1. Who is entitled
People from the Province of Trento – Altoadige/Sudtirol
People emigrated from the Veneto region before 1866

2. Documents required for the Italian citizenship process:
3. Citizenship process directly in Italy:
4. Our services

5. Legalization of documents for citizenship

1. Who is entitled:

a) Italian descendants from the male line

All Italian descendants from the male line are entitled to the Italian citizenship, that is, all children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren of Italians, always following the male line.
For example:

- Great-great-great-grandfather born in Italy,
- Great-great-grandfather born in Brazil,
- Great-grandfather born in Brazil,
- Grandfather born in Brazil,
- Father born in Brazil,
- Applicant born in Brazil.


b) Italian descendants from the female line
From the female line, it is only possible to obtain Italian citizenship to children born after 1948, for example:

- Great-grandfather born in Italy;
- Grandfather born in Brazil;
- Mother born in Brazil;
- Applicant born in Brazil after 1948.


c) Citizenship through marriage
Wives of Italian citizens are entitled to citizenship as long as the marriage occurred before 1983.

Notes:

d) Children born from a non-matrimonial union ((between partners): there is no impediment against citizenship transference..
If the person who is transferring the citizenship (father or mother) is not registered as declarant on the Birth Certificate of the interested party, he/she must present a specific declaration at the Registry.


e) Case of divorced people.
Applicants to citizenship who are divorced must present the complete divorce process, from initial request of conversion of separation into divorce until process completion, with a stamp confirming date – day, month and year – in which judgment transited in rem judicatam. Every page of the process must have the employee’s or director’s initial. Such process must be followed by a photocopy and a translation into Italian (two copies) made by a translator. Applicants must also present a formal declaration predicted by the Italian law, "Dichiarazione sostitutiva dell`Atto di Notorietà" to inform there are no divorce processes in Italy.

f) Exceptions:

People from the Province of Trento – Altoadige/Sudtirol

People born and who already lived in the territory belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (for example, Trentino - Alto Adige/Sudtirol) are not automatically entitled to acknowledgement of Italian citizenship. These cases belong to the provision of law 379/2000 and are not executed by our firm.

People emigrated from the Veneto region before 1866

Descendants of people who immigrated to other countries before 1866 from territories that today belong to the Veneto region (Provinces of Belluno, Treviso, Verona, Vicenza, Padova, Venezia and Rovigo) are in the same situation described above

2. Documents required for the Italian citizenship process:

The following are the certificates required for the Italian citizenship process:

a) For children:
- Original identification card of foreigners from the Italian father and/or mother.
- Passport or birth certificate of Italian father and/or mother.
- Parents’ marriage certificate
- Applicant’s birth certificate
- Applicant’s marriage certificate, if applicable
- Father’s or mother’s death certificate, if applicable

b) For grandchildren:
- Original grandfather’s negative certificate of naturalization
- Italian grandfather’s and/or grandmother’s birth certificate - original
- Grandmother’s birth certificate, either Italian, Brazilian or any other nationality
- Grandfather’s and grandmother’s marriage certificate.
- Grandfather’s and grandmother’s death certificate
- Father’s and mother’s birth certificate
- Parents’ marriage certificate.
- Father’s or mother’s death certificate, if applicable
- Applicant’s birth certificate
- Applicant’s marriage certificate, if applicable

c) For great-grandchildren:
- Original great-grandfather’s negative certificate of naturalization
- Italian great-grandfather’s original birth certificate
- Italian great-grandmother’s original birth certificate (this certificate is not essential to the process, but it is better to have it)
- Great-grandfather and great-grandmother’s marriage certificate
- Great-grandfather’s and great-grandmother’s death certificate
- Grandfather’s and grandmother’s birth and marriage certificate
- Grandfather’s or grandmother’s death certificate, if applicable
- Father’s and mother’s birth certificate
- Parents’ marriage certificate
- Father’s or mother’s death certificate, if applicable
- Applicant’s birth certificate
- Applicant’s marriage certificate, if applicable

d) For great-great-grandchildren:
- Original Italian great-great-grandfather’s negative certificate of naturalization
- Italian great-great-grandfather’s original birth certificate
- COriginal Italian great-great-grandmother’s birth certificate (this certificate is not essential to the process, but it is better to have it)
- Italian great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother’s marriage certificate
- Great-great-grandfather’s and great-great-grandmother’s death certificate
- Great-great-grandfather’s birth certificate
- Great-grandmother’s birth certificate
- Great-grandfather and great-grandmother’s marriage certificate
- Great-grandfather’s and great-grandmother’s death certificate
- Grandfather’s and grandmother’s birth and marriage certificate
- Grandfather’s or grandmother’s death certificate, if applicable
- Father’s and mother’s birth certificate
- Parents’ marriage certificate
- Father’s or mother’s death certificate, if applicable
- Applicant’s birth certificate

e) Negative certificate of the Italian ancestor’s naturalization
ancestor’s name must be included with all variations shown in Brazilian certificates (for example: Giuseppe/José, Giovanni/João and also changes in the last name), issued by the Naturalization Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice;

If the ancestor is still alive, only the Identification Card for Foreigners (R.N.E), current model or re-registration protocol, is enough.

If the records show the ancestor has been naturalized, this will not impair the right to citizenship, as long as the naturalization occurred after children’s birth.

