Italian figure skating news & updates

[GoneWithTheWind]

FAQs: Applying for Italian citizenship by Naturalization (Residence) | Mazzeschi Legal Counsels

Interested in applying for Italian citizenship by residency (naturalization). Do you want to know more information the process? What documents do you need?

www.mazzeschi.it

Like the United States, Italy does not confer citizenship by dint of extraordinary talent. Anyone seeking to obtain citizenship needs to live in Italy for a certain number of years, and in Khromykh's case, unless there is something we don't know about, it's likely to be ten years. And that's even assuming that she can get a visa, which is doubtful.

It may have changed recently, but Italy certainly used to award citizenship for extraordinary talent as that's how Charlène Guignard got citizenship before the Sochi games. Granted, she had also lived in Italy for 3 years, learned to speak Italian and was in a long term relationship with an Italian citizen, but her citizenship was still granted under the "exceptional contribution to the country" rule.

Source

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Unrelated to Maia but Italy has a good loophole for Italian Americans. We’re able to get Italian passports through our paternal grandfather side. As long as the grandfather did not renounce Italian citizenship when they were Americanized and it’s OK if your father was born in the USA. Proving that your grandfather did not denounce his Italian citizenship is not as hard as it seems to be even if he did.

And Italy also allows you to hold dual citizenship one of the few European countries that do

 

[eleonorad]

Just to clarify, I wouldn't say it's exactly a loophole, it's actually the principle of our right to citizenship and it's not a privilege for Italian Americans. Italian citizenship is based on ius sanguinis (law of blood) as opposed to US's ius soli (law of land). This means that you are italian citizen by blood and not by place of birth.

Therefore if I had children while living abroad I could register them as italians because I have italian citizenship, however if a child is born in Italy from foreign paretns, the child will not be granted italian citizenship automatically, but can request it when they turn 18.

I profoundly disagree with this principle but that's besides the point and OT, this is just to say that ius sanguinis applies to anyone with italian ancestors. It just so happens that most of people taking advantage of it are largely from Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Urugay mainly but not exclusively) and the US because statistically this is where most italians emigrated between the 1800 and 1900. Also if you have italian heritage but you already have a EU passport you can enjoy the same rights pretty much everywhere regardless of your nationality. i.e. I live comfortably in Ireland without Irish nationality because I am Italian.

In order to get an italian passport, you need a lot of paperwork but it's feasible, I know tons of brazilians that got it in a few month's time. Mainly you need a birth certificate of your italian ancestor which I assume normally would also have to state the nationality of their parents.

Unless Maia has italian ancestors she would need to appeal to the "exceptional contribution to the country" rule. Tricky one as 1) could take more than 1 year, 2)it's a very difficult political climate the one we are living in and I can't see it happening as "easy" as it did for other skaters (not saying that Charlene's was easy at all!)
.
Will see what happens but I don't expect this to be a walk in the park and I'd rather see our fed focusing on athletes already competing for Italy with great potential (Pezzetta for instance).

 

[Rainbow]

It may have changed recently, but Italy certainly used to award citizenship for extraordinary talent as that's how Charlène Guignard got citizenship before the Sochi games. Granted, she had also lived in Italy for 3 years, learned to speak Italian and was in a long term relationship with an Italian citizen, but her citizenship was still granted under the "exceptional contribution to the country" rule.

Source

I don`t think it has changed, there are just two different kinds of decree. In Guignards case, she had basically fulfilled the formal requirements to apply for citizenship, but with the decree she was spared the regular burocratic process for naturalization which could take up several years. If you have just the special merit or services rendered to the country, but not the other requirements, for instance like living long enough in Italy or working for an Italian state institution abroad for severeal years , you can`t even apply yourself, but an organization/institution has to supply your name.

 

[Primorskaya]

I don`t think it has changed, there are just two different kinds of decree. In Guignards case, she had basically fulfilled the formal requirements to apply for citizenship, but with the decree she was spared the regular burocratic process for naturalization which could take up several years. If you have just the special merit or services rendered to the country, but not the other requirements, for instance like living long enough in Italy or working for an Italian state institution abroad for severeal years , you can`t even apply yourself, but an organization/institution has to supply your name.

Which the Italian Fed could then theoretically do. I hope not though, all national Feds should put their homegrown talent first. I can only imagine the demotivation of local kids if country swapping starts to happen regularly. It's fine in some specific cases, especially for Pairs skaters who can have such a hard time finding partners. But the current situation is a whole other ball game.

