# Applying for citizenship in Italy



## mako2 (Apr 6, 2012)

Hi everyone,

I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina and I will be moving to Italy in Set.

I already have all my documents (reviewed, translated and certified) to apply for my citizenship. My grandparents are Italians and my mom was born after 1948.

Do you think I will need a lawyer to help me with this? Has anybody done it by themselves? Do you think it will be too complicated to do it without the help of an immigration attorney?

I work online independently and I am not looking to be employed. I really do not urgently need the permesso di sogiorno.

Any advice and help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

mako2 said:


> I already have all my documents (reviewed, translated and certified) to apply for my citizenship. My grandparents are Italians and my mom was born after 1948.


That's nice, but legally it doesn't matter. A child born after 1947 is born an Italian citizen if he or she had an Italian mother or Italian father. A child born before 1948 was born an Italian citizen if he or she had an Italian father (only). If your mother was born before 1948, and her father was an Italian citizen, no problem.



> Do you think I will need a lawyer to help me with this? Has anybody done it by themselves? Do you think it will be too complicated to do it without the help of an immigration attorney?


If you're well prepared and patient, no, you do not need an attorney for what is an administrative procedure not a judicial one.



> I work online independently and I am not looking to be employed. I really do not urgently need the permesso di sogiorno.


Yes you do if you plan to reside in Italy, and if you are not yet a recognized Italian citizen. You will need to apply for a PdS "per attesa cittadinanza" fairly soon after you arrive but definitely within 90 days in that case. You will also need to get a "dichiarazione di presenza" within 8 days of arrival if you did not get your passport stamped by Italian passport control for whatever reason. (For example, if you fly to Paris then take a train to Italy, you do not get your passport stamped by the Italians.)


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## marenostrum (Feb 19, 2011)

Hi bbc,

Does the PDS requirement also apply to an EU citizen who is looking to live in Italy and apply for citizenship?

Also does an EU citizen need the dichiarazione di presenza?

If I am not mistaken EU citizens do not need a visa for three months, so if nationality is granted within three months then the pds should not be required. Am I right?


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