The descent route is among the most popular ways to get Italian citizenship for aspiring immigrants. Millions of Americans can trace their bloodline in Italy, making them eligible for claiming citizenship by descent. But having ancestral connections in the country is not the only prerequisite for qualifying for Jure Sanguinis. Several other conditions apply as eligibility criteria, making it complex for applicants. Your ancestor should have been an Italian citizen before the unification of the country in 1861.
Secondly, they should not have given up their citizenship by naturalization in another country before giving birth to the next person in line. The gender of your ancestor matters even more because you may not qualify for the conventional Jure Sanguinis route through a female relative. You can visit Bersani Law Firm to get a better idea of the concept. Let us explain how the gender of your ancestor makes a difference in your eligibility for Italian citizenship.
Table of Contents
Claiming through the 1948 Rule
If you wish to claim citizenship through a female ancestor, the year when the woman gave birth decides the route ahead. According to the law, Italian women could not pass on the citizenship right to their offspring before 1948. It means you do not qualify for Jure Sanguinis if born to an Italian mother before this year. Likewise, having an ancestor who had a child before 1948 also puts you in the exceptional category. But the good thing is that the government realized the discriminatory stance and rectified it by introducing the 1948 Rule. Check the year when your female ascendant gave birth to decide whether to apply through Jure Sanguinis or the 1948 Rule.
Understanding the 1948 process
Once you assess your eligibility for Italian citizenship through the 1948 Rule, it becomes imperative to understand the process. Essentially, it is a court process that requires you to submit your application in the Italian court instead of your local consulate. The thought of going to court is daunting because the judicial process sounds long and complicated. But it is only a myth as you may actually close it faster than the Jure Sanguinis route. Everything boils down to understanding the steps and having an expert lawyer to represent you in court. In fact, you may even skip traveling to Italy for the hearings by empowering the lawyer to act on your behalf.
Establishing your ancestral line
The key aspect of the 1948 process is the documentation to establish your ancestral line. You need not stress a lot with this part because it is similar to the Jure Sanguinis requirements. You have to follow the same checklist of documents to validate your bloodline. These include the certificates of birth, death, and marriage of your female ancestor. The challenging part is that you have to get these documents from your ancestor’s local commune. It is better to have a local expert showing the way because they will have the right kind of connections to ease the document gathering process. Once you have these documents at hand, proving your ancestral connection in Italy will be a breeze.
Also read: Montenegro – Small Paradise of Europe
Knowing the expected timelines
Another thing that matters to an applicant claiming citizenship by descent through a female relative is the timeline. The appointment for the Jure Sanguinis process can stretch over a year because of the long queues of applications waiting at the consulate. But the good thing about the court process is that you can expect a verdict earlier. The timeline of the process can exy6end between 12 and 24 months, though it can close earlier with an expert handling your case. The good thing is that you need not travel to Italy for your hearings. You only need to provide a power of attorney to your lawyer so that they can manage things on your behalf. Moreover, they ensure complete documentation to close the case in the first hearing itself.
The gender of your ancestor is perhaps the most crucial factor that decides the fate of your citizenship application. It determines the road ahead, whether to move through the consulate or court. Things are pretty straightforward while claiming through a make ancestor, but they get complex when your relative is a woman. The date when she gave birth is the deciding factor. A citizenship expert is the best person to guide you through the process so that you take the right direction from the very beginning. The sooner you get a professional on board, the fewer the chances of making a mistake. The smoother your road is likely to be.