IF THE FOREIGN CITIZEN OF
ITALIAN ORIGIN IS ALREADY LIVING IN ITALY,
the application for recognition of Italian citizenship and the
documentation required must be presented at the Commune of
residence. In this case it should be borne in mind (but clearly
only in the case of emigrants born after 16 July 1920 and their
descendants), that in addition to the documentation listed
previously, a certificate from the competent Italian Consulate
must also be presented, certifying that neither the person
presenting the application for recognition nor his direct
ancestors have ever renounced Italian citizenship according to
article 7 of the law of 13 June 1912, n. 555.
As the foreign documents are
presented in Italy, they must also be authenticated by the
competent Italian Consulate.
However, it should be borne in
mind that for certificates issued in countries such as Italy,
which adhere to the Aja convention of 5 October 1961 (among
these: Argentina, United States of America, Switzerland),
authentication by the Italian Consulate is substituted by the
placing of an "APOSTILLE" by the foreign
authorities.
With circular no. 28 of 23
December 2002, the Ministry of the Interior established that, in
contrast with previous procedures, Communes are obliged to
include descendants of Italian citizens by birth, in possession
of a valid residence permit, of any kind and independently of
the duration of the permit in the register of residents
(i.e. to award them residency), subject to verification of the
requirement for fixed abode.
To give a concrete example:
- A foreign citizen of Italian origin wishes
to move to Italy, but has not yet been able to present or
complete the documentation required for the recognition of
Italian citizenship to the Italian Consulate.
- He may nevertheless come to Italy, bringing
with him all the documentation necessary for the recognition
of Italian citizenship, translated and authenticated.
- Within 8 days of his arrival in Italy
,
he must request a residence permit for the purposes of tourism
from the Aliens office at the Police Station (State Police
force).
- With this permit and with all the
documentation required for validation of citizenship, he
should contact the Registry Office of the Commune in which he
intends to live to request residency.
- Once the procedures for inclusion in the
register have been concluded positively, he may begin the
procedure for the recognition of Italian citizenship at the
Registry Office in his Commune of residence.
After having done this he will return to the
Aliens office, where he will request transformation of his
residence permit for the purposes of tourism into a residence
permit issued on the grounds that he is "awaiting
recognition of Italian citizenship". At
the moment this type of residence permit does not entitle the
holder to work. However, negotiations are currently underway
with the relevant Ministries in order to seek a solution to the
problem.
