What you need for Italy
Why people send Canadian documents to Italy
Each situation has its own requirements. Here are the ones we see most often, with the detail that avoids a refusal.
Registering Canadian records in Italy (AIRE)
Italian citizens registered with AIRE, the registry of Italians living abroad, must have births, marriages, divorces and deaths that happened in Canada transcribed in their Italian comune. The file goes through the consulate for their area. You provide the full original Canadian record, apostilled, with a complete Italian translation, and the consulate keeps the original.
Citizenship by descent after Law 74/2025
Since the decree-law of March 28, 2025, converted into Law 74/2025, a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is no longer recognized as Italian by descent, with exceptions: an application filed (or a consular appointment set) by March 27, 2025, a parent or grandparent who holds, or held at death, only Italian citizenship, or a parent who lived in Italy for two consecutive years before your birth. Italy's Constitutional Court upheld the law in March 2026 (judgment 63/2026), then referred a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union by an order filed on July 23, 2026. The law applies in the meantime.
Citizenship by marriage to an Italian
The foreign spouse of an Italian citizen living in Canada can apply three years after the wedding, or eighteen months if the couple has children. The marriage must already be transcribed in an Italian comune. The file includes the full birth record naming both parents, a B1 Italian language certificate, and a police certificate with photo and fingerprints, apostilled and translated.
Inheritance, property and powers of attorney
Inheriting a family home or selling land in Italy often requires a power of attorney (procura) for a relative or a notary there. You can sign it at the Italian consulate, which offers notarial services, or before a Canadian notary, then have it apostilled and translated. Estates usually also call for the apostilled Canadian death certificate.
Which Canadian authority apostilles your document
The authority depends on where in Canada the document was issued or notarized, never on where you live now or where the document is going. We confirm it at the free pre-check, before you send anything.
| Document | Canadian authority | Notary first? |
|---|---|---|
| Birth, marriage or death certificate | The province that issued it (Québec, Ontario, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan), or Global Affairs Canada for all others | No |
| RCMP criminal record check | Global Affairs Canada | No |
| Degree, diploma, transcript | The province of the institution | Often, depending on the province |
| Power of attorney, statutory declaration, affidavit | The province of the notary or lawyer | Yes, the notarial act is what gets apostilled |
| Corporate documents | The province of the registry, or Global Affairs Canada for Corporations Canada | Sometimes, depending on the document |
Do you need a translation for Italy?
Nearly every Italian office wants a complete Italian translation, but the accepted form depends on the consulate. In Toronto, the consulate does not translate: it legalizes translations by ATIO certified translators whose signatures are on file there. With any other translator, the translation must be notarized by a notary or lawyer in Canada and then apostilled. In Montréal, the consulate publishes its own list of official translators and certifies their translations as conforming. In Italy itself, the equivalent is a traduzione asseverata, sworn before a court, a justice of the peace or a notary.
Good news: the Toronto consulate states that the apostille does not need translating into Italian. Our advice: first identify the consulate or comune that will receive the file, then use a translator that office recognizes. We arrange the certified translation to match.
Three mistakes that delay a file for Italy
Avoid this
A name spelled differently from record to record
Giuseppe on one record, Joseph on the next, a maiden name missing: the Montréal consulate states that no discrepancy in names, places or dates is accepted. Spot the differences before ordering, and have the Canadian record corrected if needed.
Avoid this
A short-form certificate or citizenship card
Wallet-size certificates are refused for transcription. To prove an ancestor's naturalization, the Canadian citizenship card is not enough because it lacks the exact date: you need the full certificate or an apostilled search of citizenship records.
Avoid this
A translator the consulate does not recognize
A good translation can still be refused if its translator is not recognized by the receiving consulate, or if it was neither legalized nor apostilled. Check your consulate's list before ordering.
Useful guides: RCMP fingerprints from abroad · Italy documents kit · Birth certificates · RCMP criminal record check · Powers of attorney
Does Italy accept Canadian apostilles?
Can I still get Italian citizenship by descent from Canada?
Who can translate my Canadian documents into Italian?
Does the apostille need to be translated into Italian?
How recent must my Canadian records be?
Does my Canadian degree need an apostille to study or work in Italy?
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