Hello another newbie

[Moon]

Good morning everyone. I just joined this forum and the information on here looks really helpful for my needs. I have a couple of kids that are traveling to Italy this year so I have to check everything out. I am from Australia so I hope you dont mind me invading your forum. My son is planning on working through Italy for 6 months and my daughter just visting between Italy and Germany.

I was also wondering if anyone can help me out. My grandparents were Italian and I need to obtain my grandfathers birth certificate from Comune Di Vicenza so my kids can get an Italian passport. I am having trouble trying to get information from them as they dont list the prices or what I need to provide for proof of identity and I am still waiting for a reply from my email.

I was hoping someone would have a suggestion for me.

[Lisa C.]

Originally Posted by Moon

Good morning everyone. I just joined this forum and the information on here looks really helpful for my needs. I have a couple of kids that are traveling to Italy this year so I have to check everything out. I am from Australia so I hope you dont mind me invading your forum. My son is planning on working through Italy for 6 months and my daughter just visting between Italy and Germany.

I was also wondering if anyone can help me out. My grandparents were Italian and I need to obtain my grandfathers birth certificate from Comune Di Vicenza so my kids can get an Italian passport. I am having trouble trying to get information from them as they dont list the prices or what I need to provide for proof of identity and I am still waiting for a reply from my email.

I was hoping someone would have a suggestion for me.

Hi Moon,

We got birth certificates, marriage certificates etc. for my husband's grandfather from the commune simply by writing to the commune and also speaking with the anagrafe. There was no fee for this and we did not provide any documentation. You need birth and marriage certificates of all involved to prove the lineage. If you are trying to get dual citizenship, which I have been working on for several years, this is not as simple as it may sound. If your grandfather became a citizen of Australia before your parent was born, you will not be able to become a citizen. I would recommend that you check with your Italian Consulate in Australia, who will review your family history and tell you if you have a chance of obtaining citizenship. Our Consulate also lists all requirements to citizenship on its site so you can see if you might qualify.

Good luck - we are finally on our way to getting ours after quite a bit of effort.

[Gala Placidia]

Hi Moon and welcome to the Forum from a fellow Aussie. In order to get your grandfather's birth certificate, you have to write to them giving all the details such as full names, date of birth, names of his parents and, if you have them the register and book number. Normally, the Comune does not charge for those certificates. Write to them. Best luck!

[Moon]

Thanks everyone, I will write away and see if it makes a difference. And thanks for the hint about citizenship we will need to ask. While in the consulates office I did tell him the reason was because my son wanted to work in Italy and asked him about applying for a work visa if we cant get grandpa's birth certificate.

I do have their marriage certificate i was lucky they married in Australia and while doing the family tree research I ordered it. Unfortunately after finding my marriage certificate to my first husband it is a little tattered and looks like I may need to replace it... of all the certificates its one I dont like.

[Moon]

Just heard back from the Comune Di Vicenza and this is what they said, it did come in Italian, so lucky we have online translators.

Dear sir, to issue the certificate of birth is his grandfather, it is necessary: surname, name, date of birth of his ancestor and postal address where send as required, if it appears born in the town of Vicenza. In addition to his request must attach the photocopy of its document of identity. Not need another, we will send the information requested. Pending sincerely, IMP.

[Gala Placidia]

Moon, by "document of identity" what they mean is proof that he kept his Italian nationality and did not become an Australian citizen through naturalisation. It was not possible to have dual nationality until 2002, when this was approved. As Australia does not have ID cards, you can prove your grandfather's nationality through either his passport or his death certificate, if he is no longer alive. His marriage certificate must state that he was Italian at the time. As Lisa says, you need to prove the "lineage" and the fact that he was able to pass on nationality rights because he did not loose it. All Australian documents will need to be officially translated into Italian by a N.A.A.T.I. accredited translator and you may need the "Hague Apostille" on them, but check first the nationality issue as this will be another expense. Good luck!

[Moon]

Thank you for that information, even though my grandfather did become an Australian citizen my mother was born before he did in Australia which allows her to keep the Italian side going, my aunt - my mums younger sister isnt elligible because she was born after he became a citizen. Now if my mum was born in Italy and her father became a aussie citizen then she wouldnt be eligible either.

Unfortunately I dont have a copy of his passport but I do have a copy of his death certificate and marriage certificate. I notice on the marriage certificate it doesnt ask about nationality only place of birth. At the time of his marriage he was still an Italian citizen, he didnt become an aussie until at least 2 years later.

[Lisa C.]

Hi Moon,

You will need the "long forms" for all of the birth, death and marriage certificates that were created in Australia as this proves your family lineage. Any documents you get from the comune in Italy are fine as is. We originally went to our Italian consulate with the versions that most of us have, which are the short forms and they aren't good enough. Your Consulate can tell you how to get them. You will also need to get all documents written in English translated, as Gala said, and apostilled. If you have any baptism and church marriage records be sure to include them as well in the packet you present to the Consulate as the more information to prove your claim, the better.

You will need birth and marriage certificates for the great-grandparents as well and I believe death certificates. Your Consulate will tell you procedures which you must follow exactly. We have been working on this for close to 4 years and we're finally almost there!

If your main goal is just to have your children be able to work in Italy, it will be much quicker to apply for a work permit. I highly doubt that you will be able to get dual citizenship for a minimum of one year, based on our experience. We submitted all of our documents to our Consulate a year ago, October. They then send all of the documents to the comune in Italy where your family is from, where they have to be registered and then returned to your country before obtaining citizenship and passports. Our information was finally registered in Italy after 1- 1/4 years of phone calls and letters and we are now waiting for them to return to our Consulate in the USA.

[Gala Placidia]

Moon, the Italian Consulate will probably like to have a look at your grandfather's Australian naturalisation certificate, which will state his previous nationality and the date when he became an Australian citizen. The best thing will be to find the original certificate; however you could find the records through the National Archives. Here is a useful link: Naturalisation - National Archives of Australia

[Moon]

Thanks for that info. Lisa that is a lot to go through and waiting. I did say to my son whether he wanted to get the visa instead after hearing all the paper we need to collect but he has his heart set on an Italian passport. I did ask about a work visa at the consulate and they said failing being able to get my grandfathers birth certificate my son could apply.

I do have all their records from the national archives so thanks for the information anyway. As I was doing the family tree I started collecting it as I knew very little information about my grandparents except one was from the north and one was from the south. My aussie father didnt like the italian side so I lost a lot of my heritage, and my mother dying when i was young made finding out the family tree really hard. I just found out where my great grandmother died as I knew she was in australia and became a citizen by doing a general search in the state I she lived in and I found her so I got her parents details.

By the way, anyone searching their australia history try getting a copy of the Australian Vital Records Index 1788-1903, it is really good, its only basic info but its enough to get you through, unfortunately there is no SA in it.