Estimating the costs of applying for Italian citizenship can feel like a two-edged sword. On one side, tallying expenses is never the most enjoyable task, but on the other, it marks progress in your application journey. How exciting!
If you’re wondering how much does it cost to get your Italian citizenship, brace yourself for an answer that’s a bit elusive: it varies. The cost of getting dual Italian citizenship isn’t a fixed sum but rather a culmination of document fees, which are determined by pricing set by vital record offices. This means we can’t provide you with precise dollar figures, but we can certainly help you understand your own calculations. Let’s dive into some real-life examples to put these calculations into perspective.
Apostilles Of Italian Documents
Let’s say you’re applying for citizenship by descent through your paternal grandfather and are required to collect documents exclusively for your Italian lineage. In this case, you’ll naturally need to obtain Italian documents directly from Italy, like birth and marriage certificates. Luckily, these are typically issued free of charge. Your only expenses might include payment for revenue stamps and postage. The best part? Since you’ll be using these documents in Italy, there’s no need for legalization by an apostille or translation (as they are in multilingual format).
What Is An Apostille
When we use the term “legalize” in reference to a certified copy, you might naturally wonder, “Isn’t it already certified?” Well, yes, but you still need to have your certified copies authenticated. And here’s the reason why.
An apostille is a certificate issued by a designated authority in a country where a document originates. It verifies the authenticity of the document for use in another country that is part of the Hague Apostille Convention. Essentially, an apostille ensures that a document issued in one country will be recognized as valid in another country without the need for further authentication. It simplifies the process of verifying the authenticity of official documents when they are used internationally.
Now that we understand the apostille concept, let’s explore some practical examples to make things more tangible.
Illinois State Apostille Fees
Your paternal grandfather’s journey led him from Italy to Illinois, where he settled down with his wife, got naturalized, had their only child, and eventually passed away in the same state. This means you’d need to obtain a long-form certified copy of his death certificate, and if you were to do this through the Illinois Department of Health, a single copy would cost you $19. Your father’s birth certificate, however, would cost $15, as stated on their official webpage. Moreover, obtaining a certified copy of your grandfather’s naturalization records would cost $25, while the USCIS record (i.e., Naturalization Certificate) carries a fee of $65.
This is already a total of $124 spent on four certified copies of different records.
Your next step is to bundle birth and death certificates and mail them for legalization to the Illinois Secretary of State. The apostille fee in the Illinois Secretary of State office is $2 per document, and if you have multiple records to legalize, you can add up the fee to one check or money order.
As per the naturalization records, they are usually issued by National Archives or courts and most often don’t require legalization or translation – but it’s essential to double-check your consular requirements for accuracy. When dealing with USCIS documents, however, they typically require federal apostille legalization, which incurs a fee of $20.
So, in this case, your Illinois State fees come around to:
Death certificate: $19
Birth certificate: $15
Naturalization records: $25
USCIS record: $65
Federal apostille: $20
Illinois SOS apostilles: $2 x 2 = $4
In summary, the total expenses for obtaining the necessary documents and apostilles for your family’s Italian lineage in Illinois amount to $148.
But what about the rest of the family records?
New York State Apostille Fees
During college, your father made the move to New York State, where he met your wonderful mother. Their love story blossomed, and they got married there. And while love cannot be measured by numbers, vital records can!
Obtaining your parents’ marriage records, including the marriage certificate and marriage license, will cost $30. Remember, these must be in long format and certified copies. Once you have them in hand, they’ll need to be apostilled.
The current apostille fee is $10 per document, totaling $20 to certify both the marriage license and certificate, as these are considered to be separate documents. Therefore, your apostille expenses amount to $20.
This means your New York State fees come around to:
Marriage records: $30
Apostilles: $10 x 2 = $20
So, in total, your fees for New York State, including the certified and apostilled marriage records, add up to $50. And that brings us to – you!
