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PROCEDURE DURATION
The law provides a maximum processing time of 24 months from the date of submission of the application, complete with all required documentation.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR THIS RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT?
FROM MARCH 28, 2025, foreign-born citizens who hold another citizenship (for example, Canadian citizenship) are eligible to apply for Italian citizenship BY DESCENT only if:
a) they are first- or second-degree descendants of Italian citizens who hold, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship. This must exist at the applicant’s date of birth, OR
b) a parent or adoptive parent has been resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the applicant’s date of birth or adoption.
In this case, a historical certificate of residence issued by the competent Italian municipality and a historical certificate of citizenship issued by the same municipality must be presented.
ATTENTION: It is not sufficient for the second-degree ascendant (grandfather/grandmother) to have, or had at the time of death, only Italian citizenship. In any case, it is necessary to verify that the line of transmission of Italian citizenship is intact for the first-degree ascendant (father, mother).
WHO CAN APPLY AT THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF ITALY IN TORONTO?
1) Descendants of Italian citizens, who were born in Canada and reside in this consular jurisdiction (to check the jurisdiction, click here);
2)Descendants of Italian citizens, who were born in a Country other than Canada, if they have a regular Canadian Permanent Residence Card in this consular jurisdiction (to check the jurisdiction, click here).
ERRORS AND DISCREPANCIES:
All documents listed must be carefully checked for errors and discrepancies regarding names, surnames, dates, and places of birth. Certificates/documents with errors/discrepancies must be corrected before requesting an apostille, and then translated, or corrected before requesting legalization and certified translation (if issued in countries not party to the Hague Apostille Convention).
PRELIMINARY NOTES:
Canadian birth, marriage, and death certificates (or foreign ones for those born elsewhere) must be in “Certified Copy of Registration” format. Please note that “wallet-size” certificates will NOT be accepted. Please note that Canadian or foreign certificates must be apostilled and translated into Italian (click here for more information).
DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED
- Application for recognition.
- Payment of the non-refundable consular fee 7bis. This fee will be paid at the counter when submitting the application for recognition according to the procedures set forth on the dedicated page.
- Copy of Canadian passport and proof of residency (copy of driver’s license or any other utility). These documents do not need to be apostilled or translated.
- Full extract of the applicant’s Canadian (or foreign) birth certificate, apostilled and translated.
- If required: Marriage, divorce, or naturalization certificate. See note no. 2
CASE OF FIRST-DEGREE ASCENDANT (father/mother exclusively Italian)
Add:
A. Copy of identity documents (including expired in the event of death) of first-degree ascendants (of both parents)
B. Documentation proving that the parent possessed, or possessed at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of the applicant’s birth. See note 1.
C. Full birth certificate of the exclusively Italian parent and photocopy of the spouse’s birth certificate. See note 2.
D. Marriage certificate, divorce certificate (if applicable), and death certificate (if applicable). See note 1. 2
CASE OF SECOND-DEGREE ASCENDANT (exclusively Italian grandparent)
Add:
E. Copy of identity documents (including expired ones in the event of death) of the second-degree ascendants (grandparent and grandmother).
F. Documentation proving that the second-degree ascendant (grandparent) possesses, or possessed at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of the applicant’s birth. See note 1.
G. Full extract of the birth certificate of the exclusively Italian second-degree ascendant and photocopy of the spouse’s birth certificate. See note 2.
H. Marriage certificate, divorce certificate (if applicable), and death certificate (if applicable) of the exclusively Italian second-degree ascendant. See note 2.
NOTES
Note 1: It is the applicant’s responsibility to conclusively demonstrate that one of the ascendants was exclusively an Italian citizen at the time of the applicant’s birth. THE CONSULATE CANNOT PROVIDE ADVICE PRIOR TO SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION. For example, it is possible to submit an apostilled and translated copy of the Permanent Resident Card, or a document demonstrating that the Italian parent has never acquired Canadian citizenship. These apostilled and translated documents can be requested from Citizenship and Immigration Canada through the Search of Citizenship Records or “Access to Information” procedure. When requesting information regarding married women, it is important to specify both surnames—maiden (before marriage) and married (after marriage)—in the request.