If the ascendant was born in Italy, Marriage Certificate issued by the Italian Comune (estratto dell`attodi matrimonio).

f) Errors in Italian first and last names in Brazilian certificates

If certificates have errors, imperfections or changed last names, applicants no longer need to contact Brazilian justice to rectify such records. However, if constant changes in the documentation raise doubts as to the person’s identity, that Agency can request supplementary documentation.

g) Change in last name after naturalization

According to the Italian law, the last name that shows changes relative to the ancestor who came from Italy is changed to be in agreement with the original last name. Similarly, only the paternal last name is used in record documents; therefore, the maternal last name is left out.

If the applicant does not wish to change his/her last name in Italy or wants to include the other last names, then he/she can request to the Italian Comune manifesting his/her desire not to have the last name changed in Italy.

For children underage, manifestation of request will be performed by parents or by those who have paternal rights.

3. Process of direct citizenship in Italy:

a) Permit to stay in Italy – Permesso di soggiorno
The Italian law, due to a new Edict n. 28/2002 from 23.12.2002, allows people who want to start the Italian citizenship process directly in Italy to have the right of staying in Italy, to which a stay permit will be granted, the so-called “permesso di soggiorno.”

This procedure requires living in Italy for at least 3 months. The complete process in Italy lasts from 2 to 3 months.

To do so, the person can enter Italy as a tourist (no visa required) and, during the first 8 days, go to “Questura” – police station in Italy – to request the Permesso di soggiorno (stay permit for tourists) and (legalized and translated) go to the “Comune” (which does not need to be the Comune of the Italian descendant), where the process of Italian citizenship can be started. From then on, the person has the right to stay in Italy until obtaining acknowledgement of Italian citizenship that, once obtained, will grant him/her all the rights and duties of Italian citizens.

b) Documents required for requesting visa/permesso di soggiorno:

1. Form completed in 4 copies issued by the Ministry of Interior, signed
2. 3x4 photograph
3. Information on personal data
4. Information on children underage who live together, for whom register in the father’s or mother’s “permesso di soggiorno” is predicted;
5. Information on the place the applicant intends to live;
6. Reason of stay: request for Italian citizenship

The following documents must be presented along with the request:

1. passport with entry visa;
2. confirmation of financial conditions to return to Brazil Copy of document will remain in the “Questura” and, if necessary, documentation may be requested to confirm
3. need of stay in Italy for the period requested due to acknowledgement of Italian citizenship “in attesa del riconoscimento della cittadinanza italiana”;
4. applicant’s financial condition to enable his/her stay in Italy and also for those dependent on him/her Once the “permesso di soggiorno” is obtained and all documents required for citizenship are translated and legalized, the applicant must go to the “Ufficio Anagrafe” of the Comune where he/she intends to live and request residence by registering at the Comune. After residence is granted, the applicant will start the process of citizenship acknowledgement.

An address must be informed to be given a stay permit.<0} {0><}0{>Such address will be confirmed by a visit of the town’s police officers.

To request change in “permesso di soggiorno,” the previous “permesso di soggiorno” must be presented, as well as the documentation presented in the first time and the Comune’s certificate in which the request for Italian citizenship acknowledgement was made.

This “permesso” allows stay in Italy and can be renewed until the end of the process of Italian citizenship acknowledgement.

Note: The law states that the “permesso di soggiorno” must be issued in 20 days, but there might be some delay, depending on the work load of each Questura.

4. Our services:

The citizenship process is conducted by the Mestieri-Seidl Law Firm, which has permission to work in the entire European Union. Services provided are:

- Search of certificates of Italian ancestors in Italy
- Analysis of the client’s documentation to check whether it will be possible to request citizenship
- Complete conduction of the “permesso di soggiorno” procedure, stay and citizenship:
- Search of household in Italy for staying and negotiation with landlord
- Personal follow-up of the client at Questura to request “permesso di soggiorno”
- Personal follow-up of client at Comune offices to request stay and citizenship
- Request of Italian passport after citizenship is granted
- Register of the applicant’s certificates at an Italian registry

Note: Except for processes in the towns of Milan, Verona, Belluno, Rome and Bologna. The process can be conducted in all other towns, in which the procedure is faster.

5. Legalization of documents for citizenship:

Steps:

01. Take original certificates to a Notarial Office of your state capital to notarize the signature of the Civil Register that issued the certificate. The Notarial Office is not a Registry, Civil Register or Notarial College.<0} {0><}0{>They are all very similar, but are not the same: A Notarial Office of the Capital should be used
02. Have all certificates translated by a sworn translator
03. Deliver certificates to a Consulate to be legalized

a) Translation of documents:

list of translators at www.italconsul.org.br

Notes:

People born in Brazilian territory can have double nationality, Brazilian and Italian, which means the Brazilian citizenship will not be lost in case the Italian citizenship is obtained

b) Italian Embassy and some Consulates in Brazil:

Italian Embassy: www.embitalia.org.br,
General Italian Consulate in São Paulo: www.italconsul.org.br,
General Italian Consulate in Curitiba: www.concuri.org.br,
General Italian Consulate in Porto Alegre: www.italconsulpoa.org.br,
General Italian Consulate in Rio de Janeiro: www.conrio.org.br,
Italian Consulate in Belo Horizonte: ver site da Embaixada,
Italian Consulate in Recife: ver site da Embaixada.