Addressing Birth Certificate Discrepancies

When beginning your Italian citizenship by descent journey, one of the essential steps is obtaining your Italian ancestor’s birth certificate. It is important that you request the correct document: to learn more about this, click here.

Discrepancies between this document and others could complicate your Italian citizenship process. In this article, we will consider one of the tools to address them. But before doing so, we need to answer the question of what is considered a discrepancy. Keep reading to find out.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Discrepancy

• A Useful Tool: Positivo/Negativo Certificate

  • How Much Does It Cost

  • Will It Be Accepted

  • Where and How to Request It

  • What Will It Look Like

• Conclusion

What Is a Discrepancy

A discrepancy arises when the information on your ancestor’s birth certificate does not match the details on subsequent documents. Whether this will cause problems for your Italian citizenship application depends entirely on the consulate or Comune handling your case. Some authorities are stricter than others.

It is worth noting that in this article, we focus on cases submitted through the administrative route (consulates or Comuni). For court cases, your lawyer will assist you with discrepancies.

Connecting all documents in your Italian citizenship application is vital to avoid issues. Certain discrepancies are so significant that they must be addressed before you submit your paperwork. These are cases where the authority reviewing your documents cannot be 100% sure they refer to the same person.

Amending the Italian birth certificate is not an option, as Italian registrars can only issue documents based on information available on public registers. So, how can you resolve this?

First, I would recommend further research. It is not uncommon to discover that you may have a birth certificate that refers to a different person, especially given the Italian tradition in the past of reusing family names (i.e. the son was named after his grandfather), resulting in many people with the same name and surname.

Once you confirm that the birth certificate indeed belongs to your Italian ancestor, you could consider amending the subsequent documents. However, amending documents can be time-consuming and costly. Therefore, before proceeding, it is worth weighing the benefits against the risks. But if the discrepancy is major, you would need to solve it regardless of its cost and any associated complexity.

If amending is not possible, or if the discrepancy can be considered minor, you may still have other options, such as gathering supporting documents to show that the birth certificate and other records pertain to the same individual.

A Useful Tool: Positivo/Negativo Certificate

If it is not possible to amend documents, or if the discrepancy is minor, a cost-effective tool you could consider is the "positivo/negativo certificate”. This can serve as supporting evidence or even as a “just in case” document. Note that you may also see it referred to as “positivo/negativo letter” or “statement”.

How Much Does It Cost

Some good news here: there is no administrative fee for this document. You would, of course, need to consider the postage expenses to receive the printed copy. This makes it an affordable tool. Even if you hire a professional to help with the request, the cost is not going to break the bank.

Will It Be Accepted

It is difficult to determine. It depends on many factors, as each case has its own unique circumstances. Generally speaking, this document is accepted by the Italian authority (consulate or Comune) that is dealing with your Italian citizenship by descent. However, they always have the right to reject it if they do not consider it adequate evidence. And even if they accept it, they may still request additional documentation if necessary.

Where and How to Request It

You can request this document from the same office that issued the birth certificate, which would be the registrar of the Comune where your Italian ancestor was born.

There is no specific format to follow. You can submit your request via email (although not all Comuni are very responsive), traditional post, or PEC (a certified email system in Italy, legally equivalent to a registered letter). In your request, ask the registrar to confirm in writing that no other person with the conflicting details exists in their records.

What Will It Look Like

The certificate (or letter or statement) will typically look something like this:

Upon examination of the birth records of this municipality for the year […], it has been ascertained that this person was born:

[Details of your Italian ancestor as per the birth certificate]
POSITIVE

And that no corresponding records could be located for this person:

[Details of your Italian ancestor as per conflicting documents]
NEGATIVE

Essentially, the registrar states positive information and negative information.

Not all registrars know this document by this name, so ensure the registrar understands clearly what information you need them to confirm. As with any request to the Italian authorities, these must be presented in Italian.

Conclusion

If discrepancies between your Italian ancestor’s birth certificate and other documents arise, in many cases you need to address them. One of the tools you could use to help prove your ancestor's identity is a positivo/negativo certificate. While not guaranteed, it could make your application process smoother and quicker. The more consistent the information presented to the Italian authority is, the higher the chances of your application’s success.

Good luck with your Italian citizenship!

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_{Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not exhaustive, does not constitute legal advice, and does not establish or replace a lawyer-client relationship. The individuals named in the examples are not real people but fictional characters used to help explain Italian law in a more practical way. We do not assume any responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from the use or misuse of any content on this newsletter/website or the content of pages linked to or from it. If you need legal assistance for your specific case, you must hire a legal professional.}