Italy: Information on whether a Libyan citizen with one grandparent born in Italy would be entitled to Italian citizenship under an agreement between the governments of Italy and Libya
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 March 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | ITA16841.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Italy: Information on whether a Libyan citizen with one grandparent born in Italy would be entitled to Italian citizenship under an agreement between the governments of Italy and Libya, 1 March 1994, ITA16841.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad9620.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to representative of the Immigration Centre in Rome, there are no special agreements between the Italian and Libyan governments concerning the granting of Italian citizenship and all such matters fall within the purview of Italian citizenship laws (17 Mar. 1994). In regard to claiming citizenship through a grandparent born in Italy, he said that in addition to simply being born in Italy, the grandparent would also have had to have been an Italian citizen (ibid). The source stated that he believed that documentation such as the grandparent's birth certificate would be sufficient to establish the fact that the grandparent was an Italian citizen, and that the grandchild could file a claim for citizenship based on these grounds (17 Mar. 1994).
An official at the Italian Embassy in Ottawa confirmed that the grandparent would have to have been an Italian citizen, but stated that the fact that a person is born in Italy does not necessarily mean that he or she obtains citizenship automatically (7 Mar. 1994). The official added that the only case where citizenship is granted automatically to a person born in Italy is if they were abandoned as a child and the citizenship of the parents is unknown (ibid.).
The official stated that there are numerous factors that must be taken into account in determining whether an individual has a claim to Italian citizenship, and that she could not provide a definitive answer concerning this case without receiving detailed information on the applicant's family. However, she could state with certainty that whatever the citizenship of the grandparent actually was, the grandchild's mother or father would also have had to have been Italian citizens at the time of birth, and that a claim could not be made solely through the grandparent (7 Mar. 1994).
Additional and/or corroborative information on this subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Embassy of Italy, Ottawa. 17 March 1994. Telephone interview with official.
. 7 March 1994. Telephone interview with official.
The Immigration Centre, Rome, Italy. 17 March 1994. Telephone interview with official.
