News update: On June 22, 2022, new legislation regarding Citizenship by Descent became effective (art. 36 law 206/2021). As of that date proceedings for the establishment of Italian citizenship must be submitted to the District Court in the ancestor’s native town.

Claiming Your Citizenship Before The Italian Courts

While you can apply for dual citizenship at any Italian consulate in the world, or at the city hall of an Italian city where you are a resident, there are also several options for applying directly to the Italian Courts. 

In some instances you can only obtain Italian citizenship if you bring your case before the Italian Courts (for example, in cases involving the 1948 rule or when a consulate rejects your application). There are, however, other circumstances in which you can decide yourself to bring a case before the Italian Courts (for example, when a consulate delays processing your citizenship application for over two years).

Italian Courts are competent jurisdiction in Italy to deal with bloodline (jure sanguinis) Italian citizenship cases. MY LAWYER IN ITALY® can act as your Italian citizenship lawyer and attend meetings and court hearings on your behalf to claim your Italian citizenship through the Court.

Italian Citizenship Recognition through the Italian Courts

Due to a judicial precedent established in 2009, those claiming Italian citizenship in the Italian Courts have had a high success rate. 

Going this route does not mean you have to be residing in Italy during the proceedings to receive Italian citizenship by judicial decision. Let our team help you obtain citizenship by representing you as your Italian citizenship attorney in court. 

There are various scenarios where claiming citizenship through the court may prove successful. If your Italian citizenship court case resembles any of the following examples, you may wish to bring your case before the Italian Courts:

1. When an Italian consulate rejects your citizenship application. This case is standard condition governed by statutory law.
2. When the consulate takes more than two years to process your application (from the day you filed your paperwork). This case is also a standard condition governed by statutory law.
3. When you are unable to schedule an appointment with the consulate. This may happen if the online booking system (Prenot@Mi) shows no available date or time (see the precedent about the Italian Consulate of San Francisco.). This condition is set by Judicial Precedents.
4. When a consulate gives you a meeting date for the submission of your Italian citizenship application that is more than two years away. This condition is set by Judicial precedents.
5. When your bloodline citizenship is derived from a female ancestor passing her Italian citizenship to a child born before January 1, 1948 (the so-called “1948 case” or more accurately the “1948 rule”). This condition is set by Judicial Precedents. Read more about the 1948 Rule here.
6. When the female ancestor through whom you are claiming citizenship has lost her citizenship because of marriage to a foreigner (in the US this happened before the Cable Act of September 1922). This condition is set by Judicial Precedents. 

If you are unsure about whether your case meets the conditions for obtaining citizenship in court, call us and an Italian citizenship lawyer will give you free advice about making your case before the Italian Courts.