What does Italian citizenship iure sanguinis mean and how to apply for it?
Iure sanguinis is a Latin expression which literally means “by the right of blood”, so acquiring Italian citizenship iure sanguinis refers to acquiring it from one’s parents.
By contrast iure solis means “by the right of the land” and refers to acquiring citizenship if you were born in a specific country.
According to Italian law, if one or both of your parents are Italian, you are an Italian citizen iure sanguinis.
This applies even if your parents never formally registered as Italian citizens, but one or both of their parents were Italian.
And even if the grandparents never registered, if they themselves had an Italian parent you are still entitled to apply for Italian citizen iure sanguinis for yourself.
In fact you can have an Italian ancestor several generations removed, the principle of iure sanguinis still applies, and Italian citizenship will pass from one generation to the next (unless one of the ancestors renounced his Italian citizenship), as long as your ancestor was still alive in 1861, when Italy became a nation.
You can find more information on Italian citizenship jure sanguinis requirements on our Citizenship by Descent page.