Jennifer Sontag, a serial entrepreneur, is the owner of Italian Citizenship Concierge, a bespoke citizenship agency that helps Italian Americans gain citizenship in Italy through Jure Sanguinis. Currently living in Terrasini, Sicily, Jennifer sets out to help her clients gain a new outlook on life in Italy. Jennifer grew up in a big Italian American family where her nonna and 9 sisters would spend their days preparing delicious meals to share with family. Mamma to 2 beautiful adults, and nonna to adorable Oliver. Jennifer has a passion for all things Sicilian and loves to enjoy good food and wine with friends.
I can’t remember a time in my life when I did not dream of living in Italy. Life however, had other plans for me. In my mid-40s, I found myself at a crossroads. I was suddenly divorced (literally 3 weeks from leaving, the divorce was finalized), my son had just married, and my daughter had just finished university. This was the first time the idea of moving to Italy seemed like a real possibility.
I took an Love, Work, Eat approach to my move to Italy over 5 years. I had a lot of work to do personally and professionally before I could settle into Italy. I moved home to St. Louis (March 2017) to learn to Love myself again. I focused all my energy on rebuilding my self-esteem and health. I learned to nourish my body and soul inside and out with fresh, healthy food and daily yoga. Once I was feeling in tune with myself, it was time to Work (my personal religion). I moved to Shanghai China (August 2018) to teach business management. After 5 years away from the business world, I wanted to get back to my professional roots in business with a twist. I became a teacher. This was the perfect way for me to connect with a profession I love and excel at, while giving back to the next generation of business leaders. After 2.5 years in Shanghai, I was ready to EAT. It was time to move to Italy for the final step in my journey. I arrived in Sicily (March 2021) to apply for recognition of my Italian citizenship.
I own my own business in Sicily. I have been an entrepreneur since I was 10 years old when I made my first flyers to pass out in my neighborhood announcing my babysitting services. My first tax paying business came a couple years later at 19 when I opened a maternity and baby clothing boutique. At the age of 19, Jennifer opened her first boutique, specializing in maternity and baby clothing. At 28, she sold The Stork’s Nest to Macy’s. From there, she owned high end boutiques that catered to clients like Michelle Obama and Madeleine Albright. I was young when I had my first child, and I was a shopper who loved style. My first business to fill a market void was launched to combat the hideous early 90s big-bow, baby doll maternity clothes that made adult women look like overgrown toddlers at a price that made my eyes water.
I had spent my time in China preparing for my citizenship recognition, I met with traditional service providers and attorneys, I scoured FB groups and subreddits for information and support. I found a hodgepodge of information, costs, discouragement, challenges and very little that was positive, supportive, and affordable. Discouraged after sending a lot of money to an attorney who could not fulfill the contract, upset by the angry responses in a well-known FB group, and unable to afford the eye-water prices of overly formal and complicated service providers, I arrived in Sicily for recognition, DIY (I don’t recommend trying this).
In Spring of 2021, 30 years after launching my maternity store, I returned to my roots to fill the citizenship assistance market gap. I opened Italian Citizenship Concierge, a female-owned, female-focused, supportive, and affordable agency to assist Italian descendants move to Italy for their citizenship recognition through the Jure Sanguinis process. This makes the move for la dolce vita smooth and easy.