Residency v's citizenship....a right or an obligation???

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Member since 15 September 2010

glasgowgirlMember15 September 2010 13:17:47

Hi everyone, this is the first time I have joined or written anything like this, I have been driven to despair by Italian beaurocracy in the 3 years I have lived here and am looking for help! I am Scottish, I have 3 children all born in Scotland with a scottish dad, and my fourth child also born when we were living in Scotland, is the son of my current husband who is Italian. When we moved here to Italy 3 years ago we went to register at the comune and were told the 3 older children could all have residency here, but the youngest, as he had 1 Italian parent was obliged to immediately become an Italian citizen. We are aware he has a right to Italian citizenship but do not believe that he is obliged to take this instead of simply residency. We would both like him to remain simply as a resident until he is old enough to decide for himself which citizenship to take. The problem being, that as we understand, if he took Italian citizenship now, and continued to live in Italy as an adult, he would not be recognised as British by the UK government, ie there would be no way back...The woman at the comune refuses to ask advice from anyone or check her facts and has basically refused to do anything other than register him as a citizen for the last 3 years. We went to a lawyer who spoke to the comune to say this was not an obligation , and he should be allowed to register as resident..but they still refuse so the lawyer has now just shrugged and said well if that's the case, what can you do????? Does anyone know of similar circumstances where a UK national with one Italian parent has successfully registered simply as a resident? any help or information will be greatfully received....

axwneftos Member

Member since 10 September 2009

axwneftosMember22 September 2010 06:37:52

Hi there!
Well, considering the citizenship, if at least one of the child's parents is Italian, then the child is entitled to Italian Citizenship:
Principi fondamentali
I criteri ispiratori della normativa in materia di cittadinanza

La cittadinanza italiana, basata principalmente sullo "ius sanguinis" (diritto di sangue), per il quale il figlio nato da padre italiano o da madre italiana è italiano, è regolata attualmente dalla legge 5 febbraio 1992, n.91 e successive modifiche e integrazioni, e dai regolamenti di esecuzione.

I principi su cui si basa la cittadinanza italiana sono:
la trasmissibilità della cittadinanza per discendenza iure sanguinis

lacquisto iure soli (per nascita sul territorio) in alcuni casi

la possibilità della doppia cittadinanza

la manifestazione di volontà per acquisto e perdita

But you can find all the relevant information -in English as well- in the following link:
interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/temi/cittadinanza/Sottotema_007_English_version.html

However, as far as i know from collueagues of mine -father Greek mother Italian- their children have double citizenship. They were registered at the Greek State, as they were both born in Greece, but for the Italian they had to apply to the Italian State to get it.
For your third child, if it was born in the UK, this means that it should have automatically a UK citizenship. If born in Italy this automatic citizenship should be Italian. But since you are UK citizen you can ask for the double citizenship for the child.
But most important: the choice is of the children, there is no obligations. Even according to the constitution, the citizenship is a privilege entitled to a person meeting certain criteria, not an obligation.

Hope it helps!

lyralen New member

Member since 26 September 2010

lyralenNew member04 October 2010 09:17:40

Hello Glasgowgirl,

Good news: your child does NOT need to choose between citizenships. The British government does not care whether or not he is Italian, and having Italian citizenship will in no way affect his UK citizenship. Dual citizenship is allowed by Britain. See this page (click on 7 Dual nationality and dual citizenship in the contents) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_law

Since the UK and Italy both allow dual citizenship, there is no need (nor any real benefit) to choose between the two. My husband is a dual American/Italian citizen, as are my two children, and let me tell you their paperwork here in Italy is so much less of a headache than doing the whole Permesso di Soggiorno thing for me.

I've discussed Italian and dual citizenship at length on my blog (casteluzzo.blogspot.com), or if you have any further specific questions, I'd be happy to help.

Warm regards,

Sarah Familia

marcomarek Member

Member since 03 October 2010

marcomarekMember05 October 2010 07:40:18

hey,

citizenship it is a right and not an obligation. if the birth of your sun was not registered to the italian authorities (embassy or the comune) your sun is "just" british.

as the dual citizenship is allowed, i wouldnt not take advantage of this priviledge.
As my teacher of international law was saying, it is always better to ahve more then one citizenship.

i am also a dual citizen, and it is always useful to ahve 2 passports...

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