Italy Emigration and Immigration

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Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

Research Organizations Sources

• Centro Altreitalie Three databases, available online, with the landing lists of Italians in Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
• Centro Internazionale Studi Emigrazione Italiana, searchable database. CISEI has several databases containing information on millions of Italian migrants. By entering the person's data you will be able to know the date, the place of departure and destination, and get information on travel, sea travel and family members. In the most fortunate cases also read a short account of the migratory experience.
• Italian Emigration Sites Benelux / France / United Kingdom / Swizerland / American continent / Canada / USA / Argentina / Brazil / Peru / Venezuela / Algérie / Tunisia / Australia / New-Zeland
• Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Italy under "Listed by Port of Departure".

Argentina Sources

• Center for Latin American Migration Studies (CEMLA) Database Search Access to consult on-line the most complete database on arrivals of immigrants to Argentina.
• Entrada de Pasajeros (Passenger Entry to Argentina, 19th Century)
• 1882-1920 Agnelli Ships - Records of the entry of Italian immigrants Agnelli Boats is a registry of the entry of Italian immigrants organized by year and by ship.
• 1882-1929 Centro Altreitalie Three databases, available online, with the landing lists of Italians in Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
• 1882-1950 Immigration Records of Argentina, index

Australia Sources

• Australian shipping and passenger records

Brazil Sources

• Brazil Immigrants Project (Projeto Imigrantes, ($) index
• Projeto Imigrantes "Now you will know everything about the immigrants who originated your family, without having to leave your home. More than 2.8 million immigrants who entered the country since 1737 (we already have registered until 1920) and which are included in our archives, researched in Churches, Museums, Ports, Immigrant Hostels and Historical Archives." ($)
• 1855-1964 Brazil, Bahia, Passenger Lists, 1855-1964, images, no index
• 1858-1899 Centro Altreitalie Three databases, available online, with the landing lists of Italians in Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
• 1875-1900 Emigrazione Veneta "If your ancestors came from Venetia: the Venetia is indeed the province where from left Italians’ largest number towards Brazil, in particular at the beginning of the Italian colonization in Brazil (1875-1900). Search by initial of the surname or complete name, information on the travelers."
• 1880-1891 Centro Altreitalie Three databases, available online, with the landing lists of Italians in Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
• 1882-1925 Brazil, São Paulo, Immigrant Hostelry Records, 1882-1925, images, no index. Also at Ancestry.com, ($), images, no index.
• 1900-1965 Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965, index and images
• 1900-1965 Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965 ($), index and images
• 1902-1980 Brazil, São Paulo, Immigration Cards, 1902-1980, index, images
• 1902-1980 Brazil, São Paulo, Immigration Cards, 1902-1980, index, images
• Brazil, São Paulo Immigration Memorial (Arquivo Público Do Estado De São Paulo), index.
• 1960-1982 Brazil, São Paulo, Port of Santos, Passenger and Immigrant Lists, 1960-1982, images, no index

Canada Sources

• Library and Archives Canada Ancestors Search (including immigration and citizenship databases), searchable index
• Canadian Immigrant Records, Part One ($)
• Canadian Immigrant Records, Part Two ($)
• 1500s-1900s Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s ($)
• 1865-1935 Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 ($)

Halifax, Nova Scotia

• 1819. 1847-1903 Nova Scotia immigration records, 1819, 1847-1903
• 1851-872 Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Halifax, Nova Scotia Ship arrivals and departures Index 1851-1872
• 1902. 1906-1909' Misc. Passenger Lists to Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1902 and 1906-1909 With mention of the final destination of each passenger (in Canada or the United States).
• 1923-1933 Canada, Nova Scotia, Records of Aliens pre-examined at Halifax, 1923-1933 at FamilySearch — index and images

United States Sources

See United States Immigration Online Genealogy Records.

