Italian citizenship by descent in 2026: jure sanguinis after the reform

What is Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis)

Jure sanguinis is translated from Latin as "by right of blood." This is the principle whereby citizenship is transmitted not by place of birth but by descent: a child of an Italian becomes an Italian regardless of where he or she is born. Italy historically held onto its emigrants—millions of people left for Argentina, Brazil, the USA, and Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and their descendants retained the right to an Italian passport.

Until 2025, this right had no generational limit. One could trace back to a great-great-grandfather who boarded a ship in the 1890s, compile an unbroken chain of documents, and obtain an EU passport. The main condition was one: the Italian ancestor must not have acquired another citizenship before the birth of the next person in the line. If he naturalized, say, as an American after his son was born—the connection was preserved.

This almost unlimited depth was precisely what triggered the reform. Queues at consulates stretched for years, and courts were overwhelmed with cases. The state decided to narrow the circle of applicants and introduce a requirement for a real, "living" connection with Italy.

The 2025 reform: what exactly changed

On March 28, 2025, the Italian government issued decree-law DL 36/2025 (also called the "Tajani decree" after Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani). On May 24, 2025, parliament approved it as law no. 74/2025—meaning it is no longer a temporary measure but an existing norm.

The essence of the reform in one phrase: Italian citizenship by descent is now typically available only to those who have a parent or grandparent born in Italy. This is the two-generation limit. Great-great-grandparents and more distant ancestors no longer confer rights in the general case.

The key thing to understand immediately: the reform did not abolish jure sanguinis entirely. It narrowed it. If your line fits within two generations and the Italian ancestor did not "lose" citizenship before the relevant moment—the path is open. If the roots run deeper, the former consular path is closed in most cases, and one must seek other grounds, which we will discuss below.

In March 2026, Italy's Constitutional Court reviewed complaints against this decree and found the restrictions lawful—some claims were rejected, some ruled inadmissible. This means the new rules remain fully in force, and there is no reason to expect their repeal.

How it was before and how it is now

To understand the scale of change, let us compare two scenarios—before March 28, 2025, and after.

Before the ancestral line could be of any length. The key was to prove continuity: each ancestor passed citizenship to the next before becoming a citizen of another country. People spent years gathering archival documents on a great-great-grandfather who had left Sicily or Calabria over a century ago, and it worked.

Now a strict two-generation rule applies. Italy requires a "genuine link" with itself—not an abstract surname in old records, but close kinship. A parent or grandparent born in Italy is precisely that closeness which the state considers sufficient.

For many families this is painful news. A person spent years preparing documents for a great-grandfather, and now his application does not pass under standard procedure. This is why it is so important to first assess the kinship line—and only then spend money and time collecting archives.

Table: which generation of ancestor qualifies after the reform

The most frequent question is "does my case qualify?" Below is a clear table of your ancestral line going upward. It provides guidance, but a lawyer always makes the final assessment based on specific documents.

If your line includes "father," "mother," "grandfather," or "grandmother" from Italy, you have good chances. If your roots run deeper, do not despair immediately: below we will examine transitional provisions and alternative paths.

Who is entitled to obtain citizenship by ancestry now

Let us combine all the conditions that apply after the reform. The right to Italian citizenship by descent today typically exists if a person meets several conditions simultaneously.

First - your parent or grandfather or grandmother was born in Italy. This is the two-generation limit that cannot be exceeded in standard procedure.

Second - at the moment of your birth (or if he/she had already died, at the moment of death), this Italian ancestor was a citizen of Italy and did not hold any other citizenship at that time. The requirement "only Italian citizenship of the ancestor" is new and important.

Third - there was no break in the line of descent: the Italian ancestor did not acquire citizenship of another country before the birth of the next person in the family. If, for example, your grandfather became an Argentine after your father's birth, the connection remained intact.

There is also a separate alternative path: if your parent (biological or adoptive) after acquiring Italian citizenship lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years before your birth, this can also establish the right—even when the direct "blood" line does not meet the new requirements.

