Before this rule came into effect, Italian dual citizenship jure sanguinis could only be claimed through one’s male ancestors. The citizenship law enacted in 1912 only allowed women to hold citizenship, and not pass it to their children.
Since then, if you have one or more women in your blood lineage, you have the right to apply for Italian dual citizenship through them.
The first thing to do to find out if you have a 1948 case is check your direct blood lineage from your Italian ancestors.
The only date that matters is the birthday of the child.
If the woman in your lineage gave birth to her child after January 1, 1948, you could apply for your Italian dual citizenship at your closest Italian consulate.
- If the woman gave birth to the child before January 1, 1948, you must submit your Italian dual citizenship application to the Court in Italy.
A mock 1948 case
First, we must consider the direct blood lineage from our Italian ancestor, in this case “GGGF”: GGGF-GGF-GM-M (1947)
- Then, we localize the woman in the line, who is the “GM”: GGGF-GGF-GM-M (1947)
- Notwithstanding both GGF and GM were born in the U.S., the only thing that matters is the birthday of the child of the female ancestor. In this situation, the child “M” was born in 1947, i.e. before January 1st, 1948: GGGF-GGF-GM-M (1947)
If you have any doubts, want to send an inquiry, or need help figuring out if you have a 1948 case, MY LAWYER IN ITALY® will be happy to help you.