• 1905-1910 Italian Passengers to Louisiana, 1905-10 at Ancestry ($)
• 1855-1900 Italians to America Passenger Data File, 1855 - 1900, NARA
• Italians Immigrating to the United States, at MyHeritage ($), index
• BYU Immigrant Ancestors Project index

Passport Records Online

• 1795-1925 - United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925 at FamilySearch — index and images
• 1795-1925 - U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 Index and images, at Ancestry ($)

Uruguay Sources

• 1888-1980 Uruguay, Passenger Lists, 1888-1980, index.

Offices to Contact

Australia Offices and Archives

National Archives of Australia
National Office
Kings Avenue
Parkes ACT 2600
Australia

Phone:02 6212 3600

• Ordering digital copies of records
• Fact sheets

• Immigration records - Fact sheet 227
• Records relating to Italian migration held in Sydney – Fact sheet 100
• Records relating to Italian migration held in Brisbane – Fact sheet 236
• Records relating to Italian migration held in Brisbane – Fact sheet 207

Canada Offices and Archives

Records of immigrants arriving at Canadian land and seaports from January 1, 1936 onwards remain in the custody of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. To request a copy of another person's immigration record, you must mail a signed request to the under-noted office:
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Access to Information and Privacy Division
Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1

• The request should include the full name at time of entry into Canada, date of birth and year of entry. Additional information is helpful, such as country of birth, port of entry and names of accompanying family members.
• The application for copies of records should indicate that it is being requested under Access to Information. It must be submitted by a Canadian citizen or an individual residing in Canada. For non-citizens, you can hire a free-lance researcher to make the request on your behalf. The request must be accompanied by a signed consent from the person concerned or proof that he or she has been deceased for 20 years. Please note that IRCC requires proof of death regardless of the person’s year of birth.
• Fee: $5.00 (by cheque or money order made payable to the Receiver General for Canada)

United States Offices

U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services Genealogy Program

The USCIS Genealogy Program is a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants. If the immigrant was born less than 100 years ago, you will also need to provide proof of his/her death.

Immigration Records Available

• A-Files: Immigrant Files, (A-Files) are the individual alien case files, which became the official file for all immigration records created or consolidated since April 1, 1944.
• Alien Registration Forms (AR-2s): Alien Registration Forms (Form AR-2) are copies of approximately 5.5 million Alien Registration Forms completed by all aliens age 14 and older, residing in or entering the United States between August 1, 1940 and March 31, 1944.
• Registry Files: Registry Files are records, which document the creation of immigrant arrival records for persons who entered the United States prior to July 1, 1924, and for whom no arrival record could later be found.
• Visa Files: Visa Files are original arrival records of immigrants admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Requesting a Record

• Web Request Page allows you to request a records, pay fees, and upload supporting documents (proof of death).
• Record Requests Frequently Asked Questions

Uruguay Offices

The Dirección Nacional de Migración (National Directorate of Migration) is a department of the Ministry of the Interior and is in charge of controlling the entry and stay of foreigners in Uruguay. It has several immigration records from 1920 onwards. To consult them, it is necessary to request it in writing to the agency.

Central Office
Misiones 1513
Montevideo, Uruguay
Telephone 2030 1800
Citizen Service Center 2030 1804

Instructions for Requesting Access

Finding Town of Origin

Records in the countries emigrated from are kept on the local level. You must first identify the name of the town where your ancestors lived to access those records. If you do not yet know the name of the town of your ancestor's birth, there are well-known strategies for a thorough hunt for it.
You may be able to find it by talking to older family members or by searching documents, such as:

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates.
• Obituaries.
• Journals.
• Photographs.
• Letters.
• Family bible.
• Church certificates or records.
• Naturalization applications and petitions.
• Passenger lists.
• Passports.
• Family heirlooms.

Finding Italian Town of Origin in United States Records=

• U. S. Immigration Records: Finding the Town of Origin

Italy Genealogy Research Using the Wiki – Video Series

These three lessons demonstrate the use of personal and U.S. records to search for the name of your ancestors' home town in Italy.

