# aquiring citizenship



## neddie (Jun 11, 2012)

...any assistance suggestion on the following would be appreciated.

My wife was born in Italy as were her parents. The family moved to the USA when she was aged 2 and when she was 8 yrs the whole family became US citizens which meant renouncing Italian citizenship. Am i correct in thinking that a) she can get her citizenship back and b) can she apply to get it back while on a visit to Italy?.....thus avoiding the very lengthy and drawn out process of dealing with a consulate in the US. Does anyone know of a lawyer in Rome who handles this sort of matter.


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

It would be helpful to know when all this occurred. When exactly did the family naturalize in the US?

I am not sure of the details, but I believe if it was after August 16, 1992, then she never lost Italian citizenship at all. If prior to that date, then see http://www.consnewyork.esteri.it/Co...Servizi/Per_i_cittadini/Cittadinanza/dual.htm


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## neddie (Jun 11, 2012)

accbgb said:


> It would be helpful to know when all this occurred. When exactly did the family naturalize in the US?
> 
> I am not sure of the details, but I believe if it was after August 16, 1992, then she never lost Italian citizenship at all. If prior to that date, then see Consolato Generale d'Italia a New York, dual


...thank you for the info. The family naturalized pre 1992.

...the link you provided cleared up a lot of questions and appears to be comprehensive....thanks. I have found out that the waiting time for an appointment at the Consulate in Miami (we fall under that one) is over a year !!!!!


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

neddie said:


> ...thank you for the info. The family naturalized pre 1992.
> 
> ...the link you provided cleared up a lot of questions and appears to be comprehensive....thanks. I have found out that the waiting time for an appointment at the Consulate in Miami (we fall under that one) is over a year !!!!!


So, since she was naturalized prior to August, 1992, she formally alerts her consulate of her desire to reacquire citizenship. Then, within one year of formal notification, she establishes residency anywhere in Italy and notifies the comune of her plan to reacquire. At that point, depending on the comune, the process can take as little as a few weeks up to several months to complete. It is generally felt that she does not need to remain in Italy the entire time, and establishing residency can be as simple as moving in with a relative. It all depends on the situation.

See this thread and others on the same board: Re: reacquire citizenship | Expats in Italy


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