From June 22, 2022, all proceedings regarding Italian dual citizenship must be submitted to the local court in Italy where the ancestors were born, rather than to the Court of Rome.
This change in legislation has raised doubts about how local courts will rule on issues that are new to them, whilst familiar to the Judges of the Court of Rome.
One such issue is the difficulty for people of Italian descent to book an appointment with an Italian Consulate through the Prenot@mi online system.
Prenot@mi online system: Court of Rome and Local Courts of Italy
Cases for Italian citizenship by descent can only be brought before a court if the Italian Consulate has rejected the case or does not make a decision within two years.
However, after a precedent set by MY LAWYER IN ITALY® in 2018 with a client unable to book an appointment at the Consulate of San Francisco through the Prenot@mi system, the Judges of the Court of Rome started accepting this kind of case.
With the shift of power to the judges of the local courts of Italy, will the approach remain the same or will judges start rejecting no appointment cases? The first decisions taken by district courts in Italy show a willingness to accept dual citizenship cases where American citizens failed to book an appointment through the Prenot@mi online system.
Read more articles on our website:
- Citizenship by Descent, new legislation effective June 2022: what you need to know
- Italian dual Citizenship and Last Name Issues