Getting Dual Italian Citizenship Through Great Grandparents, Grandparents, or Parents

Obtaining Italian citizenship (Jure Sanguinis) through ancestry — whether your Italian roots are near or far; is both straightforward and a time-consuming bureaucratic nightmare.

That said, in the grand scheme of things, it remains an inexpensive route to securing an EU passport, especially when compared to golden passport programs, which typically require a minimum investment of €150,000 – €250,000.

Depending on the route you take to obtain Italian citizenship, the specific requirements of your case, and, unfortunately, the “approach” the official processing your application decides to take, the paperwork required may vary. Which is where our team comes in.

In its simplest form, the process involves claiming citizenship through an Italian ancestor who was still an Italian citizen at the time of their child's birth.

This could be you or a direct ancestor.

The key requirement is that this ancestor either never renounced their Italian citizenship or, if they did, it happened after their child (you or your ancestor) turned 21.

You can determine which ancestor to apply through by identifying the last person in your lineage who was legally an Italian citizen at birth.

This will either be:

Someone born in Italy who never naturalized
Someone who was 21 or older when their parent naturalized
A woman who naturalized through marriage

Your application must be based on the closest direct ancestor to the person who was born in Italy.

If you are applying through a female ancestor and her child (your direct ancestor) was born before 1948, you have a 1948 Case. This means that, while you are still eligible for Italian citizenship, you cannot apply through a consulate or municipality — your case must be filed in Italian court.

Lastly, regardless of whether you are applying through parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, or even great-great-grandparents, the required paperwork remains largely the same.

However, the further back you go, the more documents you will need to provide, as you must prove an unbroken Italian lineage. This is established through naturalization records, birth certificates, marriage records, and death certificates.

To determine which documents you’ll need for Italian citizenship — book a call with us or check out the table below!

Keep in mind depending on your specific case documents required may vary.

Situation	Documents Required
Applying Through Parents	Parent’s Italian Birth Certificate Parent’s Marriage Certificate (if applicable) Applicant’s Own Birth Certificate (Long Form) Proof of Parent’s Non-Naturalization or Naturalization Date (if relevant) Apostilles & Certified Translations (for all non-Italian documents) Death Record (if applicable) for parent in the direct line
Applying Through Grandparents	Grandparent’s Italian Birth Certificate Grandparent’s Marriage Certificate (Italian or Foreign) Parent’s Birth & Marriage Certificates Applicant’s Own Birth Certificate Naturalization Records or Certificate of Non-Existence (if the grandparent emigrated) Apostilles & Certified Translations (for all non-Italian documents) Death Records (if applicable) for each ancestor in the direct line Both spouses' documentation will be required if it's a 1948 case.
Applying Through Great-Grandparents	Great-Grandparent’s Italian Birth Certificate Great-Grandparent’s Marriage Certificate Grandparent’s Birth & Marriage Certificates Parent’s Birth & Marriage Certificates Applicant’s Own Birth Certificate Naturalization Records (or Certificate of Non-Existence) for Great-Grandparent Apostilles & Certified Translations (for all non-Italian documents) Death Records (if applicable) for each ancestor in the direct line Both spouses' documentation will be required if it's a 1948 case.
Applying Through Great-Great-Grandparents (Non-1948 Case)	Great-Great-Grandparent’s Italian Birth & Marriage Certificates Great-Grandparent’s Birth & Marriage Certificates Grandparent’s Birth & Marriage Certificates Parent’s Birth & Marriage Certificates Applicant’s Own Birth Certificate Naturalization Records (or Certificate of Non-Existence), if applicable Apostilles & Certified Translations (for all non-Italian documents) Death Records (if applicable) for each ancestor in the direct line Both spouses' documentation will be required if it's a 1948 case.

Getting Dual Italian Citizenship through Great Great Grandparents, Great Grandparents, Grandparents, or Parents