The short version
- In 2025 Italy limited citizenship by descent. For claims made after 27 March 2025, a person born abroad who holds another citizenship counts as Italian by descent only in set cases.
- The main case is a parent or grandparent who holds, or held when they died, only Italian citizenship. Before the change, the line had no generation limit.
- Claims made, booked or taken to court by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 follow the old rules.
- Italy's Constitutional Court has asked the EU Court of Justice if the change fits EU law. The case is C-816/26.
What changed in Italian citizenship by descent in 2025?
Italy added a new article, 3-bis, to its citizenship law. It says a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is treated as never having become Italian, unless one of a short list of exceptions applies. It covers people born before the change too.
The change came in a decree-law of 28 March 2025, turned into a full law by Law 74 of 23 May 2025, in force from 24 May 2025. Italy's Constitutional Court describes it as a break from the earlier rules, which let citizenship pass down by descent without limit.
Some people are not touched by it. The Miami consulate lists people born in Italy, and people who hold only Italian citizenship, as still recognised by descent.
What were the rules before and after the change?
Before, the law set no limit on generations. After, for people born abroad with another citizenship, the line stops at a parent or grandparent. So a great-grandparent alone no longer works for them, unless the claim was made by the cut-off.
This is how the main rules compare, from Italy's Foreign Ministry and the law, checked on 18 October 2026:
| Rule | Before | Claims after 27 March 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| How far back the line goes | No generation limit | A parent or grandparent |
| What the ancestor must show | Still Italian when the next person in the line was born | Held only Italian citizenship |
| Other way in | None needed | A parent lived in Italy 2 years in a row before your birth |
| A child of an Italian, born abroad with another citizenship | Italian from birth | Only in the set cases, or by declaration |
| Through the mother | Children born from 1 January 1948 | Still applies, plus the new limits |
The 1948 rule is from esteri.it: the line passes through a mother only for children born on or after the day Italy's Constitution came into force.
Who still qualifies under the new rules?
People born abroad with another citizenship qualify if one of these applies. The list is article 3-bis of Law 91/1992:
- An early claim. You made a full claim by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025.
- An early booking. You claimed on an appointment date the office gave you by that time.
- An early court case. You filed it by that time.
- A parent or grandparent with only Italian citizenship. They hold it now, or held it when they died.
- A parent who lived in Italy. Your parent lived there for at least 2 years in a row after becoming Italian and before you were born.
You prove it with official papers. Esteri.it gives examples for "only Italian citizenship": negative citizenship certificates, certificates that the ancestor gave up a foreign citizenship, and certificates that they were never on a foreign voter list. For the 2 years in Italy, it names a historical residence certificate.
To see where your own family line lands, use the Italian citizenship by descent checker.
What if you applied before 27 March 2025?
Then the old rules apply to your claim. The Miami consulate says a claim counts as made if it was posted with a dated tracking mark before the cut-off, or arrived before it. A booking counts if the office confirmed it by email, through the Prenot@mi site or the consulate's official address, by the cut-off.
One 2026 ruling helps some of these older claims. The Chicago consulate says Italy's Court of Cassation, in judgment 24045/2026, found that a child born under Italy's 1912 law, in a country that gives citizenship to everyone born there, stayed Italian even if their Italian parent naturalised abroad while the child was under 18. That holds unless the child later gave up Italian citizenship as an adult. The consulate says claims refused on that ground can ask it for a review.
Can children still become Italian?
Often, yes. If a parent is an Italian citizen by birth, the parents can make a declaration at the consulate. Esteri.it says that if they do it within 3 years of the child's birth, the child can become Italian while still living abroad. After 3 years, the child must also live legally in Italy for 2 years in a row.
There is a longer deadline for some families. A child who was under 18 on 24 May 2025, whose Italian parent was recognised under a claim, booking or court case from 27 March 2025 or earlier, can be declared until 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029. A 2026 law moved that date from 31 May 2026, the Chicago consulate says.
Since 1 January 2026, these declarations are free, says the Washington embassy. The 250 euro fee no longer applies to them.
Is there another way in through an Italian ancestor?
Yes, but it means living in Italy. The state may grant citizenship to someone whose parent or grandparent was Italian by birth, once they have lived legally in Italy for at least 2 years. The Interior Ministry handles it, and it is granted by decree, not by right.
Esteri.it lists a 250 euro fee for a grant of citizenship. The 2025 law also reopened a window, until 31 December 2027, for some former Italian citizens to take back their citizenship. That window is for the former citizens themselves, not their descendants.
If no family route fits, there are other ways to live in Italy and the rest of Europe, from study to remote work. See how to move to Europe.
What else changed in 2026?
The process for adult claims from abroad. Law 11 of 2026, in force since 19 February 2026, changed where and how fast claims are handled:
- A yearly cap at each consulate. Until the change below, each consulate takes no more adult claims a year than it finished in 2025, and never fewer than 100.
- One central office. From 1 January 2029, adults living abroad send their claims by post to a central office of the Foreign Ministry, not to a consulate.
- A 36-month limit for deciding these claims.
The fee is 600 euros for each adult claim, since 1 January 2025. Miami says it is not refunded, whatever the outcome.
Is the new law being challenged in court?
Yes. In ruling 63/2026, Italy's Constitutional Court rejected a complaint that the change breaks the EU treaty articles on EU citizenship. Then, on 23 July 2026, in order 147/2026, it kept that view but still sent the question to the EU Court of Justice, which has the final say on what EU law means.
The question is whether EU law stops Italy from treating people born abroad with another citizenship as never having been Italian, as article 3-bis does. The EU court lists it as case C-816/26, lodged on 23 July 2026. Its answer could change the rules. Until then, the consulate pages we read apply the new rules to every claim made after the cut-off.
Italy lets its citizens hold other citizenships, and so does the US. For what that means for Americans, see dual citizenship for Americans, explained. For other options, see the easiest countries to move to from the US.