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Recognition of Italian citizenship by descent


INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS WHO HAVE ALREADY BOOKED AN APPOINTMENT

The Consulate General of Italy in Toronto is engaging in a vast effort to improve the “Italian citizenship applications by descent” procedure, with the aim of freeing slots and make a new calendar available as soon as possible.

Against this background, applicants for citizenship by descent who have already booked an appointment through Prenot@mi between September 2023 and March 2024 will receive an email from the Consulate, with a suggested date for a new (earlier) appointment. Applicants are strongly encouraged to accept the newly scheduled appointment.
Some applicants have already received such email, some others will receive it in the coming weeks. If you have booked an appointment via Prenot@mi for citizenship by descent services, kindly check your registered email on a regular basis.

Failing to respond to an email from the Consulate may result in an appointment cancellation.

If you have booked your appointment through Prenot@mi for citizenship by descent services but you are no longer interested, please cancel it directly from Prenot@mi.

This will help us free slots and provide a better service to our users.


RECOGNITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP FOR DESCENDANTS OF ITALIAN CITIZENS BORN IN CANADA OR OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRY

Note: This procedure is not intended for persons wishing to REACQUIRE THEIR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP. Currently, if you lost your Italian citizenship as a result of becoming a Canadian citizen by naturalization, and now you would like to reacquire it, you must reside in Italy. For further information, please refer to the dedicated page on our website.

HOW TO APPLY

The Citizenship Office receives exclusively by appointments booked through the online portal Prenot@mi.

Please note that if more than one member of the same family wishes to apply, each adult member should book their own appointment and submit the application individually.

We regret to inform that, due to the very large number of applicants, appointments are currently booked until the end of 2024.

However, new procedures to create additional ways of applying for citizenship by descent are currently being studied and will be implemented soon.

Therefore, users who have not yet managed to book an appointment through the portal Prenot@mi are invited to regularly check this page and the “News” section of the website, where we will post all news regarding this matter.

Kindly note that the minor child/infant born of a parent (one or both) currently in possession of Italian citizenship is an Italian citizen. Therefore, the parent must not submit an application for recognition of Italian citizenship in favor of the minor/infant but will only have to send the request for registration of vital records (birth) to this Consulate General, as indicated here.

FEES

Pursuant to law No. 89 of 06/23/2014, as of July 8, 2014, a fee of 300 Euros was introduced for the evaluation and processing of all applications for recognition of Italian citizenship. For the current amount in Canadian dollars, click here click here (refer to art. 7bis, link will open in a new tab).

Please note that the above amount can be paid exclusively in Canadian dollars with a Money Order/Bank Draft made to the “Consulate General of Italy in Toronto.” Starting July 20th, payments of consular fees can be done at the counters, for services provided “in person” also by Canadian debit card (credit card cannot be accepted).

PLEASE NOTE: The amount in Canadian dollars (equal to 300 Euros) may change quarterly based on currency exchange conversion rates. Please check the link above for the current and updated amount.
This fee is to be paid regardless of the outcome of the assessment and it is non-refundable.
In most cases, in addition to the above amount, legalizations of vital records certificates (Art. 7), and legalizations for translations (Art. 69) must be paid.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Descendants of Italian citizens born in Canada or other foreign country and residing in this consular jurisdiction (Ontario, Manitoba and NW Territories) may apply for recognition of Italian Citizenship at the Consulate General of Italy in Toronto.

Individuals born before January 1, 1948 can be recognized as Italian citizens exclusively through their father, if he was still an Italian citizen (i.e., he had not become yet a Canadian citizen by naturalization), at the time of their birth.

Individuals born after January 1, 1948 can be recognized as Italian citizens even through their mother, if she was still an Italian citizen (i.e. she had not become yet a Canadian citizen by naturalization), at the time of their birth.

Please read carefully and follow these instructions precisely:

IF THE DOCUMENTATION IS NOT COMPLETE, YOUR APPLICATION FOR RECOGNITION OF ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP CANNOT BE ACCEPTED AND WILL BE RETURNED TO YOU.