• Italy Research With the Wiki Part 11 of 13: Finding Your Town of Origin in Italy: Home Records: Searching documents commonly found in homes for emigration information on Italy ancestors. Interviewing older relatives. Searching compiled family trees and printed genealogy books.
• Italy Research With the Wiki Part 12 of 13: Finding Your Town of Origin in Italy: U S Records: Using United States census records, vital records, cemetery records, obituaries, Social Security records, and military records to find the town of origin for an Italian emigrant for genealogy.
• Italy Research With the Wiki Part 13 of 13: Finding a Town of Origin:Immigration and Naturalization: Using passenger lists and petitions for citizenship to find the town of origin for an Italian emigrant for genealogy.

Historical Background

Immigration into Italy

• Early 1200s. Waldensian emigrants from France moved to northern Italy as a result of religious persecution.
• 1431 to about 1450. Thousands of Greek and Albanian Christians moved into Italy as a result of persecution under the Muslim Turks. They settled in coastal areas of the Italian peninsula and in Sicilia.
• 1492 to 1692. Thousands of Jewish emigrants moved into Italy because of religious persecution. Most of them came from Spain and Portugal. Many settled in Rome and other major cities.
• 1980s to Present As a result of the profound economic and social changes brought about by postwar industrialization, including low birth rates, an aging population and thus a shrinking workforce, during the 1980s. Italy became to attract rising flows of foreign immigrants. The present-day figure of about 5 million foreign residents, that make up some 8% of the total population. The official figures also exclude illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers are very difficult to determine. In May 2008, The Boston Globe quoted an estimate of 670,000 for this group.
• Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and more recently, the 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union, the main waves of migration came from the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (especially Romania, Albania, Ukraine and Poland).
• The second most important area of immigration to Italy has always been the neighbouring North Africa (in particular, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia), with soaring arrivals as a consequence of the Arab Spring.
• In recent years, growing migration fluxes from the Far East (notably, China and the Philippines) and Latin America (Ecuador, Peru) have been recorded.
• Currently, there are 1.2 million Romanian-born citizens living and working in Italy.
• Today the Romanians make up the largest community in the country, followed by Albanians (441,027) and Moroccans (422,980).The fourth largest community in Italy are the Chinese.

Emigration from Italy

Italy used to be a country of mass emigration from the late 19th century until the 1970s. Between 1898 and 1914, the peak years of Italian diaspora, approximately 750,000 Italians emigrated each year. Today, large numbers of people with full or significant Italian ancestry are found in Brazil (25 million), Argentina (20 million), US (17.8 million), France (5 million), Venezuela (2 million),[ Uruguay (1.5 million), Canada (1.4 million), and Australia (800,000).

Argentina

Italian settlements in Argentina, along with Spanish settlements, formed the backbone of today's Argentine society. Argentine culture has significant connections with Italian culture in terms of language, customs, and traditions.

Italian Argentines are Argentine-born citizens of Italian descent or Italian-born people who reside in Argentina. Italian is the largest ethnic origin of modern Argentines, after the Spanish immigration during the colonial population. It is estimated that up to 30 million Argentines have some degree of Italian ancestry (62.5% of the total population).

Italians began arriving in Argentina in large numbers from 1857 to 1940, totaling 44.9% of the entire postcolonial immigrant population, more than from any other country (including Spain, at 31.5%). In 1996, the population of Argentines of partial or full Italian descent numbered 15.8 million when Argentina’s population was approximately 34.5 million, meaning they represented 45.5% of the population. Today, the country has 30 million Argentines with some degree of Italian ancestry in a total population of 40 million.

Australia

Italian Australians comprise the sixth largest ethnic group in Australia, with the 2016 census finding 4.6% of the population (1,000,013 people) claiming ancestry from Italy, be they migrants to Australia or their descendants born in Australia of Italian heritage. The 2016 census counted 174,044 people (2.8% of the foreign born population) who were born in Italy, down from 199,124 in the 2006 census. In 2011, 916,100 persons identified themselves as having Italian ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry (4.6%). By 2016, Italian was identified as the fifth most spoken language other than English with 271,597 speakers. In 2011, Italian was the second most used language at home with 316,900 speakers (or 1.6% of the Australian population).

