End of Summer Notes & Reminders

As summer draws to a close the days begin to shorten, a hint of cool air returns to the night, and we here at Your Italian Passport notice a common theme to our conversations with clients: new or renewed interest in Italian citizenship following summer travels in The Boot. We thus thought it a good time to devote a few words to confirming the benefits of Italian citizenship and dispelling some of the myths that exist regarding its drawbacks. 

If I am a citizen, can I stay in Italy longer than I can as simply a U.S. citizen?

Yes! Your U.S. passport permits you to travel to Italy for 90 consecutive days after which you must leave not only Italy but the Schengen Zone (all European Union (EU) member states except Ireland and Cyprus) for the next 90. On the 181st day, you may return to Italy for another 90 days, after which you must again leave Italy/Schengen for another 90. Stays exceeding 90 days within a 180-day period require advance issuance of a visa by your Italian consulate or embassy. 

As an Italian citizen, you may reside in any of the 27 countries that comprise the EU without limitation or visa. Students may enroll in universities throughout the EU which offer very affordable tuition or which, in some cases, have no fees at all. Furthermore, Italian citizens may compete in the EU job market without having to secure an employer-sponsored visa, thereby making the applicant a far more attractive candidate.   

Does Italian citizenship pass to my children and grandchildren?

Yes, but it is not automatic. Applicants with minor children will submit records specific to those children during their own citizenship appointments. Minor children do not need appointments in their names or to attend the parent’s appointment. Siblings and adult children who reside in the same consular jurisdiction as you do may rely on the same set of ancestral records that you submit to the consulate in support of your own application. Children who have their citizenship recognized as minors never need to request recognition of citizenship as adults; they will simply renew their passport every ten years. 

Is it easier to purchase property in Italy as an Italian citizen?

It depends on what you want to buy. U.S. citizens can purchase a property for cash in Italy without being an Italian citizen. In most cases, those wishing to finance a property (Italy historically has very low interest rates) must be a citizen to secure a mortgage with an Italian bank, or at a minimum must engage a European broker to facilitate the transaction, as most U.S. financial institutions will not extend a mortgage to an international property. Property taxes paid at the time of purchase will be lower for Italian citizens than for foreign nationals. Bear in mind, owning a property does not afford the right to reside in Italy longer than the U.S. passport otherwise allows, only citizenship ensures you may be in your new home whenever you wish.   

Can I/Must I participate in the Italian health care system?

Citizenship alone does not permit or obligate you to participate in the Italian healthcare system. If you elect to reside in Italy once you are a citizen, you may receive services through the Italian National Health Service which offers exceptional and affordable, if not free, primary, specialty, and emergency care. Visitors to and part-time residents of Italy can and should keep their U.S. health insurance, including Medicare. Such insurance will cover you in the event of an emergency while traveling, and will be necessary for receiving non-urgent care while in the U.S.

As an Italian citizen can I be required to serve in theItalian military?

Since 2005, the Italian military has been a strictly volunteer service.

Are there any tax obligations I should be aware of as anItalian citizen?

Taxation is not triggered by citizenship, but rather by residency in Italy. If you elect to live in Italy for more than half the calendar year, your global income may be subject to Italian taxation.  While there is a tax agreement between the United States and Italy whereby what you pay to one country will offset what you owe in the other, you should not expect your tax obligation to remain the same. You may avoid exposing your income to Italian taxation by simply not residing in Italy more than 182 days in a calendar year. If you elect to reside in Italy more than half the year, we strongly encourage you to consult with a tax professional about your options. 



As a client of Your Italian Passport, Debbi worked with the team to obtain her Italian citizenship. Here is a bit about her journey and her thoughts on being an Italian citizen.

Meet Debbi Licita Money!

When did you become a citizen?

I became an Italian citizen in 2020.

My initial goal in obtaining my citizenship was simply to honor and more formally recognize my Italian heritage, since both my parents were Italian – my dad born in Sicily and my mom born in New York, the child of two Italian immigrant parents. I was born and grew up in California, far away from the extended family, but “being Italian” was always an integral part of my parents’ identities and so was also by default part of mine. I didn’t particularly think about it or appreciate it as a child, it just was there in the background of my very American everyday life.  But, as an adult, I developed more interest and felt a much greater connection to myItalian identity. And so, I decided to formalize my connection by becoming anItalian citizen.

After doing a little initial reading about how one can obtain Italian citizenship, I thought it would be fairly straightforward since my father was born in Italy. I was definitely wrong about that! There are many rules and restrictions that limit who is eligible for citizenship by descent, and many precise steps to follow, so thank goodness I found Lauren and the Your Italian Passport team to lead me through the process. I was not able to use my father to prove my citizenship since he had become an American citizen before I was born. I had togo through my maternal grandfather, which necessitated securing many more hard-to-find official documents, many setbacks and a lot of time. In fact, it took me more than five years to realize my dream of being recognized as an Italian citizen. So, the day my Italian passport arrived in the mail was joyous indeed!

What doors has your citizenship opened up? And what are you doing since becoming a citizen that you could not do before?

Working on my citizenship made me much more curious about the history and culture of Italy and my husband and I started traveling there regularly, exploring the truly diverse and beautiful country. We fell in love. Though it wasn’t originally part of our dream, we now own a home in Abruzzo and live there half of each year. We hope to live there full-time eventually.

What advice, big or small, would you have for someone contemplating recognition of their own citizenship?  

Anyone who dreams of becoming an Italian citizen needs to thoroughly think through their motivation and true end goal because the process can be difficult and frustrating, take a long time and even be costly depending on the number and location of necessary records. For anyone wanting to live full-time in Italy, the benefits of being a citizen are concrete including being able to avoid the entire bureaucratic immigration process that one must otherwise go through every 2 years and being eligible for Italian health insurance like any Italian living in the country. But even for those who don’t have that goal, being an Italian citizen has intrinsic value. For me, being an Italian citizen has given me a much deeper connection to my heritage and a sense of belonging when I am in Italy. It was definitely worth it!

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