On March 28, 2025, a decree-law (decreto-legge) was approved by the Italian Council of Ministers amending the Italian Citizenship Law and outlining new eligibility rules for the claiming of Italian citizenship by descent. These unexpected changes bring about many questions for those with Italian ancestry. 

Before the adoption of this decree on March 28, 2025, Italy did not have a generational limit for those with Italian ancestry looking to claim recognition of Italian citizenship by descent, meaning you could apply through a great-grandparent or even a great-great-grandparent.

Established with the 1912 citizenship law, the principle of jure sanguinis allows Italian citizenship to be claimed by descendants who can demonstrate a direct lineage to their Italian-born ancestor, proving there was no loss of citizenship throughout the line.

The March 28, 2025 decree has imposed regulations that reform the eligibility requirements. According to the decree, the only individuals who will be considered an Italian citizen at birth are those born abroad, either before or after March 28, 2025, who meet either of the following criteria:

• You have an Italian parent (or adoptive parent) who was born in Italy
• You have an Italian parent (or adoptive parent) who resided in Italy for two consecutive years prior to your birth or adoption
• You have an Italian grandparent that was born in Italy

In summary, the decree has established a generational limit, allowing descendants born abroad to apply for recognition of Italian citizenship if they have an Italian-born ancestor up to the second degree (i.e. grandparent).

The decree specifies that if you have already been recognized as an Italian citizen, via the Italian consulate, municipality, or through a court case, your citizenship is not affected. For those who submitted a citizenship application or filed an Italian court case before 11:59 p.m. Rome time on March 27^th, 2025, the previous citizenship eligibility rules will apply.

What happens now?

The urgent provisions outlined in the decree went into immediate effect on March 28, 2025, which include the generational limit for applications for Italian citizenship by descent. Within 60 days from the aforementioned date, the Italian Parliament will need to convert the decree into law. It’s possible it will be converted into law but amended or changed from the original decree. However, if it is not converted into law in 60 days, the decree will retroactively lose its effect.

Along with the decree, there were additional proposed bills that have yet to be approved. There is no set time limit in which the Italian Parliament is required to review the proposed bills. Therefore, they may be approved in 60 days, or they may be amended and changed before approval, or they may never be converted into law.

What about Italian citizenship for children?

If you qualify for Italian citizenship by descent under the new rules, you may wonder if your children can be recognized as Italian citizens as well. Children can be included if you, as the applicant, are applying through your parent, since your child would be applying through their grandparent. However, if you are applying through your grandparent, your children will not be able to claim citizenship through their great-grandparent. Alternatively, the child can claim citizenship only if they were born in Italy or their parent lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years before the child’s birth.

In fact, one of the proposed bills regards the transmission of Italian citizenship to children. It states that the minor child of an Italian-citizen parent can acquire Italian citizenship if the child lives in Italy for 2 years, with a “declaration of intent” from the parents.

What does this mean for future applications?

It's worth noting that the decree appears to overwrite previous provisions dictating the eligibility criteria for Italian citizenship by descent. For instance, the 1912 citizenship law stated that only men could pass Italian citizenship to their children and therefore, if you had a female in your lineage who had her child before January 1, 1948 (the date of the Italian Constitution which granted women the right to transmit citizenship to their children), you would have been required to file your case in the Italian courts. With the March 28, 2025 decree, you may now be able to claim citizenship through a female mother or grandmother via the administrative route. Furthermore, it appears the decree does not restrict applications where the Italian ancestor naturalized during the minor age of their child, which was recently deemed an ineligible path on October 3, 2024.

Conclusion

In summary, the only change in effect as of March 28, 2025 is the two-generation limit for citizenship by descent applications. Additional proposals and bills introduced in the decree are pending approval, or may be changed, or may never become effective. Details regarding the possible conversion of the decree into law will be released as they become available.

For current updates, be sure to visit italiancitizenshipassistance.com or contact us if you have further questions.