Conditions, transitional provisions, and who else has time

The reform did not cut everyone off at once—the law provided transitional provisions for those who started the process in advance.

The key date is 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025. If by that moment you managed to file an application with the Italian consulate, the municipality (comune), or the court—or you were officially assigned a date for submission—your case will be reviewed under the old rules. That is, without generation limits. This is a lifeline for those who stood in queue for years.

Separate rules apply to minor children of Italian citizens: the Italian parent must typically make a declaration of recognition of the child within one year of his or her birth or adoption. Young families should keep this in mind to not miss the deadline.

If your line goes back more than two generations and you did not file an application by the deadline, other legal paths to Italy and an EU passport remain available—through long-term legal residence and naturalization, through marriage to an Italian citizen, or through residency programs for wealthy individuals. We will discuss this bridge below.

Our experts can help you determine which specific provision applies to your family—you can write to us and get an analysis of your family line.

How to analyze your family line

Before gathering archives, draw your family tree upward—from yourself to your ancestors—and look at who among them was born in Italy.

Line on father's side If your father was born in Italy, this is the first generation and almost always qualifies. If your paternal grandfather (your father's father) or paternal grandmother was born in Italy, this is the second generation, also within the norm.

Line on mother's side Everything here is symmetrical: a mother born in Italy is the first generation; a maternal grandfather or grandmother is the second. An important detail from the past: until 1948, women in Italy could not pass citizenship to children on equal terms with men. For "maternal" lines with ancestors before 1948, the path often runs only through court—these are the so-called 1948 cases.

If only a great-grandfather or great-grandmother was born in Italy, the line will likely not pass in standard procedure after the reform. But before giving up, you should show the scheme to a lawyer: sometimes a closer Italian ancestor is found within the family who was simply forgotten, or the "two-year" provision regarding parental residence in Italy applies.

Documents: what you will need to gather

Citizenship by descent is always work with archives. You must document the entire line from your Italian ancestor to yourself without gaps.

The basic set typically includes: birth certificate of the Italian ancestor (issued by his native municipality in Italy), birth, marriage, and death certificates of each person in the line up to you, as well as your personal documents.

A separate and very important document is a naturalization certificate of the ancestor (or, conversely, a certificate that he/she did NOT acquire other citizenship). It is this document that proves the connection was not broken. If the ancestor emigrated, for example, to the United States, you will need either confirmation that he/she never became an American citizen or a certified copy of his/her naturalization certificate with the date.

All foreign documents go through two mandatory steps: apostille (international certification confirming authenticity) and official translation into Italian by a certified translator. Discrepancies in the spelling of names and dates between documents are a common cause of delays, so such inconsistencies are corrected in advance through amending records.

For more details on the document package and certification, we discuss this in a separate article on documents for Italian citizenship.

Naturalization – a backup route when deep roots exist

What to do if your Italian ancestor is a great-grandfather or further back, and you failed to submit an application before the deadline? The direct blood line path is closed, but Italy remains accessible through naturalization – acquiring citizenship after years of legal residence in the country.

Standard residence requirement – 10 years. However, for people of Italian descent it is reduced: those with Italian roots (or who were born in Italy) require only 3 years of legal residence. For citizens of other EU countries – 4 years. That is, deep roots, which no longer provide a passport automatically, still work in your favor – they reduce the naturalization period by half to one-third.

In addition to the residence period, naturalization requires confirmation of Italian language knowledge at B1 level, legal income, and absence of criminal convictions. This is a longer, but absolutely lawful route to the same EU passport.

All conditions, timelines, and nuances are covered in detail in our article on naturalization in Italy.

Citizenship through marriage to an Italian citizen

Another lawful path that does not depend on the depth of your roots is marriage to a male or female citizen of Italy. This is not "an instant passport by a stamp in a document," but a real and straightforward route.

