How can criminal convictions affect Italian Citizenship Applications?
We have been receiving an increase in enquiries in relation to past criminal convictions (which can include cautions) and what the Italian law states in relation to criminal convictions when making an application for Italian citizenship on the basis of marriage or residency. Citizenship on the basis of marriage: Applying for Italian citizenship on the basis of marriage is an automatic right. Citizenship on the basis of marriage can only be denied to those who have a criminal record for a serious crime committed either in or outside of Italy....
read moreINTERNATIONAL CONTRACTS – CHOICE OF APPLICABLE LAW
INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTS: ARE THERE LIMITS TO THE PARTIES’ POWER OF CHOICE OF APPLICABLE LAW? (EU regulation Rome I, Nikiforidis, necessary application of rules, lois de police (rules of application)) 1) How do you identify the law applicable to an international contract? When there is a foreign element in the creation of a contract (i.e. one of the parties is foreign, there is a foreign object or the execution of the contract could potentially be carried out in accordance with foreign law) national law cannot always be said to be...
read moreCASELAW – ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP – MARRIAGE TO FOREIGN NATIONAL
RIGHT TO CLAIM FOR ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT VIA FEMALE LINE, WHERE CLAIMANTS MOTHER HAD AUTOMATICALLY LOST HER CITIZENSHIP ON MARRIAGE TO FOREIGN NATIONAL Corte di Cassazione, judgment of 5 November 2015 n. 22608 FACTS: An Italian citizen married her Egyptian citizen husband in 1950 and settled in Egypt. She became an Egyptian citizen automatically following her marriage. The Claimant, her son, applied to the Tribunale di Roma in relation to his application for Italian citizenship on the basis of iure...
read moreCASELAW – ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP – DELAY IN DECISION BY CONSOLATO ITALIANO
DELAY BY CONSOLATO ITALIANO IN PROCESSING APPLICATION (AND RIGHT AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO APPLY TO THE COURTS IN ITALY EVEN THROUGH THE MALE LINE). Ordinanza del Tribunale di Roma 18 April 2018 FACTS: The Claimants were the grandchildren of an Italian citizen (BG) born in Italy in 1879, who had emigrated to Brazil, where he died without ever renouncing his Italian citizenship. His descendants made an application for Italian citizenship by descent at the Italian Consulate at Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2016, claiming that via ius sanguinis he...
read moreCASELAW – ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP – DE FACTO SEPARATION
Corte di Cassazione, judgment of 17 January 2017 n. 969 FACTS: A Tunisian national made an application for Italian citizenship on the basis of her marriage to an Italian national. Following submission of her application for Italian citizenship she had then separated from her spouse. This was however a personal/de facto separation and not a judicial one. ISSUES: The First Tier Tribunal and the Court of Appeal both ruled stating that the Applicant was in possession of the required legal requisites for acquisition of Italian citizenship and had...
read moreDisposizioni Anticipate di Trattamento – the right to choose
Disposizioni Anticipate di Trattamento – the right to choose Following considerable public interest and pressure, the Italian government has now approved the proposed Law on Living Wills. (See also article of 4 April 2017, “Living Wills in Italy- Il Testamento Biologico”, published by Jessica Zama). Law n.219 of 22 December 2017 is now in force, and means that any individual in Italy, who is over 18 and has mental capacity, can now specify in advance, via a “Living Will” (called “Disposizioni Anticipate di Trattamento”, or...
read moreCASELAW – ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP – LAWFUL RESIDENCE UP TO AGE 18
DEFINITION OF “LAWFUL RESIDENCE” Right to Italian citizenship at age 18 where born in Italy Cassazione Civile Sent. Sez. 1 Num. 12380 del 17 May 2017 FACTS The Claimant (a minor) was born in Italy on 5 June 1991 to immigrant parents from Former Yugoslavia. The Claimant’s father had a permesso di soggiorno valid until 1999. The Claimant’s mother had requested permesso di soggiorno in 1992. A request to register the Claimant at the anagrafe was made on 14 September 1995, four years after the child was born. There were various...
read moreTake a moment to read our updated Privacy Policy
This challenging piece of legislation is going to set the standards for privacy law in the world for years to come, since revelations about the use of Facebook have shown very recently how data breaches and fraudulent use of data can even manipulate the modern political process. We take this new law very seriously and we have carefully reviewed how we as lawyers can improve the guarantees we offer our clients of a very high standard of privacy and confidentiality. Privacy Policy
read moreItalian citizenship – the sad fate of Alfie Evans
The sad fate of 23 month old Italian citizen Alfie Evans who never managed to arrive in Italy. Alfie Evans was granted Italian citizenship on 24 April 2018 on the basis of Article 9(2) Act No. 91 of 5 February 1992, which states that: ‘By decree of the President of the Republic, having heard the Council of State and following a decision by the Council of Ministers, upon a proposal of the Minister for the Interior, in consultation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, citizenship may be granted to aliens where they have rendered an...
read more“British in Italy – Rights of British citizens in the EU post-Brexit”.
