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You applied to the Italian consulate where you live for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis), but the wait seems endless. What can you do?
Some Italian consulates abroad have particularly long waiting lists, sometimes more than ten years.
In practice, this defeats the applicant's right to have their Italian citizenship recognised.
Some consulates in Brazil and Argentina are an example: it can take years just to get an appointment, and more than ten years for the application to be decided.
You may not know that in these cases you have the right to ask a court to recognise your Italian citizenship, by filing a claim (ricorso) with the ordinary civil Tribunal with the help of a lawyer.
This was established by a ruling of the Tribunal of Rome: “[..] such timeframes amount to a denial of recognition of the right claimed by the applicants, thus justifying their access to the courts” (Tribunale di Roma, Section I, 29/01/2019, no. 2055).
This route is therefore clearly faster, and it has another advantage: the applicant does not have to travel to Italy, because the whole procedure is handled by a lawyer registered with an Italian bar association, under a power of attorney (procura).
Need help? Find out how Avv. Giulia Lombardo can help with immigration and citizenship in Turin and online across Italy, or request a consultation.