 

[kwanfan1818]

If she can't get a residency permit or doesn't have citizenship, as a singles skater, she doesn't qualify to compete for Italy, which is not the case for Pairs and Dance, where only one partner needs to meet this requirement. If she doesn't compete for Italy, what case would the Fed have to put her forward for citizenship, when she hasn't performed a service for the country? She hasn't even performed much of a service for her own, if you're looking at results She potentially could, but is citizenship granted for that? She's not like Scherbakova or even Kostornaia.

 

[Rainbow]

Which the Italian Fed could then theoretically do. I hope not though, all national Feds should put their homegrown talent first. I can only imagine the demotivation of local kids if country swapping starts to happen regularly. It's fine in some specific cases, especially for Pairs skaters who can have such a hard time finding partners. But the current situation is a whole other ball game.

That`s not how it works though. The decree citizenship is more like an honorary thing, e. g. for saving peoples lives or, if you live outside Italy, human rights stuff or so. She would have to have the merit and/or service to Italy first.

It`s explained here at no. 9:
www.esteri.it/it/servizi-consolari-e-visti/italiani-all-estero/cittadinanza/

So, I don`t see a way this switch is happening, but I learned a lot about my birth country .

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Just to clarify, I wouldn't say it's exactly a loophole, it's actually the principle of our right to citizenship and it's not a privilege for Italian Americans. Italian citizenship is based on ius sanguinis (law of blood) as opposed to US's ius soli (law of land). This means that you are italian citizen by blood and not by place of birth.

Therefore if I had children while living abroad I could register them as italians because I have italian citizenship, however if a child is born in Italy from foreign paretns, the child will not be granted italian citizenship automatically, but can request it when they turn 18.

I profoundly disagree with this principle but that's besides the point and OT, this is just to say that ius sanguinis applies to anyone with italian ancestors. It just so happens that most of people taking advantage of it are largely from Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Urugay mainly but not exclusively) and the US because statistically this is where most italians emigrated between the 1800 and 1900. Also if you have italian heritage but you already have a EU passport you can enjoy the same rights pretty much everywhere regardless of your nationality. i.e. I live comfortably in Ireland without Irish nationality because I am Italian.

In order to get an italian passport, you need a lot of paperwork but it's feasible, I know tons of brazilians that got it in a few month's time. Mainly you need a birth certificate of your italian ancestor which I assume normally would also have to state the nationality of their parents.

Unless Maia has italian ancestors she would need to appeal to the "exceptional contribution to the country" rule. Tricky one as 1) could take more than 1 year, 2)it's a very difficult political climate the one we are living in and I can't see it happening as "easy" as it did for other skaters (not saying that Charlene's was easy at all!)
.
Will see what happens but I don't expect this to be a walk in the park and I'd rather see our fed focusing on athletes already competing for Italy with great potential (Pezzetta for instance).

well that’s how we got ours and our coworkers got theirs as well.

The paperwork we needed was just the birth certificates and the marriage certificates Specifically on the paternal side. Only red tape they gave us was if the birth certificate say said Roberto but then the marriage certificate said Robert they had to have the same exact name even if it was just one letter off. other that we got the passports

i.e. Cannot be Luigi in one certificate and then Louis in the other or Maria in one certificate and Mary in the other. We had to go back to the apostolate to have it changed

 

[SidelineSkater]

Sort of off-topic/sort of on-topic...

Italy should be very solid in Dance, Pairs and Men for Milan 2026. Obviously Gold on home soil would be the goal.

Who are the other podium contenders for the TE?

USA - Men, Dance, Women (Pairs might be the weak link if K/F retire or don't return)
Canada - Dance, Pairs (Women/Men aren't as strong)
Japan - Men, Women, Pairs (Dance weaker)
France - Men, then dance (Women/Pairs weaker)

Then there's...
Georgia
Germany
Czech Republic
Ukraine
South Korea
Great Britain

And if the ROC is allowed to participate...blarp.

Italy definitely has a team to compete for medals.

 

[Karen-W]

Sort of off-topic/sort of on-topic...

Italy should be very solid in Dance, Pairs and Men for Milan 2026. Obviously Gold on home soil would be the goal.

Who are the other podium contenders for the TE?

USA - Men, Dance, Women (Pairs might be the weak link if K/F retire or don't return)
Canada - Dance, Pairs (Women/Men aren't as strong)
Japan - Men, Women, Pairs (Dance weaker)
France - Men, then dance (Women/Pairs weaker)

Then there's...
Georgia
Germany
Czech Republic
Ukraine
South Korea
Great Britain

And if the ROC is allowed to participate...blarp.