MEETING IN ROME NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY 2ND MAY AT 2.30PM All Saints Church, Via del Babuino (St Thomas Room in the Crypt – access from Via Gesù and Maria) Speakers will be Gareth Horsfall, Charlotte Oliver and Alison Jamieson of British in Italy Please confirm you will definitely be attending with your full name and a contact cell no, either on Facebook page or to email address britsinitaly@gmail.com. The church has allowed space for 50 attendees in total so first come first served!
read moreInternational succession dispute – Johnny Hallyday
Lawyers in France and the US are embroiled in the latest high profile international succession dispute, attempting to untangle the complex estate of Johnny Hallyday, the iconic French singer who died in December 2017 leaving four children and his wife Laeticia. We thought it would be interesting to look at the scenario, as it is similar to that which often affects international clients with assets in Italy, and give our thoughts on the issues of cross-border succession law and perhaps even predict a possible verdict in the case. Johnny...
read moreItalian citizenship – proof of legal residence
Applications under article 9 of the Italian citizenship law of 1992 require proof of “legal residence”. The period must be uninterrupted, and can vary from three years in the case of a person who has a parent or grand-parent who was born Italian, to a maximum period of 10 years which needs to be proved by a non-EU national. In law n. 572/1993, which gives guidance on the new citizenship law, legal residence was defined as: “a person shall be consisdered to be legally resident in Italy if they have satisfied the conditions...
read moreUPDATED – Registering with married name in Italy
British women who have changed their surnames following their wedding may have issues when dealing with Italian administrative bodies, such as banks, the “Comune” or the “Anagrafe”. An individual in England may change their name at will, without having to undergo any onerous documentary formalities. It is especially the case and tradition in England that a woman take her husband’s surname; a marriage certificate which shows both the woman’s maiden name and the husband’s surname will suffice as evidence to enable her to change...
read moreArticle published in Wanted in Rome
“Future for EU Brits remains unclear” by Charlotte Oliver March issue 2018 A group of British citizens living in Holland recently presented a claim to the Dutch courts arguing that EU citizenship is a right that cannot be taken from them when the UK leaves the EU. Their contention is that: “Once an EU citizen, always an EU citizen” or “civis europeus sum”, to quote the phrase that once implied all the rights and duties of a citizen of ancient Rome. The Dutch courts are being asked to make a referral to the European Court of...
read moreBritish nationals applying for Italian citizenship
The largest group of foreign nationals applying for Italian Citizenship in the past year consists of British Citizens. Oliver & Partners has seen a sharp increase in enquiries and is currently assisting with a number of applications. This development of course is in the aftermath of the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by British Prime Minister Theresa May on 2 October 2016 following the Referendum on 23 June 2016, in which 51.9% of the British population who voted chose to leave the EU. According to the Guardian newspaper:...
read moreVisa for investors in Italy
Visa for investors in Italy A new immigration category was established in Italy in the 2017 budget legislation which allows for visas and residence permits (for up to 2 years) to be granted to investors. This new law is aimed at non-EU nationals who intend to make a substantial long-term investment in Italy or make a philanthropic financial donation to benefit culture and research in this country. The Italian Ministry for Economic Development published a report in December 2017 showing statistics relating to the number of applications made....
read moreMental capacity issues and Italian law
There is currently no framework for the cross-border recognition of court orders affecting the legal capacity of adults. Whereas family court orders (divorce or maintenance for example) are recognised across EU member states, orders for the protection of vulnerable adults are not. For example, a Lasting Power of Attorney (or LPA) registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in the UK is not recognised in Italy. Likewise, a court order made in Italy nominating a guardian (tutore/ amministratore di sostegno) or removing legal capacity...
read moreEnforcing a maintenance order in another EU country
CASELAW: We have recently represented a client in the Italian courts, defending an action brought by her former husband to revoke her divorce maintenance order. The divorce took place in the UK courts, but both parties and their children now live in Italy. We not only opposed the husband’s right to revoke the maintenance order at all, we also took issue with the way in which the husband introduced the claim in the Italian courts. According to the Regulation on the Recognition and Enforcement of Maintenance Orders (EU Regulation no....
read moreNew Solicitor joins Oliver & Partners
We are very happy to welcome Aleksandra Broom to our team this month. Aleksandra is a practising Solicitor of England and Wales. She specialises in the fields of immigration and nationality law and family law. She has a wide range of previous experience in immigration and family law matters including advocacy in the UK courts and tribunals. She will be registering with the Ordine degli Avvocati di Roma as an established lawyer (avvocato stablito) under the EU rules of establishment of lawyers in another member state. More details and bio...
read moreFirst ECJ caselaw on Succession Regulation
The EU Regulation on cross-border inheritance and succession no. 650/2012 came into force in August 2015, so not surprisingly only now its provisions are starting to be interpreted by the European Court of Justice. Lawyers who deal with cross-border estates, such as a succession involving assets in more than one country including an EU member state are keen to see how some controversial or ambiguous clauses are going to be defined, for example in the definition of habitual residence – how it will be clear in the case of a person who...
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