By Italian Government estimates, fully two-fifths of its emigrants to Australia were from the Veneto and another two-fifths were drawn from the Piedmont, Lombardy and Tuscany regions. Only one-fifth were from Sicily and Calabria.

Brazil

Italian Brazilians are Brazilian citizens of full or partial Italian descent. Italian Brazilians are the largest number of people with full or partial Italian ancestry outside Italy, with São Paulo being the most populous city with Italian ancestry in the world. Nowadays, it is possible to find millions of descendants of Italians, from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais to the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, with the majority living in São Paulo state and the highest percentage in the southeastern state of Espírito Santo (60-75%). Small southern Brazilian towns, such as Nova Veneza, have as much as 95% of their population of Italian descent. In 2019, 11,663 people with Italian nationality emigrated from Italy to Brazil according to the Italian World Report 2019, totaling 447,067 Italian citizens living in Brazil until 2019.

Canada

Italian Canadians comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2016 Census of Canada, 1,587,970 Canadians (4.6% of the total population) claimed full or partial Italian ancestry. Residing mainly in central urban industrial metropolitan areas, Italian Canadians are the seventh largest self-identified ethnic group in Canada behind French, English, Irish, Scottish, German and Chinese Canadians.

Italian immigration to Canada started as early as the mid 19th century. A substantial influx of Italian immigration to Canada began in the early 20th century, primarily from rural southern Italy. The interwar period of World War I also instigated further migration, with immigrants primarily settling in Toronto and Montreal.

A second wave of immigration occurred after the World War II, and between the early 1950s and the mid-1960s, approximately 20,000 to 30,000 Italians immigrated to Canada each year, many of the men working in the construction industry upon settling. Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia was an influential port of Italian immigration between 1928 until it ceased operations in 1971, where 471,940 individuals came to Canada from Italy, making them the third largest ethnic group to immigrate to Canada during that time period.

United States

1848 to 1870. More than 20,000 emigrants left Italy and migrated to the United States. This wave of emigration was caused by political upheaval and revolution as Italy struggled to become an independent, unified state.

1870 to 1914.

• From 1870 to 1880, an estimated 55,000 Italians came to the United States.
• From 1880 to 1890, more than 300,000 others arrived.
• As word arrived in Italy of the opportunities in America and as economic problems increased in Italy, nearly 4 million Italians came to America between 1890 and 1914.

Most emigrants were from southern Italy and settled in New York, Chicago, and along the East Coast. Many emigrants from northern Italy settled in the coal and mineral mining towns across the United States. Other northerners later settled in northern California where a climate similar to their own existed.

Uruguay

Italian Uruguayans (Spanish: ítalo-uruguayos; Italian: italo-uruguaiani) are Uruguayan-born citizens who are fully or partially of Italian descent or Italian-born people in Uruguay. It is estimated that more than one third of Uruguayans are of Italian descent.

Along with its neighboring country, Argentina, Italian immigration to Uruguay is one of the largest, if not the largest, ethnic groups towards Uruguay's modern culture and society, along with Spanish Uruguayans, exhibiting significant connections to Italian culture in terms of language, customs and traditions. Outside of Italy, Uruguay has one of the highest percentages of Italians in the world.

By 1976, Uruguayans of Italian descent numbered over 1,300,000, almost 45% of the total population, including Italian-Argentine residents in Uruguay. High concentrations are found in Montevideo and the city of Paysandú, where almost 65% of the population is of Italian origin.

Emigration from Italy Records

During the 1800s, most Italian emigrants left through the ports of Le Havre, Marseilles, and Nice in France, and Genova, Napoli, and Palermo in Italy. Although some of the records of departures from these Italian ports exist, they are usually shipping lists and do not list passengers. Each individual shipping company maintained its own lists, and most lists have been lost or destroyed.

