Differences between Italian Citizenship and Italian Naturalization
Italian Citizenship, for Descendants of Italians who have the necessary requirements laid down by Law, is a right that must be granted by the Italian Government.
Italian Naturalization, on the other hand, is not a right but a request / concession made to the Italian Government, more precisely to the Italian Ministry of Justice in Rome. The lack of the correct documentation required, for example for political reasons or even if the applicant has a Criminal Record.
There is usually no problem in obtaining Italian Naturalization as it is sufficient to gather the correct documents and fulfill the minimum requirements required by Law. By Naturalizing Italian you acquire rights and duties as an Italian Citizen, but it is worth noting that
Every Brazilian citizen (male or female) who becomes Naturalized Italian will not lose his Brazilian citizenship except by demonstrating the expressed and unambiguous desire for renunciation and change of Nationality, as reported by the Naturalization Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Justice.
How The Italian Naturalization Process Works
Firstly, it depends on whether the process will be completed in Brazil or Italy.
In Italy, all Naturalization Processes must be referred to the Italian Ministry of Justice in Rome, and usually take more than 2 years to complete.
A fee of EUR 200.00 is charged for the entire process. During this period, if you so wish, your spouse who does not have Italian Citizenship may have a Family Visa to give you the right to live legally in Italy, to work and to study if you wish.
In Brazil, the Naturalization process should be forwarded to the Italian Consulate or Italian Embassy competent for your jurisdiction, the Italian Consulate or Italian Embassy closest to your residence. It usually takes between 3 and 5 years to complete and the fee charged for the process is R$ 168.00.
To obtain the updated Italian Naturalization Application Form, you must visit the website of the Italian Consulate in your jurisdiction.
The list of documents applying for Italian Naturalization involves the Marriage and Birth Certificate Translated into Italian, the Certificate of Italian Citizenship of the Spouse who owns it, among others.
The Italian Marriage Naturalization Process
Italian Laws do not recognize the so-called “Stable Unions”, so the bond of the couple must be Official, ie, proven in Civil Registration. From the moment of the Official Union in Brazil, that is, from Married in Brazilian Soil, the Application for the Italian Naturalization of its Spouse in Brazil can be made, but just as in the Italian Citizenship, the agility for the process to be initiated and for the Spouse to be Naturalized depends on the time of Marriage and whether or not they have Children. The process is started:
- In Brazil: after 3 years of Marriage and being legally resident in a Comune, this period may vary slightly and may even be halved if you have children.
- In Italy: after 2 years of Marriage and legal residence in a Comune, of course, this period may vary slightly and even be halved if you have children.
Brazilian Naturalized Italian Case
In the case of the Brazilian Naturalized Italian, if the Naturalization of the Italian Citizen occurred after 8/16/1992, acquiring another Citizenship he retains the Italian, if he does not choose to formally renounce it. On the other hand, for those who Naturalized before 16/08/1992 and who acquired another Citizenship, based on the previous Legislation, they lost the Italian Citizenship.
Interested parties may regain Italian Citizenship by transferring their residence to Italy and following the other conditions prescribed by the Law. Acquired Citizenship is recognized to Minor Children.
And in case the Italian parent has been Naturalized Brazilian, his son and his descendants will only be entitled to Italian Citizenship ONLY if he was born before the parent’s Naturalization; if the son was born after the Italian parent was naturalized Brazilian, Citizenship for him and his descendants will no longer be possible, and therefore, the son of this Italian and his descendants can no longer apply for citizenship by the father of this Italian Naturalized, because Italian law does not allow, either by Father, Mother, Uncles or other relatives.