# Citizenship



## fut1a (Jul 24, 2011)

My dad is Italian, with an Italian passport living in the UK.

I was just wondering should I apply for dual UK/Italian citizenship are there any benefits for doing so because I might move to Italy in the future? 

Will it be easier to do whilst he is still around?


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

If he's registered with the consulate you shouldn't have any problem. Contact the consulate.

Having an Italian passport will make everything from residence onward easier.


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

fut1a said:


> My dad is Italian, with an Italian passport living in the UK.
> 
> I was just wondering should I apply for dual UK/Italian citizenship are there any benefits for doing so because I might move to Italy in the future?
> 
> Will it be easier to do whilst he is still around?


For sure it will be easier while your father is living, as he can self-certify his status.

And, for sure, I would do it ASAP because having an EU passport could be an immense advantage once Brexit has been finalized.


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

I would have thought it would be possible to do this now *or* in the future. Although it may be easier now, there will be a cost and an ongoing cost. I would also check out if there are any tax implications/advantages not doing so until the decision is made to move or indeed after any move.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

There is no ongoing cost. There are a large number of Italians living abroad if the government tried collecting money from them 99.9% would ignore it -)

Tax advantages? At the moment no. In the past you had the same privileges when it came to the property tax even if you lived abroad. That was canceled I think by Monti. 

If the OP moves to Italy and then leaves he'll need to make a full break. If he tries to live part time in Italy they might not believe he is no longer resident. But that's thinking quite a few moves down the road.

Health care and residence in general is much easier to obtain. 

Really Brexit has nothing to do with this. The only obvious issue is there might be a longer line at the UK consulates. Supposedly the waiting list at some South American consulates is approaching four years. That's just for an appointment. I doubt the UK will ever get that bad but there might be a surge straining resources at the consulate.


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

The cost is not great, but if the OP wants a passport, it will cost every 10 years or so.... 
I was thinking there might be a difference moving to Italy as a citizen as to when you start paying tax, perhaps not?


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

GeordieBorn said:


> I would have thought it would be possible to do this now *or* in the future. Although it may be easier now, there will be a cost and an ongoing cost. I would also check out if there are any tax implications/advantages not doing so until the decision is made to move or indeed after any move.


On the other hand, not so many years ago (five? I don't recall) it would have been free to apply. The consulate fee is currently €300 which is exactly €300 more than I paid 11 years ago. Who knows what the fee might be five years from now?

Also, there has been a longstanding push in Italy to eliminate most forms of jure sanguinis citizenship or, at the very least, to limit it to a single generation. Who knows when that might finally make it past the legislature?

As to ongoing cost, the only such cost is to renew an Italian passport every ten years.


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## accbgb (Sep 23, 2009)

NickZ said:


> There is no ongoing cost. There are a large number of Italians living abroad if the government tried collecting money from them 99.9% would ignore it -)
> 
> Tax advantages? At the moment no. In the past you had the same privileges when it came to the property tax even if you lived abroad. That was canceled I think by Monti.
> 
> ...


I mentioned Brexit only in the sense that an Italian/EU passport might be useful to the original poster once Brexit is complete as it may be his only ticket to live outside the UK. And, again, just that much easier while his father is still living.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

The tax law doesn't care about citizenship.


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## GeordieBorn (Jul 15, 2016)

NickZ said:


> The tax law doesn't care about citizenship.


I', pretty sure that is not true, I'll try to dig out the issue in question.


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