Passports

In 1869, the Italian government began requiring people to obtain passports to move within Italy. However, the United States and many other countries did not require passports, so many Italians left Italy without an official passport.

The Italian government used passports to make sure young Italian men did not emigrate to avoid the military draft. Consequently, police were responsible for passports. Passports are still issued today by the questura (head of the internal police) in each province. Although you may write to request passport information, the archives where these records are kept are not open to the public. You will generally find passports among the personal papers of the emigrant’s family in his or her destination country.

Because passport records can be hard to find and access, you may want to check with the anagrafe (registrar’s office) in each comune. This office keeps records of residency changes and emigration along with dates and probable destinations.

Some passport applications have survived the years and are currently being digitizied and indexed by the BYU Immigrant Ancestors Project. Although it is an ongoing project, you may do a name search on the information indexed to this date.

Contents: Names of passengers holding passport or migration permits and the names of their parents, places of residence or origin, dates of migration, destinations, relationships with other passengers or party members, and vital information such as birth dates, marriage dates, children, etc.

Contents of Immigration Records of Arrival Countries

Argentina Records Content

The following data is available for each passenger: surname, first name, marital status, sex, age, any family relationship, level of education, profession, religion, port of embarkation, accommodation on board, ship's name and date of arrival.

Australia Records Content

• Passenger lists contain varying amounts of information depending on the type of travel and the time period. Early passenger lists may have scant detail recorded.
• Information on unassisted passenger lists can vary from just a name; to include name, age, occupation and nationality. The port of embarkation and disembarkation are sometimes also noted.
• Information on assisted passenger lists can be more comprehensive and may, in addition to the above, also contain native place, parents' names and relations in the colony.

Brazil Records Content

The following data is available for each passenger: surname, first name, relationship, family unit, sex, age, municipality-province-region of origin, profession, port of shipment, name of the ship, date of departure, date of arrival.

Canada Records Content

After 1865

The passenger list is a list of immigrants arriving at an official port of entry on a particular ship on a given date. Generally speaking, each manifest gives:

• the name of the ship
• its port(s) and date(s) of departure
• its port(s) and date(s) of arrival in Canada
• the name, age, sex, profession or occupation, nationality and destination of each passenger aboard
• In some of the earlier manifests, personal information is omitted for wives, minor children, groups of labourers and first and second class passengers. *Depending on the date, some lists contain other information on the immigrants, such as their health, religion, previous visits to Canada, family relationships and cash on hand.

United States Records Content

Information in Passenger Lists

• Before 1820 - Passenger lists before 1820 included name, departure information and arrival details. The names of wives and children were often not included.

• 1820-1891 - Customs Passenger Lists between 1820 and 1891 asked for each immigrant’s name, their age, their sex, their occupation, and their country of origin, but not the city or town of origin.

• 1891-1954 - Information given on passenger lists from 1891 to 1954 included:

name, age, sex, nationality, occupation, marital status, last residence, final destination in the U.S., whether they had been to the U.S. before (and if so, when, where and how long), if joining a relative, who this person was, where they lived, and their relationship, whether able to read and write,

whether in possession of a train ticket to their final destination, who paid for the passage, amount of money the immigrant had in their possession, whether the passenger had ever been in prison, a poorhouse, or in an institution for the insane, whether the passenger was a polygamist, and immigrant's state of health.

• 1906-- - In 1906, the physical description and place of birth were included, and a year later, the name and address of the passenger’s closest living relative in the country of origin was included.

Information in Passports

Over the years, passports and passport applications contained different amounts of information about the passport applicant. The first passports that are available begin in 1795. These usually contained the individual's name, description of individual, and age. More information was required on later passport applications, such as:

• Birthplace
• Birth date
• Naturalization information
• Arrival information, if foreign born

Uruguay Records Content

For the FamilySearch Historical Records Collection listed above, the following information may be found:

• First and Last Name of Relative
• Port or Country of Origin
• Gender
• Age
• Occupation
• Marital Status
• Nationality

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