Italy definitely has a team to compete for medals.

I don't know that I consider Italy to be any more solid than the US in pairs - Conti/Macii and Ghilardi/Ambrosini score in the same range as Chan/Howe usually. And Les Kovs have been steadily improving in pairs themselves this season.

Dark horse countries that could emerge (strong contenders in one or two disciplines & rising juniors) - Switzerland, Hungary, Estonia, Australia, Sweden, Finland

It will be interesting and exciting to watch over the next few seasons.

 

[thvu]

@eleonorad the US also has a Law of Blood. Children born to parent(s) who are US citizens are born as US citizens, even if not on US soil.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Canada has both, too.

 

[Alilou]

“The Italian Ice Sports Federation is not interested in requesting the transfer and release of foreign athletes who have no connections to Italy and / or our federation.” a comment on rumors about possible transfer of Maiia Khromykh

The press service of the Ice Sports Federation, in response to a request from Sport-Express, commented on the news circulated in social networks about the plans of the 16-year-old figure skater of Khrustalny Maiia Khromykh to change sports citizenship and represent Italy.

fs-gossips.com

 

[PRlady]

Good for them. At least the many American ringers skating for small Feds are usually one or two generations removed from the country, but of that heritage.

Next we will hear that Maia has a Jewish grandmom.

 

[flatfoot]

It is good to see Italy do the right thing.

As said Charlene was living training and building a life in Italy when she was given citizenship as an extraordinary athlete to go to the Olympics. In other instances, should athletes be allowed to skate at Olympic level without fulfilling the residency or heritage rules of a country. If they are given a passport purely on extraordinary talent could that be viewed as a federation\national olympic association buying medals which could be seen as unethical and is definitely not in the spirit of sport when you consider that this may be done at the expense of national skaters losing opportunity and funding. Of course all of the original details could have just been rumour as skating fans don't always get it right but even so it is good that the Italian federation have put an end to it. That seems very supportive of their own athletes.

 

[Vagabond]

Next we will hear that Maia has a Jewish grandmom.

You don't have to have a Jewish grandmom to skate for Azerbaijan, but I suppose it can't hurt.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Guignard's citizenship was accelerated, ie didn't have to wait in the line of the bureaucratic process, after she'd met all of the citizenship requirements, like Belbin. (I don't remember if the Canadian government granted citizenship to Weaver and Gilles without them having met the residency requirement after being granted permanent residency, but they met the other requirements, and the bureaucracy in getting PR status impacted their ability to meet those residency requirements, if they hadn't met them.)

Federations don't grant citizenship: governments do. If granted because of "Special and extraordinary", it's just another citizenship process/requirement that's part of the country that giveth and taketh away. They can be strict about it or not.

Good for them. At least the many American ringers skating for small Feds are usually one or two generations removed from the country, but of that heritage.

Next we will hear that Maia has a Jewish grandmom.

American singles skaters have to have citizenship or a year's residency to compete for another country, so, if citizens, they're just as much citizens of the other country as US citizens. Like Dianne de Leeuw. And, of course, to compete in the Olympics for that country as a Pairs or Dance partner. Depending on the country, if you qualify for citizenship by blood, there might not be any cultural, language, or residency requirements to claim (or for your parents to claim) that passport.

 

[rfisher]

This was always not a real plan. The "leak" was unverified at the time. This is what happens with unsubstantiated rumors on twitter and social media.

 

[Primorskaya]

Meanwhile, Daniel is back in Khrustalny:

Daniel Grassl returned to Moscow to train with Eteri Tutberidze

Daniel Grassl returned to work in Khrystalny, Moscow, to train with Tutberidze.

fs-gossips.com

...but his Fed is being coy about how long for exactly:

“Grassl hasn’t notified us yet of his intention to train with Tutberidze till the end of the season. But if he does this, then we will support him.” Comment from the Italian Ice Sports Federation

The Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) commented on the intention of figure skater Daniel Grassl to continue training in Moscow with coach Eteri Tutberidze.

fs-gossips.com

I'm still about his decision to go to this group. The Eteri bonus isn't a thing anymore. Their ability to fix poor technique is questionable. Their merit in producing winning athletes is also a bit of a joke. It's all circumstantial. They get to pick only the most promising from a huge national pool, don't do the crucial early training but benefit from other coaches' good work.
The only thing all their own is the willingness to go where other coaches wouldn't in terms of workload, strictness, diet, and, er, "vitamins". They do that and image-building well. But a mystique has been built around them, and it seems what some skaters do get from it is a kind of confidence-boost, or placebo effect, "I'm with the coach of winners so I'm going to win too". Seemed to work for Tarasova/Morozov, but we'll never know if it would have held in the long run, since we don't get to see their Putin-loving weasel-faces at competitions anymore.
Anyway, I'm amazed.

