Italian citizenship by descent, or jure sanguinis, used to have no generational limit. A descendant of an Italian emigrant who left in 1890 could still be recognized as Italian in 2024, as long as the paperwork showed an unbroken chain. That changed on 28 March 2025, when an emergency decree cut the line for most people born abroad with another citizenship.
As of October 2026, the new rules are settled law. Parliament converted the decree with amendments in May 2025, and Italy's Constitutional Court rejected a challenge to its core provision in April 2026. For new applicants, the test is no longer how far back the Italian ancestor lived, but whether a parent or grandparent kept a real, exclusive tie to Italy.
This guide explains what the reform says, who is still covered by the old rules, what the court decided and which routes remain open to Italian descendants who no longer qualify.
Key takeaways
- Decree-Law 36/2025, converted by Law 74/2025, added Article 3-bis to Italy's citizenship law. People born abroad who hold another citizenship are treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship, unless an exception applies.
- New applicants generally need a parent or grandparent who holds (or held at death) only Italian citizenship, or a parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years after becoming Italian and before the applicant's birth.
- Applications filed, and appointments notified, by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 are assessed under the old rules. People already recognized keep their citizenship.
- The Constitutional Court upheld the reform in judgment 63/2026, filed on 30 April 2026.
- Since 1 January 2025, the consular fee for a recognition application is €600 per adult.
How the old rule worked
Before 2025, Italy's citizenship law (Law 91/1992, building on a 1912 law) let citizenship pass from parent to child without limit. The usual test was simple to state and hard to prove: an Italian ancestor alive after unification in 1861, and no link in the chain who naturalized elsewhere before the next generation was born.
Two features made the system famous. There was no language test and no residence requirement for recognition, and there was no cap on generations. Consulates in Brazil, Argentina and the United States built waiting lists measured in years, and many families went to Italian courts instead, especially for lines that passed through a woman before 1 January 1948, which consulates did not handle.
What the 2025 reform changed
The decree took effect on 28 March 2025. Law 74/2025 converted it on 23 May 2025, with amendments from the Senate. The core is the new Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992.
The general rule is blunt. A person born abroad, even before the reform, who holds another citizenship is considered never to have acquired Italian citizenship. It applies notwithstanding the old descent provisions, so it reaches people who would have qualified under the previous law but had not yet claimed recognition.
The exceptions, as summarized in the Constitutional Court's April 2026 statement, are:
- Timely application. Citizenship is recognized, by a consulate, comune or court, following an application filed by 23:59 on 27 March 2025. The converted law also protects people who had been notified of an appointment by that time.
- Exclusive Italian parent or grandparent. A parent or grandparent holds, or held at the time of death, only Italian citizenship. The Senate removed an earlier draft condition that this person also be born in Italy.
- Two years of residence by a parent. A parent or adoptive parent lived in Italy for at least two continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child's birth or adoption.
What the exceptions mean in practice
The second exception is the one most diaspora families look at first, and it is narrower than it sounds. Many emigrant grandparents became citizens of their new country. If a grandparent held two citizenships, or gave up Italian citizenship, they did not hold "only" Italian citizenship, and the exception does not apply through them.
| Situation | Likely outcome under the new rules |
|---|---|
| Great-grandfather emigrated in 1905, everyone since born abroad | No longer qualifies, unless an application was filed by 27 March 2025 |
| Grandmother born in Italy, emigrated and kept only Italian citizenship until her death | May qualify through the exclusive-citizenship exception |
| Grandfather born in Italy who naturalized in Argentina | Generally does not qualify through him |
| Parent recognized as Italian who then lived in Italy for three years before your birth | May qualify through the residence exception |
| Application filed at a consulate in 2024, still pending | Assessed under the old rules |
| Already recognized as Italian before the reform | Status not affected |
Every case turns on its documents and dates. The table only shows how the tests line up, not how a particular file will be decided.
The Constitutional Court ruling of 2026
The Court of Turin asked the Constitutional Court whether Article 3-bis breached the Italian Constitution, EU law and international human rights rules. The court heard the case in March 2026 and published judgment 63/2026 on 30 April 2026. It found the questions partly unfounded and partly inadmissible, so the reform stands.
Three points from the court's reasoning matter for descendants:
- Not a revocation. The court described Article 3-bis as a bar on acquiring citizenship for foreigners born abroad, not as the removal of an existing status. On that view, there were no acquired rights to protect for people who had never claimed recognition.
