Italian citizenship by descent — serving the United States and CanadaYour Italian ancestor's documents are waiting to be found.
We locate original birth, marriage and death certificates from archives across Italy — then use them to claim your Italian dual citizenship. Administrative services provided from our office in the United States; where a case goes to court, it goes to attorneys admitted in Italy.
Complete the form and we will respond within 24 hours.~60,000
Pending applications filed before March 27, 2025 still processed under old, more favorable rules
5+ years
27 March 2025
Law 74/2025 — the rules changed on 27 March 2025. Whether the old law or the new one governs your case depends on where your file stood that day. Two minutes will tell you.
🇮🇹 🇺🇸 Italian Dual Citizenship
Keep your US or Canadian passport. Add an Italian one. Live, work and travel freely across the entire EU.
27
190+
Countries Visa-Free Travel
∞
Generations Can Inherit It
Specialist-Led Process
On-Ground Researchers in Italy
Full File Preparation and Filing
Court Petitions Filed in Italy
Serving USA & Canada
The Problem We Solve
The records are in Italy. The file has to be built the way the receiving office wants it.
Millions of Italian Americans and Italian Canadians have the legal right to Italian dual citizenship through their ancestors. But the process stops at the same point for nearly everyone: the original documents from Italy.
Italian vital records — birth, marriage and death certificates — are held in local Comuni and State Archives across Italy. Many have never been digitized. You cannot order them online. Someone needs to go there. We have researchers on the ground in every Italian region.
Without the birth certificate from a village in Calabria or Sicily, there is no application. And without a file assembled, translated and legalised exactly the way the consulate or the comune requires, the application does not move — however complete the family history behind it.
Genealogy & Archive Research
We search civil registries, church records and State Archives across all 20 Italian regions. Even records from the 1800s in villages that no longer exist.
Certified Document Retrieval
We obtain original certified copies of Italian birth, marriage and death certificates, arrange apostilles and provide certified translations into English.
Application, Filing and Follow-Up
We assemble the file in the order and format the receiving office requires, book and track the consular appointment or the comune submission, file the application, answer requests for further documents, and follow the case through to transcription, AIRE registration and the passport. Where a court petition is required, the case is referred to attorneys admitted in Italy.
HOW IT WORKS
From your family story to your Italian passport.
Step 01
Free Case Assessment
You tell us what you know — a name, a town, a decade. We review the line against the records that exist, establish what has to be found and where, and set out what the file will need. The assessment of the case under Italian law is made in Italy.
Step 02
Document Research & Retrieval
Step 03
Filing and Follow-Up
We assemble the file, book the consular appointment or arrange the submission to the comune, file the application and answer every request that follows, through to transcription, AIRE registration and the passport. For 1948 cases, and for petitions filed instead of waiting in the consular queue, the petition is filed by attorneys admitted in Italy.
All Case Types
Every type of Italian citizenship case.
Italian citizenship law is complex and changed significantly in 2025. Not every case is the same. We handle all types — from straightforward grandparent cases to complex 1948 court petitions.
Jure Sanguinis — Standard
A parent or a grandparent born in Italy. The direct route under the rules as they now stand.
1948 Court Cases
Citizenship through an Italian female ancestor born before 1948. Requires court petition in Italy. Fully unaffected by Law 74/2025.
Pending Applications
If your application was filed or appointment confirmed before March 27, 2025, you are processed under the old, more favorable rules.
Court Bypass — Queue
For valid claims blocked by 5+ year consulate wait times. Court petition in Italy bypasses the administrative queue.
Citizenship by Marriage
Married to an Italian citizen? You may qualify for Italian citizenship through jure matrimonii after two years of marriage.
Reacquisition
Former Italian citizens who lost citizenship before 1992 may reacquire it. Deadline: December 31, 2027.
ARCHIVE RESEARCH
We search where others cannot.
Italian vital records are not fully digitized. Most are stored in local town halls and church archives that require physical presence. Our researchers are there.
What We Retrieve
- Italian birth certificates (Atto di nascita) — certified copies with apostille
- Marriage certificates (Atto di matrimonio) from civil and church records
- Death certificates (Atto di morte) confirming citizenship status
- Naturalization records from NARA and US National Archives
- Ship manifests and Ellis Island arrival records
- Certified English translations and apostilles for all documents
Civil Records
Birth, marriage and death certificates from Italian Comuni (town halls). Records from 1866 to present
Church Records
Parish baptismal registers dating back to the 1500s. Often the only source for ancestors born before civil registration began.
State Archives
Archivio di Stato in every provincial capital. Contains historical records, military documents and census data.
US Archives
Ellis Island, NARA, naturalization records and ship manifests. We cross-reference US and Italian records to build your complete lineage.
WHY CHOOSE US
The only service that handles the documents and the procedure.
Most genealogy services find your Italian documents but stop there. Most services that handle the application send you elsewhere for the document research. We do both — under one roof, with one team.
Every case is prepared by our own team, and the line and the records are reviewed before anything is filed.
Specialists, Not a Form Service
Every case is prepared by people who work with these records daily, and the line and the records are reviewed before anything is filed. The assessment of the case under Italian law, and any court petition, is handled by attorneys admitted in Italy.
On-Ground Researchers Across Italy
Our certified genealogists physically access archives in Comuni, parish registries and State Archives across all 20 Italian regions.
One Fee, Agreed Before We Start
Document retrieval, certified translations, apostilles and the consular or comune filing are covered by the fee we agree in writing at the start. Third-party costs are listed separately.
Complex Cases Are Our Specialty
1948 cases, court petitions filed in Italy by attorneys admitted there, missing records, pre-March 2025 applications — we take the files that other services turn away.
Network Across Europe and America
All cases are handled by certified genealogists and specialists of E. Chatzidimitriou LLC, with attorneys admitted in Italy for court proceedings.
Eleftherios Hatzidimitriou
Eleftherios Hatzidimitriou — Director, E. Chatzidimitriou LLC
- Years of work on European citizenship-by-descent files, from the archives to the filing
- Italian court proceedings are handled by attorneys admitted in Italy
Every Italian citizenship case deserves people who read
the records — not a form service.
What we do, and who does the rest.
Administrative services, provided from our United States office
Genealogical and archival research in Italian and United States archives · retrieval of birth, marriage and death records from the comuni and the state archives · certified translations and apostilles · assembling the file in the form the receiving office requires · preparing and submitting the application to the Italian consulate or comune · booking and tracking appointments · following the file through to registration and the passport.
Legal and judicial services, performed in Italy
The assessment of the case under Italian citizenship law · the choice of route · any petition before the Italian courts, including 1948 cases and petitions against consular inaction · representation before the Italian courts. This work is carried out by our collaborating attorneys admitted in Italy. We work with attorneys throughout the country, so each case is handled by one who practises before the court with jurisdiction over it.
E. Chatzidimitriou LLC provides administrative services for Italian citizenship applications abroad. Cases that require legal support are referred to our collaborating attorneys admitted in Italy, who act before the court with jurisdiction over each case.
Free · No Obligation · 24-Hour Response
Italian Citizenship Form
Italian citizenship
Check your case
Your answers are reviewed in Italy, not scored by a form.
WHY CHOOSE US
Your Italian passport is waiting in an archive.
Complete the form and someone from our team will contact you within 24 hours. We review your family history, identify which citizenship pathway applies to your case, and tell you exactly what documents we need to find.
Head Office Address
10 Halletts Point Astoria, New York 11102 USA
Email Address
info@italiandualcitizenshiplaw.com
Phone
+1 (332) 277-5023
Italian citizenship
Check your case
Your answers are reviewed in Italy, not scored by a form.
