What Is An AtQ Case?

October 20, 2026 01:17 PM - Comment(s) - By Jacqueline Nobile

And How Is It Different From A 1948 Case?

The process of applying for Italian citizenship will expose you to a lot of new terms and jargon that will seem very unfamiliar at first, and be old hat by the time you have a little red passport in hand. Before we jump right into the definition, it is important to explain why some citizenship cases go through court and others do not. 


There are three ways to apply for Italian citizenship by descent: at the Italian consulate that presides over the jurisdiction where you are a permanent, legal resident; at the comune in Italy where you are a permanent, legal resident; or through the Italian court that serves the jurisdiction where your last Italian born ancestor was from.

While applying at the comune is certainly the quickest route, it is not for everyone. In order to apply at the comune, you must be a legal resident there which requires a long term lease, a permesso di soggiorno, and at least six months to a year for the recognition process. 

If you’re one of the many who have tried to secure an appointment at a consulate, you understand just how difficult and rare it is to make it to the booking page of Prenot@mi, let alone snag an available appointment before they’re all gone. And even if you are one of the lucky few that grab an appointment, it’s likely that the appointment won’t be for another seven to ten years! 

At the rate that the Italian government has been making changes to the laws governing citizenship by descent, you may no longer qualify by the time your appointment comes around. On top of which, the consulates typically don’t accept documents older than a few years, and will not accept an Italian document older than six months. With extreme backlogs in the vital records offices across the US, it feels as though determining when to order your documents requires a mathematical equation! 


But don’t wait until the last minute to order your documents. You should order them now to ensure there aren’t any typos, mistakes, or unknowns that could derail your application. Once all your documents are in order and properly amended, all you can do is sit and wait patiently for your appointment date. After the appointment, if your application is accepted, you’re in for a minimum of another two years to find out if your application is approved. Then another six to twelve months waiting for the comune to transcribe your records, and register in AIRE, and then finally start trying for a passport appointment.

That’s why so many choose to take their case to court. 

Not all Italian citizenship by descent cases can be accepted by the consulate or comune. A standard jure sanguinis case that meets the current laws can be accepted by the consulate or comune where the applicant lives. However, if your direct line of Italian ancestors includes a woman who gave birth to the next in-line before 1948, yours is a case that must go through court. This is because prior to 1948, women could not legally pass Italian citizenship to their children. In 1948, the laws changed when the courts recognized this as unequal. Although a 1948 case cannot be heard through the traditional routes, barring any additional issues with the application, they are nearly always successful in court.  

But what if your line does not meet the requirements for a 1948 case, you aren’t able to relocate to an Italian comune, and you’ve tried unsuccessfully to book an appointment at your local consulate? That is why the AtQ case exists. 


AtQ stands for “Against the Queue”. If you have tried and failed to get an appointment at your local Italian consulate, you may be able to apply through the Italian courts in a case against the queue. 

According the EU law of fundamental rights, article 41 states: 

Every person has the right to have his or her affairs handled impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time by the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union.

This is legally binding for all Member States and institutions of the EU. The concept is similar to the US right to due process. The law is also upheld by the Constitution of the Italian Republic in Article 2 of Italian Administrative Process Act 241/1990 and DPCM – President of the Council of Ministers Decree no. 33/2014, deeming 730 days (two years) as a reasonable amount of time. 

Unfortunately, the consulates’ interpretation of this law is that the two year period comes after the appointment date, not before. Hence the two year waiting period after your case is submitted, and a seemingly never-ending wait for an appointment to become available.

The good news is that the same is not true in the Italian courts. If you are able to prove your inability to book an appointment at your local consulate over the course of at least several months, and show that appointments being made available are more than two years in advance, you meet the requirements to file an AtQ case. 

Many online groups may tell you that an AtQ case is too risky. While there certainly is some risk involved with an AtQ case, they are not at all uncommon. The key is working with an Italian attorney who is familiar with these cases and believes your case meets the standards of the court, and in some cases, even the particular judges of that court. If your case falls inside the scope of the current laws and you have sufficient evidence that you have been unable to obtain an appointment, there is no significant additional risk involved with an AtQ case.

The best way to prove your inability to get an appointment is to take screenshots of the booking page every time you try. Make sure your screenshots include the date and time at the bottom of your screen, as well as your name and the name of the consulate. This can easily be done by using the “screenshot” button or hotkey on your keyboard.

For Mac: Command (⌘) + Shift + 3 saves the full screen to your desktop.
For Windows: Windows Logo Key + PrtScn saves the full screen to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.


Additionally, you will need to email your consulate to inform them of your inability to get an appointment and ask what you should do.

Most courts are currently setting court dates between six months and three years out. You may be thinking, wait- three years?! I thought the law said two! Unfortunately, the courts are also experiencing a backlog, but unlike the consulates, more judges are being routinely added and court dates are commonly moved up. 


It is important to note that also unlike the consulate, you cannot file your case in court until your application is complete. That means you will need your full set of documents, apostilles, and court sworn translations completed in Italy and marked on every fourth page with a tax revenue stamp. For court, standard translations or translations with an apostille are not acceptable. But on the flip side, court cases do not require nearly as many documents as the consulates. Courts typically only want the following: 

        1. In-line ancestors’ documents only
        2. Naturalization records (for which a CONE with federal apostille and court sworn translation is sufficient)
        3. Birth and marriage certificates

Unless you have a unique situation, name changes, or discrepancies, the list above along with your proof of not being able to book an appointment and court documents (such as a signed and notarized limited power of attorney and letter of engagement with your attorney) is enough for the courts. No death certificates, historical residency, historical citizenship, census records, immigration records, no-record-found from the local courts, or photocopies of out of line ancestors’ births required! 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, or unsure about which path is right for you, don’t worry. Book a free introductory call with us today for an expert opinion. We’ll take a look at your unique ancestral line, explain all of the available options, and which one we think is the best fit for you. And if you choose to proceed with a court case, we can connect you with one of our trusted and experienced Italian avvocati.


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Jacqueline Nobile

Jacqueline Nobile

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