Applications submitted before 11:59 PM (Italian time) on March 27, 2025, and applications submitted to the Consular Office on the date indicated in an appointment scheduled and communicated to the applicant by 11:59 PM (Italian time) on March 27, 2025, accompanied by the required documentation, are governed by the previous regulations.
Essential requirement: the Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad must have been born in Italy after March 17, 1861 (date of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy) or after the annexation of the place of birth to the Kingdom of Italy. The ancestor must not have naturalized as a foreign citizen before that date. Exceptionally, applications for citizenship by descent may also be accepted if the Italian ancestor was born before March 17, 1861, provided that they died after that date.
The transmission of citizenship through the maternal line is possible only if the descendants were born after 01/01/1948.
NB. An Italian woman married to a foreign citizen before 01/01/1948 automatically lost her Italian citizenship if the citizenship law of her husband’s country provided for the automatic acquisition of citizenship by marriage.
Example: an Italian woman married to a British citizen on 31/12/1947 automatically acquired British citizenship, thereby simultaneously losing her Italian citizenship.
If the qualifying ancestor or one of the ascendants voluntarily acquired another citizenship before the birth or during the minor age of the next descendant, and in any case before August 16, 1992, even in the absence of a formal renunciation, they automatically lost Italian citizenship and interrupted the line of descent (art. 8 L.555/1912 Circolare Ministero dell’Interno n. 43347 – 03/10/2024).
Procedure
The application for recognition of citizenship by descent must be submitted at the applicant’s place of residence. On the day of the appointment, the applicant must provide all original documents, duly legalized and translated into Italian.
The Office reserves the right to request additional evidence and supporting documentation after evaluating the case. The original documents submitted will not be returned and do not expire, regardless of any dates indicated by the issuing authorities.
Residents within this consular jurisdiction whose family members have already obtained recognition of citizenship at this Consulate General are invited to contact the Citizenship Office (consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it) one month prior to their appointment, specifying their personal details and those of the family member(s) already recognized as Italian. In such cases, applicants may submit photocopies of all originals already in our possession but must present the originals of all other documents required for the reconstruction.
Applications for citizenship jure sanguinis are subject to a fee of 600 EURO (at the exchange rate available in the Consular Fees schedule). Payment must be made in Rand by debit card on the day of the appointment. Please note that the payment is independent of the outcome of the application and is NON-refundable.
Documents to be submitted on the day of the appointment:
1 – Completed application form, to be signed on the day of the appointment in the presence of the consular officer;
2 – Valid passport of the applicant and a photocopy of the page with photo and signature;
3 – Proof of residence within this consular jurisdiction (e.g. utility bills).
4 – QUALIFYING ANCESTOR – GRANDPARENT or PARENT BORN IN ITALY:
Birth certificate: to be requested from the Italian municipality of birth, recently issued, in original form (“extract for summary of the birth record with full details” or “certified copy of the full birth record”).
If the qualifying ancestor was born before the establishment of the Civil Status Register at the municipality of birth, a Baptism Certificate must be submitted in original form, signed and stamped by the parish office and the diocesan curia, accompanied by a letter from the municipality certifying the year of establishment of its Civil Status Register and confirming the absence of the individual’s record.
Civil status records: marriage, any divorce or death of spouse, any second marriage, death.
Italian certificates must be requested from the competent municipality, recently issued, in original form.
South African Non-Naturalization Certificates, issued by Home Affairs, must be submitted in original form, legalized with an Apostille from DIRCO and translated into Italian. It is recommended to request certificates including all complete details of the qualifying ancestor (e.g. full name and surname, other names/surnames used, date and place of birth and death).
5 – FIRST DESCENDANT BORN ABROAD:
Civil status records: birth, marriage, any divorce or death of spouse, any second marriage, death.
Italian certificates must be requested from the competent municipality, recently issued, in original form.
South African certificates must be requested from the Department of Home Affairs, in original form, legalized with an Apostille from DIRCO and translated into Italian.
NB: All information shown on birth certificates (both of ascendants and the applicant) must be consistent with the parents’ marital status. This means that if the parents were not married at the time of birth, the birth certificate must include the signatures of both parents as “informants.” If the parents were married at the time of birth, only one “informant” is sufficient.
6 – APPLICANT
Full birth certificate: unabridged, in original form, duly legalized with an Apostille and translated into Italian.
Civil status records: marriage, any divorce or death of spouse, any second marriage, death.
Italian certificates must be requested from the competent municipality, recently issued, in original form.
South African certificates must be requested from the Department of Home Affairs, in original form, legalized with an Apostille from DIRCO and translated into Italian.
If the applicant has lived in Italy: historical certificate of residence issued by the competent municipality.
7 – CONSULAR FEE of 600 EURO (at the exchange rate available in the Consular Fees schedule).