My Experience Getting My Italian Citizenship

Many readers ask about my path to Italian citizenship, especially after I shared my plans to move to Italy.

However, I am not an expert on citizenship law. I applied all by myself, with no legal help. This is simply my personal story and the process I went through.

If you are researching how to get Italian citizenship, my experience might help you understand what the process can look like (even though it started over 12 years ago).

My Path Through My Grandparent

I qualified for Italian citizenship through my grandfather. In my case, I fell under a category where my paternal grandfather was born in Italy. My father was born in the United States, but still qualified through him.

When I applied, my grandfather still needed to be an Italian citizen (not naturalized in America) when my father was born.

However, there was a change in the rules recently (which they are trying to overturn), where this category applies when your grandfather was an Italian citizen at the time your father reached adulthood. The rules depend on the year your father turned either 21 or 18.

Again, this is why getting an Italian citizenship expert to help you is the way to go these days.

The exact details are explained by the LA Italian consulate’s citizenship office on its official website. If you want to read the category I used, you can see the requirements here: Los Angeles Italian Citizenship Official Webpage.

My Appointment Timeline

I first called to make the appointment for my Italian citizenship in 2014. I had to give the person a credit card number over the phone to charge me for the phone call (which was about $2.00).

When the person told me that my appointment would not be until 2020, I almost dropped the phone.

I waited six years for my appointment, and naturally, life changed quite a bit during that time. When I first scheduled it, I planned to visit the New York consulate since I was living in Manhattan.

Over the years, I ended up moving to Las Vegas. Because of that, I transferred my appointment to the Los Angeles consulate. Luckily, the new appointment was only scheduled one week after my original New York date.

Then the pandemic arrived. My appointment was delayed another year because of Covid.

In the end, I waited 7 years from the time I made the first appointment to my actual appointment to hand in my paperwork, in LA.

Documents I Had to Gather

Collecting documents was the longest part of the process, so it was a good thing that I had 7 years! Every record in your family line matters.

I needed birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and naturalization records. Every document had to match perfectly across generations.

One thing that surprised me was the level of detail required. Even my parents’ divorce records were required. Seeing those documents was uncomfortable, but they were mandatory.

Then came the translations. I had about 300 pages translated into Italian. That step alone took time and added about $2000 to the overall costs.

In the end, it cost me about $4000 to apply for my citizenship. Most of the cost came from the Italian translations of the divorce documents. The additional costs were to pay for the application, the apostilles, and obtaining the birth, death, and naturalization records (which can all be done online).

Each consulate has a checklist based on your category. If you fall under the same category I did, you can view the current checklist for LA here: LA Consulate Italian Citizenship through Grandparents checklist.

My Actual Appointment For Citizenship

The appointment to hand in my paperwork at the LA consulate (after waiting 7 years) was extremely anticlimactic.

They called my name, I went up to a window, they collected my passport, took my fingerprints, and sent me on my way.

I treated myself to lunch at Eately (which was across the street from the original LA consulate; it has since moved).

All that waiting, and no fanfare. However, about 30 days after my appointment, I received notice that my passport was ready and to come pick it up.

That was another anticlimactic day, but at least I got my citizenship!

Current Status at the LA Consulate

If you are planning to apply through the LA Italian consulate citizenship office, check their website first.

At the moment, citizenship appointments for descent are suspended until further notice. Policies and availability change regularly.

Because of that, the best first step is to check the official consulate website and attempt to secure an appointment when slots reopen.

My Honest Advice: Before you Apply

If you want to learn how to get Italian citizenship, start by researching your family line carefully. Confirm that you actually qualify before collecting documents.

I also recommend speaking with an immigration attorney who specializes in Italian citizenship. The rules change often, and the paperwork can be complex.

Then, try to make an appointment through the official consulate website that serves your state. Every consulate operates a little differently.

Lastly, learn Italian, more than just the basics. I was not given a language test when I applied, and I wish they had.

Not being 100% fluent has been very challenging answer the door and phone calls, and so far, no one speaks English (and I am living in Rome). Duolingo, Pimsleur, and in-person lessons over the last 3 years were not enough (at least for me).

If you are starting the journey, begin with the official links above. From there, you can decide whether to pursue the process on your own or with professional help.

Read through my “Things I Wish People Told me Before I Applied” post to get an idea of what things are entailed with living in Italy as a foreigner.

Or, if you would rather apply for a one-year visa, check out how to get a Digital Nomad Visa for Italy instead.

I moved to Rome in February of 2026, and I plan to write more about my experience with obtaining residency. In time, piano piano as they say!

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