# Gaining Italian Citizenship



## alana (Jun 22, 2010)

I am a 29 year old Australian medical professional who is looking to gain Italian citizenship. My father was born and grew up in Italy, but unfortunately was naturalised to Australian citizenship before I was born. I am planning to move to Italy to work for a year in order to gain citizenship, however I only can do this for one year as I will be on the working holiday visa. I have heard they give special consideration to descendents of previous citizens, but do you think it is unreasonable to gain citizenship in this time frame? Does anyone have any tips for employment? I have some Italian language, but obviously need to work on this further before gaining useful employment. I would appreciate any advice, thanks!
Alana


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## Arturo.c (Aug 15, 2010)

It all depends on whether your father did marry your mother before 27th April 1983, and was naturalized as an Australian citizen only after his marriage. This because the Italian law on citizenship in force at the time stated that foreign women who married Italian citizens automatically acquired Italian citizenship.

If that did happen, your mother was an Italian citizen at the time of your birth, and therefore you have the right to claim Italian citizenship by ancestry.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

In the event your mother did not marry your father before April 27, 1983 (and before he naturalized as an Australian citizen) then, as the child (or grandchild) of someone who was born an Italian citizen, you can acquire Italian citizenship with as few as 3 years of legal continuous residence in Italy, down from the normal 10 for most people. (You can apply after 2 years.) Note that time in Italy spent studying, with a student visa, is not considered residence for these purposes.


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