Italian Dual Citizenship: Deciding Which Ancestors Not to Apply Through

Do you count yourself among the lucky few with multiple ancestors through which you can pursue Italian dual citizenship? If so, lucky you! Unlike most people pursuing Italian dual citizenship, you have the opportunity to select among your ancestors for the person that will provide the fastest and most efficient route to dual citizenship.
Because most people are pursuing dual citizenship through a grandparent or great-grandparent, there is often a long and sometimes convoluted paper trail to follow. In this article are tips to help you select the most qualified ancestor. To begin, and if at all possible, eliminate any ancestor whose paper trail includes one or more of the following:

• The "Americanization" of a first or last name. For example: Giovanni often becomes Joe or Pepe becomes Pipe. It was extremely common for Italians to Americanize their names, but the Italian government is very strict about being able to document these changes.
• Discrepancies in birth or death dates. If an ancestor has different dates for major life events, such as marriages, births or deaths, listed on various documents, you could potentially find this a huge hurdle to overcome.
• An ancestor with hard-to-find records. Particularly for Italian immigrant women in the early 20th century, it was very easy to exist "off the grid." In the dual citizenship process it is very difficult to "replace" a vital record with another form of certification. Avoid pursuing citizenship through an ancestor with known missing records.
• An ancestor that didn't become a naturalized citizen. Getting a certified record of non-existence from the U.S. government can take time. Often times, it can be easier to pursue citizenship through an ancestor with a naturalization paper trail (so long as your more recent ancestor was born after the naturalization occurred).

That being said, it is possible to obtain citizenship if one or all of these circumstances apply to your situation, but it will take a bit more time and fierce determination. If you have the opportunity to avoid these circumstances you will find your path to Italian dual citizenship a bit easier

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