The reform that changed everything — in summary
For over 160 years, the Italian system of citizenship by descent operated without generational limits: if the genealogical chain was unbroken, the right to citizenship passed from generation to generation, regardless of how many had elapsed since the last Italian citizen born in Italy.
With Decree-Law no. 36 of 28 March 2025, converted with amendments into Law no. 74 of 23 May 2025, this system has been profoundly changed. The core of the reform is the new Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992, which introduces a generational limit on the automatic transmission of citizenship.
The rule applies exclusively to those born abroad who hold another citizenship. Those born in Italy continue to fall under the general regime of Art. 1 of Law 91/1992, without generational limitations.
The new ruleThe new Article 3-bis — what it provides
The new Article 3-bis establishes a radical principle: a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is deemed never to have acquired Italian citizenship, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies.
In practice, automatic transmission of citizenship iure sanguinis is suppressed for those who:
- were born abroad
- hold another citizenship
- do not fall within any of the statutory exceptions
The previous regime (transmission without generational limits) continues to apply only to applications filed before 27 March 2025.
The rule applies retroactively even to those born before 28 March 2025. Those who do not fall within the exceptions are deemed never to have acquired Italian citizenship, even if born decades ago.
What remains unchanged
The classic chain-breaking event — the voluntary naturalisation of an ancestor in a foreign country before the birth of a child — remains a ground for interruption even for applications filed before 27 March 2025. The reform adds a second ground for new applications: birth abroad with the automatic acquisition of another citizenship.
Transitional regimeWho is protected — the three main exceptions
The law provides a system of exceptions protecting those who had already begun the process before the reform. The three main ones are:
Application filed before 27 March 2025
Those who filed a citizenship recognition application — administratively at an Italian Consulate or Comune, or judicially — by 23:59 on 27 March 2025, with the necessary documentation, are fully governed by the previous rules. No generational limit applies.
Confirmed appointment by 27 March 2025
Those who had an appointment communicated by the competent consular office (via automatic e-mail confirmation from the Prenot@mi portal or the Consulate’s institutional address) by 23:59 on 27 March 2025 are treated as having filed an application on that date, provided they attend the appointment with complete documentation.
First- or second-degree ancestor exclusively Italian
Those who have a parent or grandparent who held (or held at the time of death) exclusively Italian citizenship may apply under the new rules. Exclusivity of citizenship is the key requirement: an ancestor who also acquired another citizenship does not satisfy this requirement.
A parent or adoptive parent who has legally and continuously resided in Italy for at least two years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth of the child allows that child to apply even under the new rules. This exception is not limited to children of naturalised citizens: it applies to anyone who has a parent or adoptive parent who lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years before the child’s birth, regardless of how they acquired Italian citizenship.
Am I still eligible? — the most common cases
I have an Italian grandfather (exclusively Italian)
If your grandfather held exclusively Italian citizenship — he never acquired another citizenship — you can apply even under the new rules. The critical element is exclusivity: if your grandfather also held the citizenship of the country of emigration, this exception does not apply.
I have an Italian great-grandfather
For applications filed after 27 March 2025, automatic transmission does not apply beyond the second generation. If your direct connection to Italy is through a great-grandfather, an automatic application is no longer possible — unless you filed an application or had a confirmed appointment before that date.
My father naturalised as an American before my birth
Under the previous legislation, the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship by an ancestor could trigger the loss of Italian citizenship under Article 11 of the 1865 Civil Code and later under Article 8 of Law 555/1912, interrupting transmission to descendants born thereafter. Case law has consistently distinguished this scenario from the involuntary acquisition jure soli by children born abroad, which did not interrupt the chain (the ‘opting out’ model adopted by the 1912 legislator under Article 7 of Law 555/1912). The contested question of minor children living with the parent at the time of naturalization is the subject of the Joint Chambers ruling of April 14, 2026.
My mother was Italian, my father was foreign
The maternal line is fully valid. Transmission through the maternal line has been recognised by Italian case law since Constitutional Court ruling no. 30/1983. For applications filed before 27 March 2025 (by judicial route for descendants from mothers born before 1948), the previous regime applies in full.
Verify your situation with an expert
The reform has introduced complex exceptions. ImmiLex assesses your specific case, identifies whether you fall under the previous rules or one of the exceptions, and manages the entire bureaucratic process.
What to expect — next developments
The regulatory framework is evolving rapidly. Two fundamental events will mark 2026:
The Constitutional Court Ruling (No. 63/2026)
On March 11, 2026, the Italian Constitutional Court examined the constitutional challenges raised by the Court of Turin against the new Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992. On April 30, 2026, the Court issued Ruling No. 63/2026, declaring the challenges partly unfounded and partly inadmissible, thereby upholding the constitutional legitimacy of the reform.
The Court clarified a fundamental point: Article 3-bis is not a revocation of citizenship, but rather an original bar to acquisition. The phrase 'is deemed never to have acquired Italian citizenship' does not strip an already established status — it operates on a citizenship that had never been formally recognized. For this reason, according to the Court, the balance between the principle of effectiveness (genuine ties with the Republic) and the legitimate expectations of those affected is reasonable.
Following Constitutional Court Ruling No. 63/2026, the constitutional challenges already examined by the Court were rejected on the merits (Articles 2-3 of the Constitution and Article 117(1) in relation to EU law) or declared inadmissible (Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Protocol No. 4 to the ECHR). Those who do not fall within the exceptions of Article 3-bis cannot build their strategy on the mere expectation that the rule will be struck down in court.
The Sezioni Unite of the Court of Cassation (14 April 2026)
On April 14, 2026, the Joint Chambers of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation held the hearing on the so-called “minor age issue”: what happens when an Italian ancestor naturalized in a foreign country while his minor children were living with him. This question has generated a significant divide in case law, addressed by interlocutory orders Nos. 20122 and 20129/2025 of the First Civil Chamber.
Update as of May 2026: the Joint Chambers ruling has not yet been filed. Once published, it will provide an interpretation of major precedential weight, guiding both courts and administrative offices on pending cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your application is fully governed by the law in force before the reform. Italian Consulate response times are historically long — some offices have waiting lists of years. The fact that the law has changed does not accelerate or delay your specific proceeding: your right is preserved.
Protection requires attendance at the appointment with complete documentation. If you attend with incomplete documents, the office may refuse the application and the transitional protection may not apply. Verify with the competent consular office exactly what is required.
For judicial applications filed after 27 March 2025, the new rules apply. The court will therefore need to verify whether you fall within one of the exceptions under Art. 3-bis. The judicial route does not bypass the new rules for those who do not satisfy them.
Minors at the date of entry into force of the conversion law (24 May 2025), children of citizens by birth falling within the exceptions of Article 3-bis (letters a, a-bis, b), have until May 31, 2029 to file the declaration provided for under Article 4(1-bis)(b) of Law 91/1992.
The original deadline was May 31, 2026, but it was extended to May 31, 2029 by Article 1(19-ter) of Decree-Law No. 200 of December 31, 2025, converted into Law No. 26 of February 27, 2026.