Lucrecia Cucchiaro: Italian Citizenship Lawyer

Italian citizenship by descent: case review, document research and court proceedings in Italy.

Who I am

I am an Argentine lawyer based in Spain, specializing in Italian citizenship by descent. I am an associate of the law firm Kairós LBC (Milan and Rome), where I head the Department of Italian Citizenship and Immigration.

I am also an Italian citizen by descent: I completed my own application around the year 2000.

Who is writing this →

Why I do what I do

In the early 2000s, my family and I obtained Italian citizenship through my great-grandfather Natalio. Up to that point, everything went well, or as well as it could. Besides the effort of finding the papers and putting together the famous “folder” to apply, there was the wait. Waiting for what? The appointment. At that time there were no booking systems, and people had to queue for a whole night, standing and camping outside the consulate. We managed it, but we waited two years to be able to submit the folder with all the documents. Fortunately, a few years earlier a cousin of my father, who lived in Europe, had gathered the papers one by one, and we joined that folder.

Years later I married, and when my first daughter was born I went to the consulate to register her as Italian. I got a very unpleasant surprise. They told me that not only could they not register my daughter as Italian, but that the citizenship granted ten years earlier was at risk. Yes, you read that right. What did they want? Ten years later, they asked for the court judgment by which my AVO (the last Italian ancestor) had renounced his citizenship, to check with their own eyes that the renunciation came after the birth of my grandfather (the descendant who continued the line). If he had renounced before, citizenship could not be claimed; if he had renounced after, we were all still in. That was the situation.

To make a long story short: as a lawyer with resources available, and colleagues in Italy and in Argentina, I was able to obtain the document they asked for and make the filings that satisfied them. Someone else might have felt overwhelmed and in shock at the request. It might have been hard to act, or even to know there were legal resources to answer such an unusual request ten years later. I repeat it because I am still amazed! In any case, anyone in that position would have needed a lawyer, and that is why I am here. I have also always wanted to do justice in the style of “Petrocelli”. If you do not know him, it does not matter: he was the best lawyer in the American TV series of the mid-seventies.

Guides

Services

Personalized advice. I review the specific case, starting from the family tree, to establish the best route to apply: consular or judicial, including the maternal line. Any documents or records already available are reviewed as well. The consultation is a 45-minute video call by Google Meet or Zoom (€67). Afterwards I prepare a detailed report with the steps recommended for the process, and I stay in contact for follow-up. A session is also available for those who will move to a comune in Italy to establish residence and file their application: it explains how the process works in Italy and includes a written guide to comuni, with their emails and phone numbers.

Document collection in Argentina. We search for the records and documents needed to put together the folder for Italian citizenship. We handle apostilles and official translations into Italian of the Argentine documents and deliver them to the country where the client lives. To start, request a quote at info@lucreciacucchiaro.com.

Records from Italian comuni. We search for birth, marriage and death records of Italian ancestors in any Italian comune. Request the record you need and a quote at info@lucreciacucchiaro.com.

Judicial route for the maternal line. I work with the lawyers Patrizia Giannini and Silvia Giannini of Kairós LBC (kairoslbc.com), colleagues with a law firm and offices in Milan and Rome. Together we analyze each case individually and the options that best fit it. We provide comprehensive legal advice and also file claims before the competent Italian courts on citizenship, successions, recognition of status and the related legal actions. Request a quote at info@lucreciacucchiaro.com.

Judicial route for refusal, inaction or lack of an appointment. Where the administration refused or did not act, or an appointment could not be obtained before 27 March 2025, a claim before an Italian court may be possible. The outcome depends on the evidence of the attempts and on the family line. See the page on great-grandchildren and request a quote at info@lucreciacucchiaro.com.

Registration with AIRE (Registry of Italian Residents Abroad). I can handle the registration and advise on the documents to be filed. The current address must be registered to obtain the tax code, the Italian identity card and passport issuance and renewals.

Contact

For advice and support from a professional with personal and work experience in obtaining Italian citizenship, get in touch. We will review the family tree together, I will go over the documents available, we will look at the best alternatives and define a plan of action.

What clients say

Testimonials translated from Spanish.

Professionalism, knowledge and above all keeping calm in moments of desperation.

Natalia P.

Excellent advice, very kind and ready for any question. She sent a report by email of everything we discussed.

Paula C.

For the attention and warmth. Always attentive to any concern or news that comes up.

Guillermo M.

Excellent willingness to provide all the information and to help others with what they need. Excellent professional, honest and warm.

Florencia F.

For her speed in getting in touch and the clarity of her answers to questions.

Patricia L.

She helped me resolve the doubts I had.

Gastón C.