 

[Andrea82]

Piredda got the minimums for Worlds at Bavarian Open (she was lacking the FS one).
Negrello failed to get the SP one that she needed.

Gutmann is entered at Dragon Trophy.

 

[antmanb]

And Italy also allows you to hold dual citizenship one of the few European countries that do

The majority of European countries allow dual citizenship. I can only think of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands that don't but the rest all do.

 

[Private Citizen]

Warning: Mostly off-topic post about Italian citizenship, with a little bit of speculation about Levito and Izzo at the end.

In order to get an italian passport, you need a lot of paperwork but it's feasible, I know tons of brazilians that got it in a few month's time. Mainly you need a birth certificate of your italian ancestor which I assume normally would also have to state the nationality of their parents.

There is one "backdoor" that I know that requires temporarily moving to Italy, which is maybe how the Brazilians did it in a few months? Following the typical process takes at least two years, often as many as six or seven. If you're outside of Italy, you must apply at the consulate closest to your residence. At many of the busiest consulates, it takes 2-3 years just to get an appointment (pre-covid; it may be worse now). Even if the records are in good order, it can take another year-plus for the consulate to examine them and make a decision. Latin American records are heavily scrutinized and usually take longer, due to high occurrence of falsification.

well that’s how we got ours and our coworkers got theirs as well.

The paperwork we needed was just the birth certificates and the marriage certificates Specifically on the paternal side. Only red tape they gave us was if the birth certificate say said Roberto but then the marriage certificate said Robert they had to have the same exact name even if it was just one letter off. other that we got the passports

i.e. Cannot be Luigi in one certificate and then Louis in the other or Maria in one certificate and Mary in the other. We had to go back to the apostolate to have it changed

It depends on the consular office. Typically, direct translations are accepted, but the consular officer has discretion. It gets trickier if, e.g., Panfilo decides to become Charles. Then a court order declaring that Panfilo and Charles were the same person may be required.

@eleonorad the US also has a Law of Blood. Children born to parent(s) who are US citizens are born as US citizens, even if not on US soil.

Not necessarily. Your statement as written is not factually correct, though it does apply in most cases. The U.S.'s law is also different and far narrower than Italy's law.

Italian law allows the chain to continue forever. You can claim citizenship based on a great-grandparent, great-great grandparent, or even great-great-great grandparent (beyond that may pre-date the Risorgimento, but it's possible), as long as the chain is unbroken*. In theory, no one could have lived in Italy since the 1800s, and yet their ancestors could continue claiming citizenship forever, subject to a couple of quirks - mainly, that their relative did not renounce citizenship prior to the next person in the chain's birth, and that no women are used in the chain before 1/1/1948. The right to claim citizenship also never expires. Someone could claim citizenship in 2023 based on an ancestor who lived in Italy in the 1800s, as long as they can provide the paperwork.

U.S. citizenship law related to persons born abroad to U.S. citizens has changed over time, but does NOT continue indefinitely. Current law requires at least one parent to have resided in the U.S. prior to the child's birth if both parents are U.S. citizens. If only one parent is a U.S. citizen, the parent needs to have resided in the U.S. for at least five years, including two years after the age of 14. There are a couple of other edge cases, too. Someone who acquires U.S. citizenship through a parent and then never lives there will not be able to pass it on. You cannot claim citizenship through a grandparent or beyond, though in some cases you are eligible for expedited naturalization.

[*In cases where the Italian ancestor naturalized, Italian law does create quirks related to birth order, where children of people born in Italy are not eligible because they were born post-naturalization, yet their older siblings and all descendants of their older siblings are eligible in perpetuity. Naturalization with renunciation of previous citizenship ends the chain, and children born after naturalization are completely out of luck, no exceptions. The rule where women can pass along citizenship only after 1/1/1948 also creates quirks in families with children born in that period. In a situation where a woman naturalized in 1949, her child born in 1947 would be ineligible, 1948 eligible, and 1950 ineligible - and the same is true for all of their descendants in perpetuity.]

