Applying In Italy FTW

TO DO LIST:

✅ Research What The Process Of Applying In Italy Entails

✅ Decide Whether It Is Right For You

When daydreaming about applying for citizenship in Italy, does your fantasy go a little something like this: “I hear that you can apply in Italy! I guess I’ll tack a few extra days onto my next jaunt over to the Amalfi Coast or Florence and drop my application off at the nearest comune in between Aperol Spritzes… “? Well, as glorious as that situation sounds, that’s actually a common misconception about applying in Italy. In short: That’s not how it works, that’s not how any of this works.

Can you apply in Italy as an American? Certainly! Will it shave years off of your citizenship process? Most likely, yes. Is it quick and easy? Definitely not. Don’t get me wrong it’s awesome, we’re stoke to have the opportunity, and we’re grateful that we have the means and flexibility to pull it off - but it’s still a BIG COMMITMENT. Let’s talk about what it entails and why it’s hard for a lot of people to do.

I aspire to brevity even though I often fail to achieve it. For the sake of not failing here, I give you the bare bones, no-fluff break down of what is required to apply in Italy. First, you need to decide on a comune to apply at and obtain a rental contract in that comune (you cannot establish residency in a hotel or AirBnB). You need to declare your presence within 8 days of arriving in Italy. You then need to legally establish residency with your comunes Questura and Anagrafe. Once your comune has sent police officers to confirm that you are in fact living where you said you would, be your residency can be established and then you can finally submit your Jure Sanguinis citizenship application. This process often takes longer than the 90 day travel allowance for visitors in the Schengen area without a visa so the next step is to apply for an extended stay permit, called a Permesso di Soggiorno. When you have your PdS you can finally kick back and pop a bottle of Prosecco while awaiting your citizenship recognition.

I could dive further into each of the aforementioned steps in shockingly boring detail but instead of turning this into dry how-to content I would rather refer you to the guides in the Dual US-Italian Citizenship group on Facebook that I mentioned previously. They explain much more thoroughly and accurately than I ever could. I can only speak to what I have learned through my own experiences whereas they have the combined knowledge of thousands of members.

The Dual U.S. - Italian Citizenship group on Facebook is an incredible resource

I encourage you to check it out if you’re and American who is thinking of applying for Italian citizenship!

So what is it about applying in Italy that is so inhibitive? Why aren’t there floods of people lining up for the chance to eat italian food to their hearts content while waiting to get an Italian passport? If I had to guess I would say that the time commitment certainly tops the list of inhibitive variables. Unless you are planning on moving abroad indefinitely, as we (probably) are, commiting to months out of the country could prove difficult - if not impossible (It is important to note here that when you apply in Italy it’s implied that you intend to take up residency in perpetuity. If it comes to light that you are only there to pocket citizenship and bounce you could be at risk for application denial, or if it had already been accepted, you risk having it revoked.) The time between when you touch down on the tarmac to when you’re formally recognized can be anywhere from 3 months to years. Not many people have the luxury of ducking out of their day-to-day lives for that long. Additionally, while seeking recognition you are unable to work. This means that for the entirety of this process you will be unable to generate active income in Italy. As you can imagine this makes the process untenable for anyone without a hefty savings or solid passive income stream. (It is also worth noting that I have heard that Italy recently passed a law allowing remote workers to apply for an exception. That is second hand information so take it as such and do your own homework on it.). Anyone who owns a home in the states would also have the added burden of paying their mortgage while abroad in addition to their italian rent OR finding someone trustworthy to rent their home to. If that isn’t enough to deter you you also need to be aware that you are unable to travel while awaiting recognition. In certain situations you may be permitted to travel directly to your home country for short duration trips, but for the most part jet-setting will need to be back burnered until you have your shiny new Carta d’Identità or your Repubblica Italiano Passaporto in hand.

We are exceedingly fortunate to be able to do this despite the hurdles. While we were undeterred by the aforementioned laundry list of obstacles, we did not think that we were up to the Herculean task of wading through the bureaucracy of the process in a language neither of us is fluent in while also battling it out in the Italian rental market alone. After going back and forth about it for a while we ultimately opted to hire a service provider in Italy. Many people undertake this without hiring service providers, and I have so much respect for the time and effort required to do so. I personally was committed to doing everything myself as far as documentation went, but I knew that I felt too out of my depth to commit to navigating the red tape while in Italy. I am going to have my hands full transitioning two toddlers to another country, and I know that I do not have the time or resources to take on the house hunt, appointment making, and the legal process. Could I do it myself? Maybe. Could I do it while remaining mentally and emotionally intact? Magic 8 Ball says “outlook not so good”. For us, back up is vital if we want to be successful at the end of this.

Hiring a service provider provides us with the opportunity to focus on our kids and with helping them with their transition to Italy. It frees up mental space for us to immerse ourselves in the language and enjoy getting familiar with how things flow in our new community. We’ll be able to spend our free time exploring instead of doing homework and stressing over translations. I’ll gladly trade the extra paperwork for pasta dinners with my girls. The cost of the service provider in Italy was high, but so is the cost of US daycare. The savings of having the kids home with us in italy will exceed the cost of the service within a few months. We see it as kind of a budgetary wash. It is what works for us.

Hiring a service provider gives us the free time to enjoy our new home.

I’ll gladly trade the extra paperwork for pasta dinners with my girls

There are quite a few firms that specialize in providing a concierge style package for people applying for citizenship in Italy. They take care of everything from fast-tracking the application process as much as possible by working with comunes, to translating documents, vetting landlords, getting rental agreements, taking care of passport applications, and A.I.R.E registrations. We opted to use one that does all of the above. It was a pricey decision but one that is well worth the cost in our opinion. If you are considering taking a similar route I advise thoroughly vetting providers. You want to have a provider that you trust. Do your research and find someone reputable, well known, and with realistic deliverables. If someone is promising the moon on a shoestring budget be very wary.

As always, I’m happy to answer any questions that you may have. If you are in a similar situation please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Ciao!