The Non-Naturalization Certificate in Italian Citizenship by Descent Applications

Among all the documents required to support an application for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent, the certificate of non-naturalization is the one that most directly determines whether the chain of citizenship transmission has been preserved or broken. Without this document — or without a clear picture of when and whether the Italian ancestor acquired foreign citizenship — neither the consulate nor the court can assess whether Italian citizenship was validly transmitted from one generation to the next.

This article explains what the non-naturalization certificate is, why it is legally decisive, how to obtain it, and how to handle the specific situations that most commonly create complexity — including ancestors who lived in multiple countries, cases where naturalisation did occur, and the specific issue of Brazilian citizenship applicants affected by the Grande Naturalizzazione of 1889. For a complete overview of all documents required for citizenship by descent applications, see our article on documents required for Italian citizenship by descent.

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Why the Non-Naturalization Certificate Is Legally Decisive

Italian citizenship by descent is transmitted from parent to child at birth, without generational limit, under Article 1 of Law No. 91 of 1992. However, the transmission is broken if the Italian ancestor voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship before the birth of their child. At that moment, the ancestor ceased to be an Italian citizen, and therefore had no Italian citizenship to transmit.

The non-naturalization certificate — known in Italian as the certificato di non naturalizzazione (CNN) — is the document that proves, for a specific ancestor, that they did not acquire the citizenship of the country to which they emigrated before the birth of the next person in the line of descent. It is the documentary proof that the chain of transmission remains unbroken at that generation.

Under Ministerial Circular K.28.1 of 1991, a certificate of non-naturalization is required for every person in the line of descent between the Italian ancestor and the applicant who emigrated to or resided in a foreign country. The absence of this certificate — or the discovery that naturalisation occurred before the relevant birth — is the single most common reason for citizenship applications to be rejected or for the chain to be found broken.

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What the Certificate Must Show

The non-naturalization certificate must establish one of two things:

• That the ancestor never acquired the citizenship of the foreign country — confirming that no naturalisation occurred at any point during their lifetime
• That naturalisation occurred after the birth of the child in the next generation — confirming that at the time the relevant child was born, the ancestor was still an Italian citizen and therefore capable of transmitting Italian citizenship

A certificate that shows naturalisation occurred, but without specifying the date, is not sufficient. The date of naturalisation must be clearly indicated and must be compared against the date of birth of the relevant child. Only then can it be determined whether the transmission was interrupted or preserved at that generation.

The certificate must include all names, surnames and aliases under which the ancestor may have been known — including any variations in spelling between Italian and foreign records, any name changes upon emigration, and any second names or middle names. Failure to include all relevant names is a common error that causes the competent authority to question whether the search was comprehensive.

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Who Issues the Certificate and How to Request It

The non-naturalization certificate is issued by the competent civil or immigration authority of the country to which the ancestor emigrated. The specific issuing authority varies by country:

• United States: the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues certificates of non-citizenship or records of naturalisation through its National Records Center
• Brazil: the Ministry of Justice (Ministério da Justiça) or, for older records, the National Archive (Arquivo Nacional) in Rio de Janeiro
• Argentina: the National Directorate of Migration (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones) or the Civil Registry (Registro Civil) depending on the nature of the certificate sought
• Other countries: typically the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of the Interior, or the national immigration or naturalisation authority

The Italian consulate in the country where the certificate is to be obtained can provide guidance on the specific authority to contact and the applicable legalisation and translation requirements.

Once obtained, the certificate must be:

• Apostilled (for countries party to the Hague Convention of 1961) or legalised through the ordinary procedure (for other countries)
• Translated into Italian by a certified sworn translator, with the translation itself also apostilled or legalised where required

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When the Ancestor Lived in Multiple Countries

Where the Italian ancestor resided in more than one country after emigrating from Italy, a certificate of non-naturalization must be obtained from each country of residence — not just the country where the ancestor ultimately died or where the descendants live. If the ancestor spent twenty years in the United States before moving to Argentina, certificates from both the United States and Argentina are required.

This requirement is strictly applied by both Italian consulates and Italian courts. The concern is that the ancestor may have acquired citizenship in one country and then relocated to another, meaning a certificate from only one country would not be conclusive as to the ancestor’s overall citizenship history.

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When Naturalisation Did Occur: What to Submit Instead

Where the ancestor did acquire foreign citizenship, the application does not automatically fail — the critical question is whether the naturalisation occurred before or after the birth of the relevant child.

Where naturalisation occurred after the birth of all children in the line of descent, the transmission of Italian citizenship to those children was not interrupted. In this case, instead of a certificate of non-naturalization, the applicant must submit a copy of the foreign naturalisation decree or certificate that clearly indicates:

• The date of naturalisation (or the date of the oath of allegiance, where that is the operative date)
• The full name and identifying details of the ancestor

This document, combined with the birth certificates of the children confirming they were born before the naturalisation date, demonstrates that the chain of citizenship transmission remained unbroken for those children.

