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Recognition of Italian citizenship by descent

PLEASE, NOTE

Italian Decree Law no. 36/2025, entered into force on March 29, 2025, has significantly changed general requirements to be eligible for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent. 

Decree Law no. n. 36/2025 (Italian only): Gazzetta Ufficiale

For further information:Council of Ministers approves amendments to the “ius sanguinis” citizenship law – Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale

D.L. 36/2025 will have to be converted into law. This conversion may entail a further update of the information provided below. It is recommended to periodically check the content of this page, especially immediately before booking an appointment with the Consulate to submit your application for the recognition of Italian citizenship, in order to confirm, to the best of your ability, that you meet the eligibility requirements and that you have all the documents required to apply.

PLEASE, NOTE

The submission of applications for citizenship by descent is possible ONLY through appointments BOOKED ONLINE through the portal Prenot@mi. Please note that appointments are always FREE OF CHARGE and CANNOT be requested through THIRD PARTIES, but only PERSONALLY, BY THE INTERESTED PARTY. Before booking, READ CAREFULLY the information provided on this web page. 

PLEASE, NOTE

Please DO NOT confuse the passport application (which can ONLY be made by Italian citizens or already recognised as Italian by the Consulate) with the application for recognition of citizenship by descent. If you are not – or have not been recognised as – an Italian citizen, you cannot apply for an Italian passport.

PLEASE, NOTE

Citizenship by descent is DIFFERENT from the reacquisition of citizenship. Reacquisition presupposes that the person concerned has been Italian and has lost Italian citizenship. Re-acquisition can be obtained following continuous residence in Italy, under certain circumstances. For information on the re-acquisition of citizenship, go to the dedicated section.

NEW REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE AS OF MARCH 29, 2025 

Applicants born abroad on any date (even before March 29, 2025, the date of entry into force of Legislative Decree no. 36 of March 28, 2025), if they already possess another nationality (for example, Canadian citizenship), can apply for recognition of Italian citizenship only if (the cases listed below are alternative, not cumulative):

a) one of the parents who is an Italian citizen (including adoptive parents) was born in Italy. Birth in Italy must be proven by the birth certificate. It is sufficient for only one of the parents to have been born in Italy, but only the parents who hold Italian nationality are considered. The birth in Italy of foreign parents is not relevant.

b) One parent (including adoptive parent) who is an Italian citizen has been resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years before the date of birth or adoption of the child. Residence must be proven by means of a historical certificate of residence(certificato storico di residenza) issued by the competent municipality. Also in this case, it is sufficient for only one of the parents to have been resident in Italy, but only the citizen parents are considered. Residence must have been for at least two consecutive years before the birth of the applicant. Residence in Italy of foreign parents is not relevant. In the case of a parent recognized as an Italian citizen by descent, the requirement of residence in Italy has matured even before the recognition because it is retroactive to the date of birth.

c) One of the Italian grandparents (including adoptive ones) was born in Italy. Considerations made in point a) with reference to Italian parents apply to grandparents as well.

Please remember that

  1. Those born BEFORE January 1, 1948can be recognized as Italian citizens EXCLUSIVELY BY PATERNAL LINE.
  2. Those born AFTER January 1, 1948can be recognized as Italian citizens BY MATERNAL OR PATERNAL LINE.
  3. The applicant may apply for recognition starting from parents or grandparents who are still Italian citizens. The applicant must therefore demonstrate that the parent and/or grandparent have not lost (or renounced) Italian citizenship.
  4. If the ascendants (grandparent, parent) have voluntarily acquired another citizenship before the birth or during the minority of the subsequent descendant born abroad, and in any case before 08/15/1992, they have automatically lost Italian citizenship and interrupted the line of descent (articles 7, 8, 12 L. 555/1912, “Circolare” of the Italian Ministry of the Interior no. 43347, 03/10/2024).

 

WHO CAN APPLY FOR RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT AT THE CONSULATE GENERAL IN TORONTO

a) Descendants of Italian citizens, who were born in Canada and reside in this consular jurisdiction (to check the jurisdiction, click here);

b) 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).

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO APPLY 

ALL documents TO BE SUBMITTED, as listed below, must be checked CAREFULLY to ensure that they are FREE of errors and discrepancies with regard to names, surnames, dates and places of birth.
Certificates/documents with errors/discrepancies will be returned to the applicant who must have them corrected and request a new apostille or legalisation (if issued in countries not adhering to The Hague Convention on the Apostille) and translation.