California State Apostille Fees
After their New York adventures, your parents decided to shake things up and move to sunny California, where you came into the world. And not only did you make your debut there, but you also found your true love and exchanged vows. So, to obtain your birth certificate, the current cost is $29. And since you tied the knot in California too, add another $17 for those marriage records.
To get these documents apostilled, budget $20 per apostille, totaling $60 for all your documents.
This means your California State fees come around to:
Birth certificate: $29
Marriage records: $17
Apostilles: $20 x 3 = $60
So, in total, your fees for California state, including certified copies and their legalization, sum up to $106.
$304 later, you’ve collected all of the necessary certified copies and had them legalized. Now it’s time to translate them into Italian!
Translation Of Vital Records To Italian
Translating vital records into Italian is a crucial step in the process of obtaining Italian citizenship. Depending on your application location, you have three options for translating your non-Italian documents: simple translations, certified translations, and sworn translations. The fee for translation services can vary based on factors such as the complexity of the documents or the urgency of the translation. Generally, translators charge per word, per page, or per document. This means that rates can range from a few cents to a dollar or more per word/page. In our scenario, a certified (or sometimes even sworn) translation is essential since it’s usually mandated for official documents.
But where do you find such translators? Typically, you can only request the Italian consulate to certify your Italian records, as consulates do not offer translation services at the moment. However, if you’re aiming for the “full package,” you can locate a certified translator to translate and certify these documents in the presence of a public official. If you opt for a court case application, you can also have an Italian-based sworn translator swear the translations of your records before an Italian court. And since all of these are considered to be additional fees, let’s get into the calculation mode!
Translation of Your Vital Records
Imagine you’re applying at the Consulate of Los Angeles and, as per their current requirements, you need to get your documents translated. While translation rates can differ based on individual translators and their pricing structure, a somewhat common range falls between $10 to $25 per page for documents. In our scenario, let’s consider you’ve secured the services of a reliable translator charging $20 per page. This means that you can get all your collected records (8 in total) and their apostilles (8 in total) translated for a total fee of $320. This completes your collection journey with a total sum of $624.
Italian Consulate Fees
You’re almost there, on the brink of the finish line! You’ve rounded up all the documents, had them legalized, translated, and prepared for submission to the Los Angeles consulate. But what else is on the radar? Just a few more expenses to factor in.
Italian Consulate Fees
Before you send off your documents to the Italian consulate, it’s time to square away some consular fees. While we’ve touched on these fees before, let’s go over them again: The application fee for citizenship recognition stands at $322.10 USD and is adjusted every quarter to keep pace with currency fluctuations. Later on, you can also factor in the cost of your Italian passport fee, which is $124.70. If you’re eyeing an Italian identification card, set aside an additional $23.70. Your citizenship certificate will cost around $11.90. If you’re up for all these perks to celebrate your persistence, expect your total initial cost to increase by another $482.40.
Hiring a Company To Help With Italian Citizenship
If you’ve chosen not to tackle this process alone and decide to hire a company for Italian citizenship, it’s likely a smart move. Being recognized as an Italian citizen is a milestone worth celebrating, so why not leave the nitty-gritty to your Italian citizenship consultant and save your energy for the celebration? Financially, if you decide to hire a citizenship specialist, just factor their cost into the total we’ve calculated today.
The Cost of Getting Italian Citizenship
When you add up all the expenses, your DIY citizenship journey comes to a total of approximately $1.106,40. This breakdown includes:
Vital records: $200
Apostilles: $104
Translations: $320
Consular fees: $482.40
It’s crucial to remember that no two applications are exactly alike, and each case may come with its own set of additional fees that can be hard to predict. The example we’ve provided is based on a very straightforward consular case, but there are scenarios where amendments, court orders, sworn translations, or documentation for indirect lineage may be necessary.
And while hiring citizenship specialists would count as an additional fee, there is still one thing in this entire process you don’t have to pull out your wallet for – our complimentary Discovery Call. Call us today and get your citizenship journey started!