Where naturalisation occurred before the birth of a child, that child — and all subsequent descendants through that line — cannot claim Italian citizenship by descent through the administrative route. In these cases, the application must be restructured or alternative lines of descent must be explored.

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The Brazilian Grande Naturalizzazione of 1889: A Special Case

One of the most significant and practically important special cases affecting Italian citizenship by descent applications from Brazil concerns the Grande Naturalizzazione — the Brazilian Decree of 28 June 1889, which automatically conferred Brazilian citizenship on all foreigners residing in Brazil who did not formally renounce it within six months of the decree coming into force.

For many years, Italian consulates and courts took the position that Italians residing in Brazil at the time of the decree who did not opt out within the six-month period were deemed to have acquired Brazilian citizenship, thereby potentially interrupting the transmission of Italian citizenship to children born after that date.

On 24 August 2022, the Court of Cassation sitting in Joint Sections (Sezioni Unite Civili) issued ruling No. 354, which definitively resolved this issue. The Court established that the Grande Naturalizzazione did not cause the loss of Italian citizenship, because — under the law applicable at the time — the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship required an active, positive expression of the individual’s will. An automatic grant of citizenship by operation of foreign law, without any positive act of acceptance by the individual, did not meet this standard.

The practical consequence is significant: Italian citizens of Brazilian origin whose line of descent passes through an ancestor who was present in Brazil in 1889 are not disqualified from claiming Italian citizenship by descent solely on the basis of the Grande Naturalizzazione. The ancestor is treated as having retained Italian citizenship through that period, and the transmission chain is not considered broken by the 1889 decree alone.

This ruling affects a very large number of potential applicants — estimates suggest millions of Brazilians may be eligible for Italian citizenship who were previously told their claim was interrupted. If your family tree includes Italian ancestors in Brazil around 1889, this ruling should be discussed with an Italian citizenship lawyer as part of your eligibility assessment.

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Special Situations: Family Group Applications and Shared Documentation

Several practical points arise when multiple members of the same family apply simultaneously or when documentation has already been filed in previous applications:

• Family group applications: where multiple family members apply for citizenship by descent through the same Italian ancestor, one member of the group must present the complete original documentation starting from the Italian ancestor. Other family members need provide only their personal documentation (birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, minor children’s birth certificates) together with a copy of the Italian certificates of the ancestral line already submitted by the first applicant
• Documentation already on file at the consulate: where the relevant documents have already been deposited at the consulate in connection with a prior application and remain in compliance with current requirements, they do not need to be submitted again — except for a copy of the Italian birth and marriage certificates of the ancestor. To use documentation already on file, authorisation from the person who originally deposited it must be obtained
• Prior recognition by a different consulate or in Italy: where a family member has already obtained citizenship recognition — whether through a different consulate or through the municipal route in Italy — the new applicant must still provide the complete documentation chain starting from the ancestor. Previous recognition by one authority does not waive the documentary requirements for a new application to a different authority

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a non-naturalization certificate for every generation in the line of descent?

Yes, for every person in the line who emigrated to or resided in a foreign country. The certificate must cover the period from the ancestor’s emigration to the birth of their child — or, if the ancestor later naturalised, it must establish the date of naturalisation. Where an ancestor lived their entire life in Italy and never emigrated, a certificate of non-naturalization from a foreign country is not required for that generation.

What if the issuing authority in the foreign country says no records exist?

Where the competent authority issues a negative response — confirming that no naturalisation records for the ancestor can be found — that response is itself the evidence of non-naturalization and should be submitted as part of the application file. It should be apostilled and translated in the same way as a positive certificate. If no response can be obtained at all, the matter must be assessed by an Italian citizenship lawyer to determine what alternative evidence may be available.

My ancestor’s name appears differently in Italian records and in the foreign country’s records. Will the certificate still be accepted?

Name discrepancies between Italian records and foreign records are extremely common in citizenship by descent cases — particularly for emigrants from the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose names were often anglicised, hispanicised or otherwise modified upon arrival. The certificate of non-naturalization should include all names and aliases under which the ancestor was known. Supporting documentation linking the variant name to the Italian original — such as a certificate issued by the foreign authority confirming the equivalence of the names — should be obtained and submitted alongside the certificate.

Does the 2022 Cassation ruling on the Grande Naturalizzazione apply automatically, or do I need to raise it in my application?

The ruling is binding on Italian courts and should be applied by Italian consulates in their administrative assessments. However, given the historical practice of treating the Grande Naturalizzazione as an interruption, it is advisable to explicitly address this issue in any application where the ancestor was in Brazil in 1889, citing the ruling and its implications. In judicial proceedings, the ruling is cited as binding precedent. Legal assistance is particularly valuable in these cases to ensure the issue is correctly framed.

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Request an Initial Legal Assessment

If you are tracing your eligibility for Italian citizenship by descent and need assistance with the non-naturalization certificate or any other aspect of the documentation, contact our Italian citizenship lawyer to request an initial legal assessment. We will review your family tree and advise on the documents required and the most appropriate approach under Italian law.