The majority of European countries allow dual citizenship. I can only think of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands that don't but the rest all do.

Slovakia, too. It's worth noting that there are exceptions to all of the above, particularly for children born with dual nationality or other EU nationalities. I don't think any European country disallows dual citizenship in all cases. I think it's fairer to say some take a complete "laissez faire" approach, where others actively restrict it with exceptions.

Where Italy's law is unique is no generational limit. I am not aware of another European country with this quirk. It's part of the reason why Brazilians with mixed Portuguese and Italian ancestry, Argentinians with mixed Spanish and Italian ancestry, or Americans with Italian and Irish ancestry all tend to have Italian passports.

For some skating content: I am not sure if Isabeau Levito has had her Italian citizenship recognized, but she is almost certainly entitled to it. For Gabbie Izzo, it really depends on when her last Italian-born ancestor naturalized, and whether the next of kin was born before they did. An Italian grandparent in and of itself is not enough.

 

[Frau Muller]

I’ve been thinking about Levito a lot, especially after reading most negative - highly negative - FSU comments right after she won Nationals. Good grief.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

The majority of European countries allow dual citizenship. I can only think of Germany, Austria and the Netherlands that don't but the rest all do.

OK maybe you’re right, yeah I was thinking of Germany and Netherlands specifically.

 

[Jayar]

OK maybe you’re right, yeah I was thinking of Germany and Netherlands specifically.

When did this change? I know of at least three people who have German and US citizenship.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

When did this change? I know of at least three people who have German and US citizenship.

In principle, Germany does not allow dual citizenship. However, the German nationality law was recently changed to allow more people to qualify for dual citizenship.

Now, children born to at least one German citizen may qualify for multiple nationalities, while others— who meet the qualifying criteria— can apply to hold German dual citizenship.

as an American I was told that even if you marry a German citizen its either one or the other baby. That a US citizen can of course live there but couldn’t have dual citizenship even if you married someone there

 

[kwanfan1818]

When Aaron van Cleeve applied for German citizenship to compete in the Olympics, the law then was that you could retain only certain citizenships with German citizenships -- IIRC, it was EU and Switzerland and maybe a few others, and I'm not sure about the special provisions for Jews who fled the Holocaust -- and US and Canadian citizenship was not among them. He was granted provisional German citizenship that required him to renounce US and Canadian citizenship -- provisional so he was never stateless -- and the issue was that Canadian embassy and consulate workers were on strike when he needed them to process an official renunciation document.

Lithuania generally doesn't allow dual citizenship attained by naturalization -- Isabelle Tobias didn't have to renounce US citizenship when she was granted a Lithuanian passport, but she did have to give it up when she claimed an Israeli one -- and neither did Estonia when they offered Caitlin Mallory a special five-year passport that would expire, so that she could reclaim US citizenship afterwards, which she ended up turning it down. (Someone here posted at the time that she would have stopped qualifying for in-state tuition if she had accepted.)

So I don't think it's black-and-white in all of Europe or the EU.

 

[sus2850]

I know quite a few Germans who also have US citizenship (by birth), also you can have German and French citizenship (Bruno Massot) or German and Italian (Stefano Caruso) and so on (German plus any other EU).

 

[Andrea82]

Gutmann finally got the minimum TES for Worlds in SP at Dragon Trophy. Still with a 3+2 combo, but this time clean (and panel was in a generous mood).

As we talked about it some weeks ago, yesterday the State Police published the official result for the latest public tender for their sport group and Lara was the winner of the "figure skating, woman and team event" spot. Given the date of birth of the second and third placed candidates, they were Piredda and Tornaghi.

https://www.poliziadistato.it/statics/01/decreto-approvazione-graduatorie-di-merito-e-dichiarazione-vincitori.pdf

 

[Karen-W]

Gutmann finally got the minimum TES for Worlds in SP at Dragon Trophy. Still with a 3+2 combo, but this time clean (and panel was in a generous mood).

As we talked about it some weeks ago, yesterday the State Police published the official result for the latest public tender for their sport group and Lara was the winner of the "figure skating, woman and team event" spot. Given the date of birth of the second and third placed candidates, they were Piredda and Tornaghi.

https://www.poliziadistato.it/statics/01/decreto-approvazione-graduatorie-di-merito-e-dichiarazione-vincitori.pdf

So, that pretty much secures the Worlds assignment for Gutmann, correct?