I'm a Chinese entrepreneur looking for second citizenship. Would I be able to get an Italian citizenship if I'm able to show that my maternal lineage is from Italy? My father is Chinese. What options would you advise me?
Italian citizenship can be acquired through a mother's lineage. The lineage up to the Italian ancestor would need to be verified and see if the conditions have been met. Indeed, the process could be different depending on whether the Italian female ancestor got married to a non-Italian spouse before the birth of the child, and/or if the child was born before or after Jan. 1, 1948. A preliminary analysis of dates and documents would be necessary to ascertain if and how to proceed.
Children born to an Italian mother before 1948 do not automatically become Italian because under the 1912 Italian citizenship law, only men could transfer their Italian lineage to children, while women could become citizens but could not pass on citizenship to their descendants. The Supreme Court established, however, that it is unconstitutional to discriminate between women and men even in citizenship matters. All descendants born anytime from an Italian parent, irrespective of the gender, are Italian citizens by birth right. The apex court’s decision is, however, not binding on the Italian consulates and if you fall in the “1948 cases” and you file an application for citizenship, the consulates will reject your application. The only option left then is to file a lawsuit before the Civil Court of Rome against the Italian Ministry of Interior. If your eligibility is confirmed and supported by all necessary documents, the chances of winning the suit are almost 100 percent.
Italian law is clear, no matter where your lineage comes from, your mother's or your father's side, you are entitled to apply for Italian citizenship. In general, applicants for Italian citizenship-by-descent become eligible by meeting requirements such as the Italian-born ancestor must have never lost their Italian citizenship through naturalization in a foreign country, or only got naturalized after the birth of their child who would be the next person in the direct Italian lineage; basically, the applicant is required to demonstrate their connection to their Italian-born ascendant and the circumstance that neither the applicant nor anyone in their direct family line in Italy, took citizenship of another country.
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