By Decree-Law No. 36, March 28, 2025, the Government intervened urgently and without parliamentary interlocution to further restrict the requirements for applying for Italian citizenship.
The urgency and necessity of the Decree are justified by a recorded increase in the number of Italian citizens residing abroad by nearly 2 million in the past 10 years and with a heavy overload of the Courts due to 60,000 pending cases for the recognition of citizenship by descent.
The Decree, in essence, aims to introduce a criterion of “effective connection” between the person and the Italian State.
So, in the 1′ chapter that follows, we illustrate in concrete terms the new rules that are immediately effective.
In the 2′ chapter, we will examine the guiding principles that inspire two separate Bills that the Government intends to have passed by Parliament in the months ahead.
The decree law: new norms immediately effective
As of March 28, 2025, all applications for citizenship recognition filed with Consulates, City Halls or Civil Courts will be subject to the following additional restrictive rule.
It is no longer sufficient to have an ancestor born in Italy, regardless of the number of generations between them and the applicant, but it has become necessary to have an Italian ancestor who falls into at least one of the following three categories:
- parent (or adopter) born an Italian citizen in Italy;
- parent (or adopter) who is an Italian citizen and, although not born in Italy, has been resident in Italy for at least two continuous years before the birth of the applicant;
- grandparent born in Italy.
It is to be pointed out that all applications submitted before 28 March 2025 will instead continue to follow the looser regulations valid until before this Decree.
The important restriction introduced by this Decree − that automatically excludes from citizenship all those persons who have only one great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent born in Italy and formally recognized as Italian − is in addition to that already determined by Circular of the Ministry of the Interior of October 3, 2024.
2 bills: legislation the government intends to have passed by parliament in the coming months
The 1′ Bill contains regulations that the Government will submit to a parliamentary vote with the stated intention of further strengthening the principle of the “effective bond” between the applicant for Italian citizenship and the Italian state.
The main novelties contained therein are as follows.
- “forfeiture” of Italian citizenship status
Children of Italians born abroad who hold another citizenship must register their birth certificate at the Italian Consulate by the time they turn 25. If this duty is not fulfilled by the parent or child who has come of age within the deadline, the latter can no longer be recognized as an Italian. This rule thus introduces a kind of “forfeiture” of citizenship status.
- Loss of Italian citizenship status due to “desuetude”
Italians residing abroad who have also another citizenship will lose their Italian one in case they do not renew their Italian ID or passport for 25 years.
- “Waiver” of Italian citizenship.
Italians living abroad who have also another citizenship and have reached the age of majority may waive their Italian citizenship.
The 2′ Bill contains regulations aimed at (a) making the provision of services to Italian citizens living abroad more efficient; and (b) relieving Italian Consulates of the burden of examining applications for recognition, acquisition and reacquisition of Italian citizenship, centralizing the competence for such procedures to a single dedicated office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Authors:
Pietro Derossi – Counsel
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