Note 2: If the ascendant was born in Italy, a recent birth certificate issued by the Italian municipality of birth must be submitted. Click here to download the application form for the Italian municipality. Be sure to request an “Extract of the Birth Certificate” and not a “Birth Certificate.” Photocopies of old passports or other certifications issued in Italy are optional, but it is recommended to present them at the counter to complete the information relating to your ancestor.
If both ascendants were born in Italy, it is mandatory to present the extract of the birth certificate for both and the documentation relating to Canadian citizenship in order to update the data with the municipality of origin. If the ascendant/applicant was born in Canada or another foreign country, the apostilled and translated birth certificate must be submitted. If the ascendant/applicant is married, the apostilled and translated marriage certificate and a photocopy of the spouse’s birth certificate must be submitted. If the applicant is divorced, the divorce decree, divorce certificate, and marriage certificate (to which the divorce refers), apostilled and translated, must be submitted. For more information, see the dedicated section.
Note 3: For example, certificates of non-renunciation, certificate of Italian citizenship, and a valid Italian passport may be submitted.
HOW TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION
The submission of the documentation takes place in person, exclusively by appointment on Prenot@mi. Please, see below for information on how to book an appointment.
HOW TO APPLY
The Citizenship Office receives ONLY by appointment through the ONLINE application Prenot@mi for the processing of citizenship reconstruction cases in favour of descendants of Italian citizens.
If more than one member of the same family wishes to submit the application, each adult member must make their own appointment and submit the application in person.
Please note that appointments are always FREE OF CHARGE and CANNOT be requested through THIRD PARTIES, but only PERSONALLY, BY THE INTERESTED PARTY.
Click here for useful information regarding the current 2025 Booking System on Prenot@mi.
As of 27 January 2025, appointments for applying for citizenship by descent can be booked on the Prenot@mi web portal.
The FIRST appointments are available on 5 and 6 February 2025.
Please note that the appointments available on Prenot@mi are individual.
It is recommended to book ONLY after having collected all the necessary documentation, indicated above. The appointment is in fact for the purpose of submitting the application for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent; consultancy services are NOT provided.
It is recommended to cancel an appointment from the Prenot@mi system if, due to an unforeseen event, the user is no longer able to attend.
Appointments are made available automatically by the system on a daily basis, around 6 p.m. local time in Toronto.
If no appointments are available, it is possible to register in Waiting List. The user enrolled in Waiting List receives the first available appointment from the system, following a chronological priority.
A user can remain in the Waiting List for a maximum of 90 days. After the 90 days have elapsed, if the Waiting List has not been able to assign an appointment, the user must try again to book an appointment or re-register on the Waiting List.
The Waiting List has a limited number of places. If the WL is also fully booked, the system does not give the user the option to sign up and the user can only reconnect later and try to book again.
The Prenot@mi system sends an email requesting confirmation of the assigned appointment (either directly or via Waiting List).
If the user does not confirm the booking by clicking on the link in the email, the appointment is automatically cancelled.
It is recommended to constantly monitor the email address provided when registering for Prenot@mi, including the SPAM (or Junk Mail) folder.
Similarly, if you do not confirm an appointment assigned via Waiting List, you will lose the priority you have gained and will leave the Waiting List. In this case, you will have to start the booking process again.
CONSULAR FEES
For the examination and processing of applications for the recognition of Italian citizenship in favour of a person over the age of 18, a fee of €600 is due.
This fee is paid BEFORE the formal examination of the application at the counter and, regardless of the positive or negative outcome, is NOT refundable.
Please note that the aforementioned fee must be paid at the counter in Canadian dollars only.
For the current amount in Canadian dollars, check art. 7bis here; you can pay by Canadian debit card (credit cards or other forms of digital payment are not accepted).
WARNING: The amount in Canadian dollars (equivalent to €600) may change quarterly due to exchange rate fluctuations, so it is necessary to check the consular fee (art. 7bis) for the current and updated amount.
In addition to the aforementioned fee, legalisations (Art. 69) may have to be paid, if legalisations are required.
FORMS
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- NEW APPLICATION FOR THE RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP available in PDF Format or .doc Format (Word Document)