Applying for Italian Citizenship
as a Family
Relatives on the same Italian line can share much of the work. Under the 2025 rules, though, each adult has to qualify in their own right.
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Short answer (as of November 2026)
Relatives on the same Italian line can share the ancestor's records and much of the cost, but since 2025 each adult must qualify on their own, generally through a parent or grandparent who held exclusively Italian citizenship. Brothers and sisters usually get the same answer; a parent may qualify where their adult children do not. Adults apply at the consulate for where they each live, or join one court case in Italy where the court route applies.
- Each adult must meet the 2025 rules in their own right
- Siblings share the same line, so they usually qualify, or not, together
- Ancestor records can be ordered together, with certified copies for each applicant who needs them
- Children under 18 have their own rules, with a May 31, 2029 deadline for some
- Court cases can include several relatives; the court fee is €600 per claimant
Who in your family can qualify
Since March 28, 2025, a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is generally recognized only if a parent or grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship (at the person's birth, or at the ancestor's death if earlier), or a parent lived in Italy for two years as a citizen before the person's birth. Cases started by March 27, 2025 follow the old rules. The test applies to each person separately, so relatives on the same line can get different answers.
Here is how it can play out in one family:
| Person | Their situation | Likely result under the 2025 rules |
|---|---|---|
| Giuseppe, born in Italy | Never became a U.S. citizen, so held only Italian citizenship | The Italian ancestor |
| Frank, his son, born in the U.S. in 1935 | Italian through his father and American by birth | Qualifies: a parent held only Italian citizenship |
| Maria, Frank's daughter, born in 1962 | Italian and American, like her father | Qualifies: a grandparent held only Italian citizenship |
| Maria's sons, born in 1990 and 1993 | Parent and grandparent both held two citizenships | Generally do not qualify for a new application, unless Maria lived in Italy for two years as a citizen before their births |
Dates matter too. The test looks at the ancestor's citizenship at each applicant's birth, so an ancestor who became a U.S. citizen between two births can qualify one relative and not the next. Our naturalization guide walks through examples.
What a family can share
| Shared by everyone on the line | Needed by each applicant |
|---|---|
| The Italian ancestor's birth record from the comune | Your own birth certificate |
| The ancestor's marriage and death records | Your marriage certificate, if you are married |
| Naturalization records or a Certificate of Non-Existence | Apostilles and translations for your own U.S. records |
| Records for the generations you have in common | Proof of address for your consulate |
Consulates differ on whether relatives can file together and how many certified copies each person needs, so check your consulate's rules before you order copies. Our documents checklist lists every record by route.
Brothers, sisters and cousins
- Siblings share the same line, so they usually get the same answer. If they live in different consular districts, each applies at their own consulate
- Cousins share the upper generations. Each branch adds the records for its own side of the family
- Adult children of an applicant do not qualify automatically. If you qualify only through a grandparent, your adult children generally will not, as in the example above
Children under 18
Minor children have separate rules that depend on their age and on when their parent was recognized. Children up to 3 years old can be declared within 3 years of birth, and children who were minors on May 24, 2025, with a parent recognized under the pre-2025 rules, have until May 31, 2029. See registering children by 2029.
Consulate or court, as a family
| Compared | Through a consulate | Through an Italian court |
|---|---|---|
| Who files | Each adult, at the consulate for where they live | Several relatives can join one case, wherever in the U.S. they live |
| Where | Your U.S. consulate (find yours) | The court for the place where your Italian ancestor was born |
| Government fee | €600 per adult applicant | €600 per claimant |
| When it applies | Most cases that meet the 2025 rules | Mainly 1948 cases and cases about unreasonable delays |
Compare the two in more detail in court vs consulate.
What it costs to add family members
Government fees are per person: €600 for each adult at a consulate, and €600 per claimant in a court case. With Citizenship Italia, adding an immediate family member to a case costs $200, and adding a first cousin to a 1948 court case costs $500 per person. See our pricing and the 1948 case cost breakdown.
Applying with relatives?
We'll check each person on the line against the 2025 rules.
Sources
- Law 91/1992 on Italian citizenship (Normattiva)
- Decree-Law 36/2025 as converted by Law 74/2025 (Normattiva)
- Italian Foreign Ministry: citizenship
- Embassy of Italy in Washington: the consular network in the U.S.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and consulate practice change; check the official sources or ask us before acting.
Family application questions
Map out your family's options
Tell us who is on the line and where they live. We will show you who qualifies and the simplest way to file together.
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