Italian Roots

[rosalialucia]

Hi, my husband works for a large International Bank (in a US subsidiary) and will likely be offered a three-year expat position sometime in the next year. Italy is on the list, and it would be my dream to live in Italy. I've been there many times for holiday, and even extended holidays for several months and have studied Italian for years.

I was cleaning out some old boxes / files and came across his mother's passport. She died in 1995 and was Italian - I have her Italian passport and a birth certificate copy and certification form Avigliana near Torino. His father was also of Italian descent, although I believe it was his father's grandparents that migrated from Italy to Argentina, and I don't have any good documentation yet.

My question is whether my husband could get any kind of special status if we live there for a few years. He is an American citizen, but is it possible to get dual citizenship if you have a parent that was of that nationality? And, could this trickle down to my daughter? She is almost three, but it wouldn't hurt to do whatever necessary to set her up to be able to work in the EU when she grows up.


Does anybody know of a good website that discusses these topics?

Thanks

[rosalialucia]

Well, I did some research, and it looks like both my husband and my daughter can claim Italian Citizenship because my husband's mother was Italian. And as far as I can tell, there are no restrictions against dual US-Italian citizenship.

At least they can always go to Italy and get health care!

[NickZ]

Maybe. Depends on when he was born. Needs to have been born after 1947 to follow the mother.


If you've been married more then 3 years then you can claim as a spouse.

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by rosalialucia

Well, I did some research, and it looks like both my husband and my daughter can claim Italian Citizenship because my husband's mother was Italian. And as far as I can tell, there are no restrictions against dual US-Italian citizenship.

At least they can always go to Italy and get health care!

Technically speaking, there are no problems holding dual nationality. Back in 1990, the US declared that they weren't going to actively oppose it, although there are still a number of laws on the books that could be used against dual nationals to revoke their US citizenship. (AFAIK there have been no prosecutions and even no threats of this since 1990 - or possible even before that.)

Not sure the status on health care, though. Normally health care (and retirement and other social insurances) depends on a person residing in a country and paying into the system through payroll deductions. Nationality doesn't give you an automatic claim on social services.

Some US companies take advantage of a feature in European law that may give them a 3 to 5 year window where they can hold a transferred employee out of the local national social security system (which includes health care) in order to keep him enrolled in the system back home. It's actually a good deal if you are planning on returning to the US (i.e. no gap in his Social Security record) and if the employer has a decent health care plan for coverage overseas.
Cheers,
Bev

[NickZ]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

. Nationality doesn't give you an automatic claim on social services.

Consitutional right in Italy. In extreme cases consulates will pay for non-resident Italians to be flown back to Italy for care. A few months back a child living in America was flown back. The family couldn't get health care in the US .