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I am from Argentina and I will be living in Switzerland for 2 years due to an academic scholarship I have been granted. I was wondering if acquiring Italian citizenship during my studies would be possible.

My grandfather was Italian, but I do not know if it would be possible for me to acquire the Italian citizenship in Switzerland, my being Argentinian.

I have all the necessary documents I would need to apply in the Italian Consulate at Argentina, but the problem is that it is almost impossible to get an appointment and, if I happened to get one miraculously, it would take between one and two years before I could get citizenship. That is why I was wondering if doing it in Switzerland would be faster and easier.

Does anyone know whether this is possible or not? Would I need additional documentation to do this in Switzerland and not in my home country?

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    The benifit of making the application in Argentina is that the local Italian consulate would deal with any needed verification of Argentinian documents before passing the case on to Italy. Applying from Switzerland may therefore slow down the process. May 14, 2021 at 4:09
  • @MarkJohnson It makes sense, but the thing is that doing the process in Argentina is practically impossible, because appointments are impossible to get. In Switzerland I could at least get it started...
    – Tendero
    May 14, 2021 at 14:35
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    You should clarify with the consulate if the intended 2 year stay in Switzerland counts as the place where you live. Italian Citizenship The application shall be submitted to the Consular Office of the district in which the foreigner of Italian origin lives. May 14, 2021 at 18:17
  • @MarkJohnson That makes sense. I'll check that out. Thank you so much!
    – Tendero
    May 14, 2021 at 19:29

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All the consular services can be done in all Italian consulates around the world. But unfortunately they work the same way. People working there belong to the class of 'raccomandati di ferro', often the appointment lists are stuffed with fake appointments to reduce the already small the workload. I don't know the consulate in Argentina, but to get an appointment in a consualte in Europe usually it takes between one and two months. The two years you mention usually are taken by the Register office in Italy, consulate duty is only to forward the application.

Check where your grandfather lived in Italy. Usually this work is carried on by the local registry. If it is close to Switzerland, you might save some time by catching a train and going there, but it would be a small change. To find out where you have to go, you have to look for the email address of the Council office (circoscrizione) and ask them. But you have to be sure about last place where your grandfather was resident before leaving.

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