Citizeo
Pathway

Italian Citizenship by Descent

Italy Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

For a person born abroad who also has another nationality, Italian citizenship by descent now normally requires a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, or an Italian parent who completed a qualifying two-year residence period in Italy. Properly protected administrative and court cases filed by the March 27, 2025 cutoff follow the earlier rules.

Type
Citizenship by descent
Family line
Close-connection rule after 2025; properly protected pre-cutoff cases use earlier rules
Core records
Civil records linking each generation
What to know
The 2025 restrictions remain in force after Constitutional Court judgment 63/2026
What it gives
Recognition confirms Italian citizenship under the applicable legal basis, often from birth rather than from the date the authority finishes the file.
Main limit
An Italian surname, an ancestor born within today's borders, or a family tree alone is not enough.

Summary

Italy's 2025 reform sharply limited citizenship recognition by descent for a person born abroad who has another nationality. A new case now normally needs one of two close connections: a parent or grandparent who holds—or held at death—only Italian citizenship, or an Italian parent who lived continuously in Italy for two years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the applicant's birth or adoption.

Earlier law can still govern a case protected by the March 27, 2025 cutoff. Protection covers a complete administrative application with all required documents submitted by 23:59 Rome time that day, an appointment officially communicated by then followed by submission at that appointment, or a judicial application filed by then. A wait-list request or self-booked appointment does not necessarily qualify.

The Constitutional Court's judgment 63/2026 did not strike down Article 3-bis. The new restrictions therefore remain current law; constitutional challenges or political proposals should not be described as if they have restored the earlier unlimited route.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The close-connection or transition rule is only the first gate. The applicant must still prove an unbroken Italian citizenship chain. Important checks include:

A maternal line in which an Italian woman had the next child before January 1, 1948 generally cannot be recognized administratively. It normally requires a judicial claim in Italy. The 2025 Article 3-bis limits also apply to an unprotected 1948 case; the court route is not a way around the new close-connection rule.

Typical evidence includes Italian and foreign long-form birth, marriage, divorce, and death records for every generation; official naturalization or non-naturalization files; proof of any exclusive Italian citizenship or qualifying Italian residence; apostilles or legalization; and Italian translations. Record discrepancies may need formal correction.

Policy watch 1 development we’re tracking
A court case could affect the 2025 restriction, but it has not changed the current test
Under judicial review — current law remains in effect

A court case could affect the 2025 restriction, but it has not changed the current test

Current official stage: Italian Constitutional Court reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union

The EU court's answer may affect how Italy can apply Article 3-bis to some people born abroad before the reform. For now, new cases still need a close-connection exception or protected pre-28 March 2025 filing, along with the ordinary unbroken-descent evidence.

Timing: The Constitutional Court deposited Order 147/2026 on 23 July 2026. No decision date has been announced by the EU court. Article 3-bis remains current law while the reference is pending, and the proceeding has not restored the pre-2025 unlimited descent route.

Current pathway rules still apply.

Last checked Italian Constitutional Court — Order 147/2026Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs — current citizenship rulesItalian law 91/1992 — current text
Read the full briefing

What This Route Allows

Recognition confirms Italian citizenship under the applicable legal basis, often from birth rather than from the date the authority finishes the file. Once the civil-status records are registered, the person can obtain Italian citizen documents and exercise Italian and EU citizenship rights.

What This Route Is Not

An Italian surname, an ancestor born within today's borders, or a family tree alone is not enough. A great-grandparent or more remote ancestor does not by itself satisfy a new post-reform application for a foreign-born person who has another nationality.

This is also not a guaranteed consular process. Pre-1948 maternal claims are judicial, disputed transition cases may require litigation, and ordinary document or chain problems can still defeat a claim protected by the cutoff.

Next Steps

  1. Determine whether Article 3-bis applies based on birthplace and other nationality.
  2. Identify the exact close-connection exception or collect proof of a protected March 27, 2025 filing.
  3. Build a dated citizenship timeline for every generation, including naturalization, residence, and renunciation events.
  4. Order civil and nationality records from the issuing authorities; do not rely on family recollection.
  5. Check legalization, translation, and record-correction requirements for the competent consulate or comune.
  6. Obtain Italian legal advice for a 1948 case, contested pre-1992 loss, territorial-history issue, or disputed transition filing.
Compare your options

Other routes in Italy.

Sources