  1. Application for recognition. See the bottom of the page in “Forms”;
  2. Extract of the birth certificate of the Italian ancestor (parent or grandparent) who emigrated abroad issued by the Italian municipality of birth. Click here to download the form for requesting from the Italian municipality. Make sure to request an “Extract of the birth certificate” and not a “Birth Certificate”. Any photocopies of old passports or other certifications issued in Italy are optional, but it is recommended to attach them to the request to  complete the information relating to your ancestor.
  3. In the case of an Italian parent who must demonstrate continuous residence in Italy for at least two years (point b of the section “New Requirements for the Recognition of Italian Citizenship”), it will be necessary to present a historical certificate of residence (“Certificato storico di residenza”) issued by the competent Italian municipality.
  4. The Permanent Resident Card, or a document proving that the Italian ancestor (grandparent, parent) has never acquired Canadian citizenship. This document can be requested from Citizenship and Immigration Canada through the Search of Citizenship Records  procedure. These documents must be translated by an ATIO certified translator and apostilled. In the case of requesting information relating to married women, it is important to specify both surnames, the maiden name (before marriage) and the married name (after marriage).
  5. In the event that the ancestor (parent or grandparent) has naturalized as a Canadian citizen, it will be necessary to produce the original certificate of Canadian citizenship. This certificate MUST contain the following essential data: name, surname, date of birth and date (day, month and year) of the granting of Canadian citizenship. These documents must be translated by an ATIO certified translator and apostilled. If the naturalization certificate is not available, the interested party can request a copy of the documents relating to the citizenship of the parent or grandparent through a Search of Citizenship records. If the Italian ancestor lived or emigrated to a country OTHER than Canada before the birth of the direct descendant, or subsequently, during his/her minority, the naturalization certificate must be requested, legalized and translated by the authorities of that country.

PLEASE, NOTE

i) The wallet-sized Canadian citizenship certificate cannot be used, as it does not indicate the exact date of granting Canadian citizenship.

ii) In the event that both parents were born in Italy, it is mandatory to present for both parents the extract of the birth certificate and the documentation relating to Canadian citizenship in order to update the data at the Municipality of origin

6.  Vital records* (birth, marriage, death) concerning the parent or grandparent and all their descendants in the direct line;

7. Documents* concerning the applicant:
– Birth certificate

– If the applicant is married: marriage certificate and photocopy of the spouse’s birth certificate

– If the applicant is divorced: divorce decree, divorce certificate and marriage certificate (to which the divorce refers). For more information on the above documents, see the dedicated section.

– If the applicant has minor children who are entitled to citizenship (see the requirements in letters a), b) or c) of the section “New requirements for recognition of Italian citizenship” and the Civil Registry section), their birth certificates and photocopy of the other parent’s birth certificate.

– Copy of your Canadian passport and driver’s license or, if you do not have a driver’s license, a copy of any utility bill where your current address appears.

  • CHECKLIST of the documents : BEFORE booking an appointment, use the checklist to make sure you have all the necessary documents, in the right version. 

**PLEASE NOTE**

  • Canadian civil registry certificates mentioned in points 5 and 6 MUST be in “CERTIFIED COPY OF REGISTRATION”
  • Canadian citizenship card only (“wallet size”) and marriage certificates issued by religious authorities are NOT accepted.
  • In the event that the parents were born in Italy and emigrated as minors, the documentation referred to in points 4 and 5 must also be submitted for their parents.
  • Civil status certificates can be requested from the office of the Registrar General or Vital Statistics of the Province or Territory where the birth/marriage/death took place. To learn more about the certificates of Ontario, Manitoba or the Northwest Territories.
  • All Canadian civil status documents, including those issued outside the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories or in countries other than Canada, must be APOSTILLED and subsequently TRANSLATED into Italian by a certified translator. For documents issued in Canada, it will be necessary to contact an ATIO certified translator and follow the necessary procedure to request the Apostille from the Canadian Authorities. The translation carried out by an ATIO certified translator with signature deposited at the Consulate can be legalized at the counter, on the day of the appointment (for legalizations, consular fee indicated under art. 69 of the Consular Fee applies).
  • If the documents referred to in points 5 and 6 were drawn up outside of Canada, they must be apostilled or legalized and translated following the instructions on the website of the Italian Embassy or Consular Office competent for that territory.

 
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
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

For any questions that are not answered on this webpage, you can check the FAQ section.
If you cannot find any answer online, you may contact the citizenship office at the following email: toronto.cittadinanza@esteri.it.
The office will not respond to inquiries if the information has already been provided on this website.