If spouses live in Italy, the right to apply for citizenship arises after 2 years of marriage. If the couple lives outside Italy – after 3 years. If there are common children (biological or adopted), these periods are cut in half – to 1 year and 1.5 years respectively.

Here too, you will need to confirm Italian language knowledge at B1 level and pass standard checks. The marriage must be valid at the time of the decision – formal unions are identified during compliance review.

This route is often chosen by those whose family is already connected to Italy, but the blood line under new rules does not reach the required two generations.

Russians and residents of the Commonwealth of Independent States: what to consider

For citizens of Russia and CIS countries, Italian roots are less common than among Latin Americans, but they do exist – especially among descendants of emigration waves and mixed families. The principle is the same: what matters is not nationality as self-identification, but documentary proof that an ancestor was born in Italy within two generations.

Several practical points. To travel to Italy at the document collection stage, you need a Schengen visa – until citizenship is recognized, you remain a foreigner. Russia permits dual citizenship: notification to the Russian Ministry of Interior is required upon acquiring an Italian passport (approximately within 60 days), but renouncing Russian citizenship is not required.

It is important to keep in mind the difference: citizenship and tax residency are not the same thing. An Italian passport itself does not make you a tax resident of Italy until you actually live there the required number of days per year.

And we emphasize separately: all work is conducted strictly within EU legislation, with enhanced compliance and without any circumvention of sanctions. Transparency of document and fund origins is not a formality here, but a mandatory requirement.

Timelines and procedure for citizenship recognition

Citizenship by descent is not legally "issued" – it is recognized. That is, the state confirms that you were an Italian citizen from birth, it simply was not recorded. Therefore, the procedure is called recognition, not issuance.

An application can be submitted in three ways: through the Italian consulate at your place of residence, directly to the municipal office (comune) in Italy (if you legally reside there), or through court – the latter option is relevant for cases before 1948 through the maternal line.

Timelines depend heavily on the route and the workload of the specific authority. Approximately – from several months to two years. Consular queues are traditionally longer than applications submitted directly at the municipal office. The reform, by reducing the flow of applicants, should over time accelerate the process for those meeting the new rules.

How the stages are organized and what comprises the overall timeline, we show step by step in our article on timelines for obtaining Italian citizenship.

If roots do not qualify: the investment and residence route

It happens that Italian roots exist, but they are deeper than the permitted two generations, and you do not wish to wait years for naturalization. In this case, another reliable route leads to an EU passport – first Italian residence permit, then long-term residence and naturalization.

Italy has an investor visa: investment in a startup, innovative company, government bonds, or charitable donation provides residence without a requirement to permanently live in the country initially. There is also a visa for financially independent people with passive income (Residenza Elettiva), popular among affluent families and those planning a measured life in Italy.

These programs are a lawful and predictable way to establish yourself in the country, obtain a residence permit, and over time achieve citizenship based on length of residence. It is important to understand : real estate purchase alone does not provide residence in Italy – there is no "golden visa for square meters" here.

Detailed information on Italy's investor options and residency programs – on our page Residence and residency in Italy through investmentIf you want to find a route suited to your situation, submit an application – and we will outline the options.

How we verify your family line

The 2025 reform made an error costly: you can spend half a year collecting archives on a great-grandfather and receive a rejection because the line does not fit within two generations. Therefore, the first step in our work is not document collection, but legal assessment of your family line.

We build a family tree upward, determine which ancestors were born in Italy and in which generation, check the right to recognition under new rules, and immediately identify risks: breaks in the line, early ancestor naturalization, cases before 1948 through the maternal side, name inconsistencies in documents.

If the line qualifies – we compile a precise list of documents by country and archive and conduct the case to citizenship recognition. If it does not qualify – we are about it and offer workable alternatives: naturalization with a reduced timeline based on roots, marriage, investor residence. Without false hopes and without wasting your money on a doomed application.

Want to know if your specific line qualifies after the reform? Write to us – we will analyze your family tree and give you a direct answer.