eligible or have it, get your parents to get it and just move down the line.