vamosa Your independent guide to studying,
working and living in the EU.

Policy National In force

Italy — Constitutional Court confirms restrictive citizenship-by-descent rules

Last updated:

On 12 March 2026 the Italian Constitutional Court rejected challenges against the 2024–2025 reform of citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis). The rules stand and apply retroactively: people born abroad who also hold another nationality are treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship — unless one of three narrow exceptions applies. This affects mainly descendants of Italian emigrants in Latin America and elsewhere who had been preparing applications under the previous regime.

Please note that some texts have been automatically translated from other languages. We review these translations, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy or perfect style in every language.

Background

For decades, iure sanguinis — citizenship by descent — was a generous and broadly used route for descendants of Italian emigrants. People born in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela or elsewhere with at least one Italian ancestor in the patrilineal or, after 1948, also the matrilineal line could apply for recognition of Italian citizenship without ever living in Italy. The bottleneck was queues at consulates, not legal eligibility.

A 2024–2025 reform package narrowed the rule. The 2026 Constitutional Court ruling now confirms the new framework holds against constitutional challenge.

What the Court decided on 12 March 2026

The Court issued a press release rejecting parts of the constitutional challenges and declaring others inadmissible. In substance: the restrictive rules remain in force. They stipulate that individuals born abroad who hold another citizenship are considered never to have acquired Italian citizenship, including with retroactive effect.

The Court confirmed three exceptions:

  1. Prior formal recognition. People who had already been formally recognised as Italian citizens before the reform are unaffected.
  2. Parent or grandparent held exclusive Italian citizenship. The ascendant in the line of descent must not also have held a foreign nationality at the relevant point in time.
  3. Parent completed a qualifying period of residence in Italy. The descendant's parent must have lived in Italy long enough to satisfy the residence test set out in the reformed law.

Beyond these three windows, descendants who would have qualified under the pre-reform rules generally no longer qualify.

What this means for vamosa's audience

People in their twenties whose grandparents or great-grandparents emigrated from Italy to Latin America in the late 19th or early 20th century were a large cohort under the old rules. Many of them already hold an Argentine, Brazilian, Uruguayan or Venezuelan passport. Under the rule confirmed by the Court, that dual nationality at birth is the trigger that retroactively removes the Italian citizenship claim.

If you were preparing an application in this configuration:

  • Check the three exceptions carefully. A grandparent who lived only in Italy and held only the Italian passport is the most reliable route into the second exception. Documents proving exclusive Italian citizenship at the relevant moment in time will be central.
  • Prior recognition is a hard cut-off. If you already had your citizenship formally recognised by a consulate or via Italian courts before the reform, that recognition stands.
  • Residence-based naturalisation in Italy remains open as the standard alternative route (10 years for non-EU nationals under Legge 91/1992, with the usual B1 Italian, income and clean-record requirements). This is the longer but unambiguous path.

What this does not change

  • Naturalisation by residence under Legge 91/1992 is unaffected by this ruling. Marriage to an Italian citizen, descent from Italian-born parents up to the second degree (with the new restrictions), and the standard 10-year residence path continue under the existing framework.
  • Voting and rights in Italy for non-EU long-term residents stay as they were — Italy still does not extend local voting rights to long-term non-EU residents, a recurring debate without legislation.
  • EU Blue Card, study and family-reunification routes are unaffected.

Framing

This is a politically contested area, with strong views on both sides. The Court's decision is procedural-constitutional, not political — it confirms that the legislature acted within its constitutional bounds, not that the policy itself is right or wrong. Several civil-society organisations and Italian-descent associations in the Americas have announced further legal and political challenges; expect this area to keep moving.

For people considering Italy as a destination, the practical implication is: do not assume eligibility under the old iure sanguinis framework. Verify against the three exceptions, document everything, and have the residence-based naturalisation route as the realistic backup plan.

Where to find primary sources

  • The Italian Constitutional Court website publishes press releases and full judgments at cortecostituzionale.it.
  • Legge 91/1992 in its current consolidated version is on Normattiva, the official state legal database.
  • The Italian Ministry of the Interior maintains an overview of citizenship procedures and forms.
  • For non-Italian-language overviews, the EUDO Citizenship Observatory at the European University Institute publishes country reports including Italy.