his process began more than 5 years ago with a realization that the only way for me to be able to live and work in Europe is for me to become European. I know I have Italian, Portuguese, and (perhaps) French ancestry and so began my research into how to go about attaining this classification. My Italian line was perhaps the most documented and well understood. But I checked the other two just in case. French citizenship was out - there is a 50 year time limit and Portugal was out as it is limited to grandchildren of Portugal-born persons and that lineage is murky in my family tree.
A check of the Italian consulate in San Francisco reveals the basics of who can apply and what is needed. There are three paths to Italian citizenship: descent, residence, and marriage. Well, residence and marriage are out – let’s check out a claim by descent.
