Hi all, I've searched a bit but can't find a definitive answer to this -- I wonder if anyone here has faced a similar situation and knows the answer. Here's the background: I have been married for about five years to the daughter of Italian immigrant parents, born (as I was) in the USA in 1968. Only her mother was an Italian citizen at the time of her birth, as her father had already been naturalized as a US citzen. Nevertheless, a review of Italian nationality law makes it unequivocally clear that my wife is entitled to Italian citizenship. In fact, as I understand it, she already *is* legally an Italian citizen, by virtue of having been born to an Italian mother post-1948 and not having renounced her claim to citizenship. The process she must undergo, e.g. to obtain an Italian passport, is more one of "acknowledging" her Italian citizenship than of "acquiring" it. My wife is currently making the necessary application, here in the USA, where we reside. There's no reason to think it will be denied, so she will presumably be recognized as an Italian citizen in the near future. Now, my question is this: as I read the Italian nationality law, the spouse of an Italian citizen residing abroad is entitled to acquire Italian citizenship after three years of marriage. Does "Italian citizen" here also apply to foreign-born persons, such as my wife, who are citizens by descent and have never resided in Italy? In particular, given that the law seems to say that my wife has been Italian since birth, does that mean that (since we've been married more than three years) I could actually apply for Italian citizenship myself, as soon as her citizenship is formally recognized, and without either of us ever actually moving to Italy? It seems somewhat unlikely to me but I can't seem to find anything in the law that would contradict this. If it is in fact possible, can anyone think of any disadvantages, or advantages, to my acquiring Italian citizenship in this way? As I understand it there is no longer compulsory military service (and I'm in my late 30s anyway), so I wouldn't be instantly drafted next time we visit Italy :-) I don't have any familial connection to Italy other than by marriage, though I do speak Italian and love the country. We're not specifically planning to move to Italy at the moment, but it's not out of the question. On the other hand, we have considered moving to (somewhere else in) Europe -- this is part of what prompted my wife to start the ball rolling on her Italian citizenship. However, I myself am already a dual citizen of the US and of another EU country (the United Kingdom, to be specific) so I already have the right to live and work in the EU. In other words, if it is in fact possible for me to acquire Italian citizenship in this way, and I were to do so, I'd end up with three passports, two from EU countries. (Note that the UK is *not* party to the Strasbourg convention limiting multiple citizenships -- I believe one can't be e.g. a citizen of Germany and of Italy at the same time, but otherwise there doesn't seem to be any theoretical bar to dual or even triple citizenship, e.g. USA-UK-Italy in this case.) I just can't see a compelling reason to do this -- on the other hand, I can't see a compelling reason *not to*, and it never hurts to keep one's options open. I tend to operate on the pessimistic assumption that any manner of thing can go wrong in the future and one should seize opportunities even when their significance isn't too clear. Who knows, maybe they'll change the law and require residency in Italy. Maybe, God forbid, the U.K. will withdraw someday from the EU and I'll be glad I have an Italian passport after all. It seems like the process of acquiring citizenship by marriage amounts to a a fair amount of bother and fees here and there, but not so much as to make it not worth doing. I am a little in the dark about the requirement that our marriage be registered in Italy -- would that be satisfied if my wife were to notify the appropriate office that she's married, once her citizenship has been recognized? In sum (whew), - is it *really* possible for me to acquire Italian citizenship in this way? - if so, is there any good reason (other than cost and bother) *not* to do so? - but also, *is there* any good reason (other than "the more, the merrier," which I'm not at all sure applies to nationality :-) to do so? - anything I need to know about the process? I realize I've posted quite a bunch of questions, any enlightenment partial or detailed would be highly appreciated! amis@kiscica.com