Eligibility for Italian Citizenship

There are multiple ways to qualify for Italian Citizenship. Click on any of the following to learn more:

Parent: Your father or mother was born in Italy, was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth, and you never renounced Italian citizenship.

Grandparent: Your father or mother was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, his or her parent (your grandparent) was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your parent’s birth*, and neither you nor your parent ever renounced Italian citizenship.

Great-Grandparent: Your grandfather or grandmother was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, his or her parent (your great-grandparent) was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your grandparent’s birth*, and neither you, your parent, nor your grandparent ever renounced Italian citizenship.

Great-Great-Grandparent: Your great-grandfather or great-grandmother was born in the United States or a country other than Italy, his or her parent (your great-great-grandparent) was born in Italy and was an Italian citizen at the time of your grandparent’s birth*, and neither you, your parent, your grandparent, nor your great-grandparent ever renounced Italian citizenship.

Jure Sanguinis: You may already be an Italian citizen! According to Italian Law 91 of February 5, 1992, Italian citizenship is conferred by bloodline. In other words, the descendant of an Italian citizen is already an Italian citizen. The descendant need only have his/her Italian citizenship recognized by the Italian government. An individual seeking to have his/her Italian citizenship recognized need only to produce evidence that everyone in his/her direct line of ascendants uninterruptedly maintained their Italian citizenship.