CAREFULLY READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THE CHECKLIST.

  1. Application form. See the bottom of the page under “FORMS”
  2. Extract of the birth certificate (“Estratto dell’atto di Nascita”) of the Italian ancestors who emigrated abroad, issued by the Italian municipality of birth. You may fill and send this template to request the certificate directly from the Italian municipality of birth.
    Please note: make sure you ask for an “Estratto dell’atto di nascita” and not a “Certificato di nascita”.
    Any photocopies of old passports or other certifications issued in Italy are optional, but if they are in your possession, please include them with your application.
  3. Permanent Resident Card, or other document showing that the Italian ancestor never acquired Canadian citizenship. Such document can be obtained from Citizenship and Immigration Canada through a “Search of Citizenship Records” and does not have to be translated into Italian.
    When requesting information for married women, you will need to request a record that includes both last names that is to say both the maiden name (before marriage) and the married name (after marriage).
  4. The original Canadian citizenship certificate will need to be submitted if the ancestor became a Canadian citizen. This certificate must show at least these essential information: first name, last name, date of birth, and date of acquisition of Canadian citizenship (date of the oath), and it does not need to be translated into Italian.
    Important: The Canadian citizenship card (wallet size) is not accepted, as it does not indicate the exact date of the acquisition of Canadian citizenship.
    If both parents were born in Italy, documentation of both parents’ Canadian citizenship must be submitted in order for the information to be updated with the municipality of origin.
    If the aforementioned certificate of naturalization is not available, the applicant may request a copy of the ancestor’s citizenship records maintained by Citizenship and Immigration Canada by means of the procedure set forth in the Access to Information.
    If the Italian ancestor, prior to the birth of the direct descendant, or later, while he/she was still a minor, lived or emigrated to a country other than Canada, the naturalization certificate must be requested, legalized and translated from the authorities of that country.
  5. Vital records certificates of the Italian ancestor and all direct descendants (birth, marriage, death).
    Documents for the applicant:
    – Birth Certificate.
    – If the applicant is married: marriage certificate and photocopy of spouse’s birth certificate.
    – If the applicant is divorced: divorce order and divorce certificate, as well as marriage certificate to which the divorce refers. For more information, please see the dedicated section.
    – If the applicant has minor children: their birth certificates and photocopy of the birth certificate of the other parent.
    – Copy of Canadian passport and driver’s license, or if not in possession of a driver’s license, a copy of any utility bill with the current address.

PLEASE NOTE: The following section applies to (4) and (5):

Canadian vital records certificates must be submitted in “CERTIFIED COPY OF REGISTRATION” format. “Wallet size” type certificates and marriage certificates issued by religious authorities are not accepted.
Vital records certificates can be obtained from the Registrar General or Vital Statistics office of the Province or Territory where the birth/marriage/death occurred.

To learn more about Ontario, Manitoba or Northwest Territories certificates, click on the relevant links: Ontario, Manitoba, Northwest Territories. (hyperlink?)

Vital records documents issued in other Provinces other than those listed above or in foreign countries, must be legalized, and then translated into Italian by an authorized translator.

In order to find out what are the requirements regarding translations in the other Canadian Provinces or foreign countries, it will be necessary to contact the Italian consular offices within those jurisdictions.

IMPORTANT: All vital records certificates (birth, marriage and death), as well as all other foreign language documents relating to Italian ancestors and descendants, must be legalized and translated.

This Consulate can legalize only specific documents, and particularly:

  • vital records certificates issued by the Canadian authorities in this consular jurisdiction (art.7);
  • divorce certificates legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada (art. 69);
  • official translations produced by one of the authorized translators of this Consulate General (art. 69).

Click here for the list of translators and the current list for the applicable legalization fees.

PLEASE NOTE: Certificates and documents must be thoroughly checked for errors or discrepancies in names, last names, dates and places of birth. In the event of significant discrepancies and errors in any of these fields, the certificates/documents will be returned to the applicant who must request the appropriate amendments and submit a new translation.

FORMS

For any clarification on matters not found on these pages, you can 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.