Woman Saves Up To Move To Italy. Then Things Take A Turn: ‘4 Year Lease Without Papers Is Crazy’

A woman saved up with her family to move to Italy. Then the immigration system changed, causing the family to have to fight an uphill battle to stay in the country. 

TikToker Jacqueline (@goingeuro) chose to leave the United States with her family to move to Italy and acquire dual citizenship. Her husband and children were eligible at the time by descent. So they packed all of their things, gathered supporting documents, and signed a four year lease in Torino with a one-way ticket there.

Then they found out as they were moving in that the Italian government had changed its citizenship rules. This put their immigration status in limbo.

They went through a variety of legal hoops while trying to apply to stay in the country. Now Jacqueline says she and her entire family have been fighting for nearly a year and a half with no resolution to their case. She says it’s been a huge struggle for the family.

“We moved our family to Italy and everything went wrong,” she writes of their experience.

Her video has over 2.6 million views as of this writing.

One Family’s Quest For Italian Citizenship

As Jacqueline and her family started settling into their new life, they heard that Italy had changed its citizenship rules. They apparently no longer qualified for citizenship. She says they attended a citizenship appointment where their application was initially accepted, then later rejected.

Then their lawyer tried a different route and filed a new case using a different Italian ancestor to qualify for citizenship. This didn’t work either because the government changed its immigration law yet again, rendering them ineligible.

Jacqueline managed to attain a temporary medical permit to stay because she was pregnant. Her husband had to file a court case to try and come back for a citizen permit.

After many months, they attended a permit appointment with their lawyer. They got rejected again.

Their citizenship is still in limbo.

Jacqueline says their lawyer is still working to find a solution. In total, they had lived in Italy for around a year and a half without gaining citizenship.

Now they’re questioning the decision to move in the first place.

How Did Italy Change Its Immigration Laws?

It’s unclear what specific decree affected the family, although there are some likely options. Jacqueline specifically mentioned in her video that her husband and children were eligible for citizenship through a relative.

CNN reports that in 2024, Italy changed its citizenship laws and residency rules. The change rendered children of Italian citizens ineligible if their parents naturalized in a foreign country while they were still minors.

Then in 2025, the country further restricted its citizenship requirements. Previously, anyone who had a direct Italian ancestor could claim Italian citizenship through the 1912 Citizenship Law. Then the government implemented a two generation limit requiring anyone claiming Italian citizenship to have a parent or grandparent who was Italian.

That aligns with Jacqueline’s experience and timeline.

The Italian government says the second phase of its immigration law changes “requires citizens born and residing abroad to maintain real ties with Italy over time, exercising the rights and duties of citizenship at least once every twenty-five years.”

Jacqueline’s family is among millions who are affected by these policy changes. Newsweek reports that these changes rendered 60-80 million people worldwide ineligible for Italian citizenship.

Some who commented on her post weren’t necessarily sympathetic to their plight.

“Why would you move without being approved? That’s crazy to me,” wrote one.

Others were more empathetic. “This is why lots of people don’t leave America … even though we want to. There’s no guarantees. I’m sorry this happened to you guys,” said one.

We’ve reached out to Jacqueline via TikTok direct message and comment for more information. We’ll let you know if she responds.

@goingeuro

♬ original sound – jacq goes euro 🇺🇸🇮🇹