Italian Citizenship by Descent

The most sought-after citizenship by descent program in the world has changed significantly. Here is exactly where things stand.

Italy's citizenship by descent program has long been one of the most expansive and most pursued in Europe. An Italian passport ranks among the most powerful travel documents in the world, offering visa-free access to over 185 countries and the full rights of European Union citizenship, including the right to live, work, and study anywhere in the EU. For decades, the program allowed descendants of Italian emigrants to reclaim citizenship regardless of how many generations had passed, as long as the chain of citizenship held at every link.

That changed in 2025. But the story is not over, and for many applicants, the picture is more complicated and more hopeful than the headlines suggest.

The Old Rules: How Jure Sanguinis Worked Before March 27, 2025

Under the rules that governed Italian citizenship by descent for most of its history, the program had no generational limit. If you could trace an unbroken line of citizenship from an Italian-born ancestor who was alive after March 17, 1861 (the date of Italian unification, before which there were no Italian citizens) to yourself, you qualified. That ancestor could be your grandparent, your great-grandparent, your great-great-grandparent, or further back. Generation count did not matter. What mattered was the chain.

The primary event that broke that chain was naturalization. If an ancestor in your direct line naturalized as a citizen of another country before the next person in line was born, Italian citizenship did not pass to that next generation. The exact date of naturalization was therefore critical in every case.

There was also the "minor issue" rule: if an ancestor naturalized before 1992 and before the next person in line reached adulthood (age 21 before 1975, age 18 after 1975), that naturalization broke the chain even if the next generation had already been born. This rule, clarified by the Italian Supreme Court in 2024, significantly affected many cases that had previously appeared straightforward. On April 14, 2026, the Court of Cassation will schedule a hearing to debate the Minor Issue once and for all.

For female ancestors, the so-called 1948 rule applied: citizenship could only pass through a female line if the child in question was born on or after January 1, 1948. Children born to an Italian mother before that date did not inherit Italian citizenship through the administrative process, though court-based challenges to this rule had been pursued with success in some cases.

If you filed a complete application at an Italian consulate or municipality, or had a confirmed consulate appointment, before 11:59 PM Rome time on March 27, 2025, your case is evaluated under these old rules. That deadline is firm.

Law 74/2025, aka the Tajani Decree

On March 27, 2025, the Italian government issued an emergency decree that fundamentally restructured the jure sanguinis program. After parliamentary review, it became Law 74/2025 on May 24, 2025. For any application filed or any consulate appointment made after March 27, 2025, the new rules apply.

The new law requires two things to be present in your line simultaneously: a qualifying Italian ancestor and an unbroken line of descent to you. Having one without the other is not enough.

How to Qualify Under Law 74/2025

Requirement 1: A Qualifying Italian Ancestor

Your qualifying ancestor must be a parent or grandparent. Great-grandparents and earlier generations do not qualify as the anchor for new applications.

Your parent or grandparent qualifies if they meet any one of the following:

• They were exclusively Italian (meaning they held no other citizenship) at the time you were born, OR
• They were exclusively Italian at the time of their death, OR
• They were your Italian citizen parent and lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years before you were born (in this scenario only, they are not required to be exclusively Italian and may hold multiple citizenships)

Requirement 2: An Unbroken Line of Descent

Your line from that qualifying ancestor to you must be unbroken. A line is unbroken if both of the following are true:

• Nobody in your direct line of descent naturalized as a citizen of another country before 1992 AND before the next person in line was born, AND
• Nobody in your direct line of descent naturalized before 1992 AND before the next person in line reached adulthood (age 21 if the naturalization occurred before 1975; age 18 if after 1975)

Both conditions must be satisfied. If either is violated at any point in the line, the chain is broken.

Common Scenarios That Do and Do Not Qualify

You qualify if:

• Your grandparent was exclusively Italian when you were born, your parent never naturalized before 1992, and you were born to that parent before any naturalization occurred
• Your parent is exclusively Italian and was exclusively Italian when you were born, with no naturalization events breaking the line
• Your Italian citizen parent lived in Italy for two consecutive years before your birth, regardless of whether they hold dual citizenship

You do not qualify if:

• Your most recent Italian ancestor is a great-grandparent, even if the line is otherwise unbroken
• Your grandparent was exclusively Italian but your parent naturalized before you were born, even if your grandparent never naturalized
• Your grandparent was exclusively Italian but your parent naturalized before 1992, even if you were already born at the time

What About Your Children?

Your children do not automatically qualify alongside you. They must independently satisfy both requirements above, meaning they need their own qualifying ancestor (which could be you, if you are exclusively Italian or meet one of the three qualifying ancestor criteria) and their own unbroken line.

If your children do not qualify by descent under L74, a separate form of citizenship called cittadinanza per beneficio di legge (BdL) may be available. BdL is declared at the consulate and takes effect from the date of declaration, not at birth. A BdL citizen must live in Italy for at least two years before having children of their own, or their children will not be eligible to receive citizenship by any descent-based route.

The One Question to Ask Yourself First

Before anything else, ask: was my parent or grandparent exclusively Italian, meaning they held no other citizenship, either when I was born or when they died?

If yes, and if nobody in the direct line between them and you naturalized before 1992 under the conditions described above, you very likely have a qualifying case under L74.

If no, your path forward depends significantly on the outcome of the ongoing constitutional challenges currently before Italian courts, which we describe below.

The Constitutional Challenges

Law 74/2025 is being actively contested, and the legal landscape remains in motion.

Italian tribunals in Turin, Mantua, and Campobasso have raised constitutional questions about whether Law 74/2025 can be applied retroactively to people who were born before the law came into force. The argument is that citizenship is a status acquired at birth under the law in effect at the time of birth, and that a law passed in 2025 cannot extinguish a right that came into existence decades or even generations earlier. These constitutional questions have been referred to Italy's Constitutional Court for review, with hearings continuing through mid-2026.

Separately and significantly, the Court of Cassation's United Sections, Italy's highest civil court, is scheduled to hear arguments on April 14, 2026 on questions directly related to the retroactive application of Law 74/2025. The outcome of that hearing could have major implications for applicants born before the law's entry into force, potentially restoring the old rules for a significant category of cases.

We monitor both the Constitutional Court proceedings and the Court of Cassation hearing closely and update our clients as developments occur. If you believe you would have qualified under the old rules but do not qualify under L74, your case may look very different depending on how these proceedings resolve. Knowing where you stand before the courts issue their rulings gives you the most options. This is not a situation to wait out passively.

Building Your Documentary Chain

Regardless of which set of rules applies to your case, the documentary requirements are similar. You need a complete vital records chain from your qualifying Italian ancestor to yourself: birth, marriage, and death certificates for every person in the direct line. For ancestors who emigrated to the United States, naturalization records are critical, as they establish the date of naturalization and determine whether the chain holds or breaks.

Under L74, documentation establishing that your parent or grandparent was exclusively Italian at the relevant time is also required. This may include certificates of non-naturalization from the countries where they lived, demonstrating that they never acquired a second citizenship.

Typical Application Timeline