1156 Italian Passport

[QUOTE=Rachael]Hi..just wondered if anyone can advise on the following. My father is Italian and my mum English. I currently have a British passport and live in the UK but was wondering if it is possible for me to apply for an Italian passport based on my father's nationality, and if so, how I would possibly start going about this.

Thanks! :)[/QUOTE]

first thing i would do is write or phone the italian consulate in manchester.
sorry i do not have the address/phone number.

Rachael - I have the same status as you. Italian consulate in London is excellent. Checked me out on their computer and could tell me straightaway whether registered in Italy and able to hold a passport.

I can second sinalpha on this one - the Citizenship and Registry office at the Italian consulate in London is brilliant with information.

The short answer for you is this - if your father naturalised as a British citizen, and you were born BEFORE he naturalised, then you qualify for Italian citizenship. If you were born AFTER he naturalised, you do not qualify. If he has never naturalised, and remains an Italian citizen, then you are also automatically an Italian citizen.

Basic requirements to process an application are your birth certificate, and the marriage certificate of your parents. If your father is still living, then a copy of his passport should do. If he has passed away, then his death certificate, birth certificate plus a letter from the British authority confirming that he never took on British citizenship will most likely be required.

The process is straightforward but can be time consuming if you have to apply for certificates.

Good luck!

Just out of curiosity why would you want an Italian passport?

Susi

Thanks for asking, I was wondering too. We're planning to move to Italy so, with having an italian dad, would it be beneficial to get an italian passport?

no.
we are all eu citizens, so it doesn't make any difference!

Paoa

If I had the choice between two passports, as Paola says we are all EU citizens, I'd go for the one which was cheaper and less hastle to renew!

Does holding an Italian passport dispense with the need to apply for Permesso di Soggiorno etc?

[QUOTE=Poetica]Does holding an Italian passport dispense with the need to apply for Permesso di Soggiorno etc?[/QUOTE]

You still need to get a Codice Fiscale if you are living in Italy, but none of the rest it seems.

[QUOTE=Sano]You still need to get a Codice Fiscale if you are living in Italy, but none of the rest it seems.[/QUOTE]

So those of us lucky enough to hold an Italian passport need only apply for a CF and then don't need to bother with any other documentation should we want to move to Italy? Sounds too simple for Italy, is there no other beaurocracy and queuing involved; both the above can be done very easily here in UK - does anyone have first hand experience of this process? Presumably spouses ride 'piggyback'? If you understand my meaning.

I enquired previously about the need for a permesso di soggiorno and was given to understand that it is not required for Italian passport holders (which makes sense). All other legal requirements that exist in Italy for foreigners settling there (to open accounts, get utilities set up, etc) will still apply.

You would only need to apply for residency at the comune presumably...

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]You would only need to apply for residency at the comune presumably...[/QUOTE]

Given that we have 3 months to advise our comune, via the Embassy, whenever we move here in Ireland, I would assume the same rule applies in Italy. Citizenship is registered with the local comune/municipality in Italy, not centrally as with many English countries, and they need to be able to contact you whereever you are (sounds nice than saying they track your movements...).

Quite a new experience considering the South African authorities probably don't even know I have left the country six years on, yet the Italian authorities have to be kept informed.

The reason I asked is that my husband who is an Italian passport holder has not found any benefit in Italy, we are still registered with A.I.R.E so is our son who declined an Italian passport and therefore we get all the priveledges. we pay prima casa for ici etc.
What my husband does get though is hassle every time we travel anywhere. Even last week on our way to Italy we got stopped at passport control and taken to one side yet they didn't even glance at my passport just his and then they telephoned someone to check his passport!! they then had the nerve to ask him if he was claiming any benefits in England.Being the laid back Italian that he is he didn't bother but I was furious. I won't even begin to tell you about our last trip the the USA!!

Susi

[QUOTE=Susi]The reason I asked is that my husband who is an Italian passport holder has not found any benefit in Italy, we are still registered with A.I.R.E so is our son who declined an Italian passport and therefore we get all the priveledges. we pay prima casa for ici etc.
What my husband does get though is hassle every time we travel anywhere. Even last week on our way to Italy we got stopped at passport control and taken to one side yet they didn't even glance at my passport just his and then they telephoned someone to check his passport!! they then had the nerve to ask him if he was claiming any benefits in England.Being the laid back Italian that he is he didn't bother but I was furious. I won't even begin to tell you about our last trip the the USA!!

Susi[/QUOTE]

So far the only difficulty I have experienced using the Italian passport is the disbelief when the passport control person sees my name, which is very very English. The only other problem I had was entering the Netherlands and the guy on passport control there addressed me in Italian, which I do not speak. Got through that one ok.

I have not travelled to the US on this passport but have heard from Irish people travelling that they were given a hard time, I just think it is the paranoia overdrive issue that they have over there and is not targeted at any specific European nationality.

He didn't have a problem in the USA but at Heathrow before he could even join check in ! they took his passport off him and went away for 15 minutes before returning it.
The worst problem he has had was in Holland, I think they assume all Italians are imigrants.

Susi

I have a British passport but always get hassled at passport controls, I think because I have a distinctive Italian surname. US/UK/Europe generally doesn't matter; the immigrations guy taps away at his keyboard and mutters to a colleague before I am allowed through. My 'worst experience' was leaving UK from Bristol where I was actually taken away for a more detailed Q&A over my travel plans.

[QUOTE=Poetica]I have a British passport but always get hassled at passport controls, I think because I have a distinctive Italian surname. US/UK/Europe generally doesn't matter; the immigrations guy taps away at his keyboard and mutters to a colleague before I am allowed through. My 'worst experience' was leaving UK from Bristol where I was actually taken away for a more detailed Q&A over my travel plans.[/QUOTE]

I remember the rigmarole I used to go through at Heathrow with my South African passport. I still experience discomfort when travelling through Heathrow as a result.

The worst experiences I have had with passport control have been entering Ireland via Dublin Airport. I have never met such rude passport control officers in my life.

I have been castigated for having a red dust jacket on my passport (issued by the travel agency I used in South Africa), I was told off for having the audacity to pop my immigration card into my mouth (you know how you do this when your hands are full?) when I was trying to fish out my passport and hold on to bags in the queue at passport control - I was accused of trying to apply x,y,z biological agent to said card before handing it to the guy (talk about delusions of grandeur - this is not the US or UK - who would want to attack Ireland?).

Anyhow, my boss, who has a Dutch passport, has had similar experiences at Dublin Airport. We have concluded that the guys on control there are simply ignorant gits, and it has nothing to do with immigration policy in this country.