SECOND-DEGREE ASCENDANT (GRANDPARENT) WHO POSSESSES, OR POSSESSED AT THE TIME OF DEATH, EXCLUSIVELY ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP
To submit an application, applicants must provide the following:
- APPLICATION FORM (MOD B available soon) duly filled in but not signed. The form must be signed in person before a consular officer on the day of the appointment;
- ORIGINAL CERTIFICATES of birth, marriage/civil union, and death (if applicable) of the Italian grandparent of the applicant issued by the competent Italian Municipality (where the documents are registered. If they were not registered, as required by law, it is necessary to update the registrations with the competent Vital Records office before proceeding with the application. Only in the case of a deceased grandparent not registered with any Consulate or registered with this Consulate, we may process all the missing originals* together with the descendant’s application). Note: Make sure the birth certificate is a full version that includes the parents’ names;
- HISTORICAL RESIDENCY CERTIFICATE issued by the relevant Italian Municipality of last residence or AIRE registration of the Italian grandparent;
- DECLARATION OF NON-NATURALIZATION* issued by the authorities of every country where the grandparent resided (as indicated in the Historical Residency Certificate, or as known if the registration was not kept up to date). The declaration MUST explicitly include all variations and spellings of the names as they appear in the rest of the documentation and correct date of birth. For the United States, the USCIS letter of no-records HAS TO specify the File number (A-number). For living grandparents in the United States, the copy of their valid Greencard is an acceptable alternative proof, together with a copy of a recent US immigration stamp in the Italian passport (Greencard and passport pages copies do not need Apostille and translation).
- If the Italian grandparent acquired any foreign citizenship before the birth of the applicant, the applicant is not eligible for Italian citizenship recognition.
- Copy of the current ITALIAN PASSPORT of the Italian grandparent (if available latest passport for deceased grandparents).
- ORIGINAL FULL EXTRACT BIRTH CERTIFICATES* of the parent of the applicant, who is the direct descendant of the Italian grandfather or grandmother, and any original certificates of marriage*/civil union*with license* and death* (if applicable);
- ORIGINAL FULL EXTRACT BIRTH CERTIFICATE* of the applicant, and if applicable, original certificates of marriage*/civil union* with license* and/or divorce* with no appeals pending*(for information on how to submit divorce rulings, see HERE).
Note: Applicants who have changed their first or last name due to court order* must submit said document prepared like the other vital records certificates. - PROOF OF ADDRESS of the applicant: US driver’s license + its photocopy and another proof (such as utility bill, bank statement, etc) not older than 3 months from the date of the appointment;
- VALID PASSPORTof the applicant (original + photocopy of pages with photo and signature);
- If applicable (citizens who were not US citizens at birth) copy of the applicant’s Greencard or Naturalization certificate.
- CONSULAR FEE of €600.00, to be paid in US$ on the day of the appointment, by Postal Money Order written out to: “Italian Consulate General of Philadelphia, Philadelphia”. The amount is subject to variations depending on the exchange rate. The exact amount in dollars can be consulted at the following link, art. 7b: Consular Fee Table – Consolato Generale d’Italia a Filadelfia (esteri.it)
PLEASE NOTE: All certificates marked with an asterisk (*) must be original, with Apostille (or legalized by the competent Italian Embassy/Consulate for countries that did not sign the Aja Convention of 05.10.1961), and translated into Italian.
IMPORTANT:
- Each applicant must provide original documentation for their own citizenship application. Shared documents among family members or shared applications are not allowed.
- Certificates used for citizenship recognition do not expire.
- Original documents will not be returned, regardless of the outcome of the application.
- The 600 euro contribution is due regardless of the outcome of the processing. It is non-refundable in case of negative outcome.
- The application may have a negative outcome due to several reasons, such as interruption of the line of descent, lack of continuity of citizenship status, doubts on the ancestor’s identity, incomplete or incorrect documentation (lack of certificates or certificates without the necessary information for registration or discrepancies of name in documents for the same person. Name discrepancies must be resolved with amended certificates* and/or court rulings* prior to apply). It is the applicant’s sole responsibility to submit a complete and correct application.
- As per DPR 3/3/2011, No. 90, application processing may take up to two years.
APPOINTMENT REQUIRED: Applicants must appear in person at the Consulate by appointment only. To book an appointment, see the initial page