- Effective ties. The court said the Constitution treats the people as a community linked by effective ties, and that the reform strikes a reasonable balance between that idea and applicants' expectations.
- Protected groups. The court stressed that the law does not touch people already recognized as citizens, or people who had applied or received an appointment before the deadline.
The court also rejected the argument based on EU citizenship. EU case law on proportionality, it said, concerns people stripped of a status they already held, which is not what Article 3-bis does.
Pending cases and the minor issue
People who filed before the deadline are judged under the old law, and their cases still raise old questions. The best known is the "minor issue": whether a child lost Italian citizenship when a parent naturalized abroad while the child was a minor. Italy's Interior Ministry took a strict line in an October 2024 circular.
In judgment 24045/2026, published on 26 July 2026, the Court of Cassation sitting in joint sections addressed this conflict. According to published summaries, the court held that a minor who was a dual national from birth did not lose Italian citizenship when a parent later naturalized or lost citizenship, unless the child renounced it as an adult. This mainly helps pre-deadline applicants whose lines include such a naturalization.
Other changes in the 2025 package
Law 74/2025 did more than cap descent. According to the Chamber of Deputies' dossier on the conversion law, it also:
- Changed the rules for minors. A minor child of a parent who is Italian by birth becomes a citizen if the parents declare it within one year of the child's birth, or if the child then lives legally in Italy for two continuous years. A transitional window for minors under the old regime closed on 31 May 2026.
- Opened a reacquisition window. People born in Italy, or who lived there for two continuous years, and who lost citizenship under certain provisions of the 1912 law, can reacquire it by declaration between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027.
- Shortened naturalization by residence. For a foreigner whose parent or grandparent was an Italian citizen by birth, the legal residence needed before applying fell from three years to two.
- Created a work route. Descendants of Italian citizens from countries on a list set by ministerial decree can enter Italy for salaried work outside the annual quotas.
- Tightened court evidence. In citizenship cases, oaths and witness testimony are not accepted as proof, and applicants must show there are no grounds for non-acquisition or loss.
Fees also rose. Under the 2025 budget law, the consular fee for a jure sanguinis recognition application doubled from €300 to €600 per adult applicant from 1 January 2025, as Italian consulates announced.
Options for descendants who no longer qualify
Losing the automatic route does not close every door. The main alternatives are:
- Naturalization after two years. Descendants whose parent or grandparent was Italian by birth can apply after two years of legal residence in Italy, instead of the standard ten for most non-EU nationals. This requires actually living in Italy on a valid permit first.
- Marriage. Spouses of Italian citizens can apply after two years of legal residence in Italy following the marriage, or three years if living abroad, with both periods halved when the couple has children. B1 Italian is required.
- Work or elective residence. The new work route and Italy's other residence permits can be the first step toward the two-year naturalization track.
- Other ancestry. Some families also have Irish, Polish, Greek or other European lines. Our European citizenship by descent overview compares them, and Irish citizenship through grandparents is often worth checking for families with mixed roots.
People who move to Italy often look at tax too. Italy's flat tax for new residents is a separate regime from citizenship and has its own conditions. More broadly, our guide to second passports without investment covers routes that do not depend on ancestry.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still get Italian citizenship through my great-grandparents?
In most cases, no, unless an application was filed by 23:59 on 27 March 2025. New claims now depend on a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, or on a parent who lived in Italy for two years before your birth. A great-grandparent alone no longer qualifies a person born abroad who holds another citizenship.
Does the reform take away citizenship from people already recognized?
No. People recognized as Italian before the reform keep their status. The Constitutional Court stressed that the law does not affect people who are already citizens, or those who applied or received an appointment before the deadline.
What if I had a consulate appointment booked before March 2025?
The converted law protects people who had been notified of an appointment by 23:59 on 27 March 2025, as well as those who had filed an application or a court case by then. Those files are assessed under the old rules.
Is there a language test for Italian citizenship by descent?
There is no language test for recognition by descent. Language requirements apply to other routes: marriage applicants need B1 Italian, and naturalization by residence also has a language requirement.
Did the Constitutional Court strike down the 2025 reform?
No. In judgment 63/2026, filed on 30 April 2026, the court declared the challenge from the Court of Turin partly unfounded and partly inadmissible. As of October 2026, Article 3-bis remains in force.
Important: This article is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rules change often and depend on your personal circumstances. Speak with a qualified professional in each relevant country before you act.