Italy Citizenship Law Change 2025: Law 74/2025 Guide & 2025–2027 Rules

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Executive Summary: The Italy citizenship law change 2025 enacted through Law 74/2025 (converting Decree-Law 36/2025, the “Tajani Decree”) introduced Article 3-bis to Law 91/1992, creating a statutory two-generation limit on jure sanguinis claims for foreign-born dual citizens. While domestic constitutional challenges were decided by Constitutional Court Ruling 63/2026, the reform is now under preliminary review before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU Order 147/2026). A statutory safeguard clause strictly protects claims initiated before March 27, 2025. If your descent exceeds the second degree or faces a broken lineage, viable strategic avenues—including European Court stays, consular blameless impediment arguments, the genuine link defense, and 1948 maternal actions—remain active.

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TL;DR — Key Takeaways: What You Must Know in 2026

• Legislative Status: Law 74/2025 (effective May 2025) permanently amended Law 91/1992 by inserting Article 3-bis, restricting Italian citizenship by descent to the 1st degree (parent) or 2nd degree (grandparent).
• The Non-Retroactivity Rule: In landmark Ruling No. 24045/2026, the United Sections of the Court of Cassation affirmed that Law 74/2025 cannot be applied retroactively; cases submitted administratively or deposited in court before March 27, 2025 proceed under pre-reform law.
• Constitutional & EU Jurisprudence: Sentenza 63/2026 upheld Article 3-bis domestically, but Constitutional Court Ordinanza 147/2026 referred the statute to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to assess compliance with Article 20 TFEU and the EU principle of proportionality.
• The Two-Generation Requirement: Dual nationals born abroad must prove their parent was an Italian citizen or their grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship at death or transmission.
• 4 Active Strategic Pathways: Descendants beyond the 2nd degree can pursue judicial filings with requests for CJEU stays, consular technical impediment petitions (“Impedimento Incolpevole”), the 2-year parental residency exception (“Genuine Link”), or maternal 1948 actions.

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Table of Contents

• Quick Answers: Key Questions on Law 74/2025 & 2026 Rulings
• Part 1: The Legislative Framework — From Tajani Decree to Law 74/2025
• The March 27, 2025 Cutoff Date: Who Qualifies for Safeguard Protection?
• Part 2: The Italian Citizenship 2 Generation Limit Explained
• The Generational Screening Matrix: Testing Your Lineage
• Part 3: What to Do If Blocked by Law 74/2025
• Special Provision: The 2025–2027 Reacquisition Window for Former Italian Citizens
• Part 4: The 2026–2027 Strategic Roadmap (4 Viable Pathways)
• Part 5: Complete Jurisprudential Overview (Consulta 63/2026, CJEU 147/2026 & Cassazione 24045/2026)
• Frequently Asked Questions

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Quick Answers: What Is the Italy Citizenship Law Change 2025?

AEO Definition: The Italy citizenship law change 2025 refers to Law No. 74/2025, which enacted Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992. It restricts Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) to applicants whose Italian parent was born an Italian citizen or whose Italian grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship, exempting applications submitted prior to March 27, 2025.

What is the Italian citizenship 2 generation limit?

The italian citizenship 2 generation limit is a statutory rule established by Article 3-bis of Law 74/2025. It prohibits recognition of jure sanguinis citizenship beyond the second degree of descent (grandparent level) for dual citizens born abroad, unless an uninterrupted chain of exclusive Italian nationality or the statutory genuine link residency exception is legally established.

What is the March 27 2025 cutoff date for Italian citizenship?

The March 27 2025 cutoff date italian citizenship marks the hard statutory deadline established by Law 74/2025’s safeguard clause. All consular applications submitted or judicial proceedings deposited at an Italian tribunal on or before March 27, 2025 are governed entirely by pre-reform legislation, fully exempt from the generational restrictions of Article 3-bis.

What to do if blocked by Law 74 2025?

Applicants asking what to do if blocked by law 74 2025 should evaluate four concrete legal strategies: requesting a judicial stay pending the CJEU preliminary ruling under Constitutional Court Order 147/2026, pleading consular blameless impediment, claiming the two-year parental residency exception, or initiating a 1948 maternal judicial action.

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Part 1: The Legislative Framework — From Tajani Decree to Law 74/2025

The legislative reform that transformed Italian citizenship began on March 28, 2025, when the Italian Council of Ministers issued Decreto-Legge 36/2025 (commonly known as the “Tajani Decree”). On May 23, 2025, the Italian Parliament enacted Law No. 74/2025 (published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale n. 118), converting the decree into permanent statutory law with critical structural amendments to Law No. 91/1992.

The primary legislative mechanism of the reform is Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992. This statutory provision was created to curb multi-generational dual citizenship claims filed by applicants born outside Italy who possess another nationality. Under the pre-reform framework, jure sanguinis transmission was theoretically unlimited across generations, provided no ancestor in the direct line had voluntarily naturalized before the birth of the next descendant.

Under Article 3-bis, the Italian legislature introduced a structural filter: transmission is maintained without restriction only up to the first degree (parent) or second degree (grandparent), subject to strict nationality retention conditions. For comprehensive analysis on the initial decree conversion, refer to our detailed review of the Tajani Decree becoming Law 74/2025.

The March 27, 2025 Cutoff Date: Who Qualifies for Safeguard Protection?

The centerpiece of transitional litigation is the clausola di salvaguardia (safeguard clause) set out in Article 1, Paragraph 2 of Law 74/2025. The statute explicitly provides that the generational restrictions of Article 3-bis do not apply to:

• Applicants who submitted a complete administrative citizenship application to an Italian Consulate abroad or Italian comune on or before March 27, 2025; or
• Applicants who deposited a judicial petition (ricorso) before a competent Italian Civil Tribunal (Tribunale Ordinario) on or before March 27, 2025.

In mid-2026, the United Sections of the Supreme Court of Cassation (Ruling No. 24045/2026) authoritatively confirmed that Law 74/2025 is not retroactive. The Avvocatura dello Stato had argued that Article 3-bis operated as mandatory public order legislation (ius superveniens di ordine pubblico) that applied immediately to all pending proceedings. The Supreme Court rejected this stance: every claim instituted prior to the March 27, 2025 cutoff date must be adjudicated exclusively under pre-reform legal standards.

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Part 2: The Italian Citizenship 2 Generation Limit Explained

The italian citizenship 2 generation limit fundamentally redefines eligibility for applicants born outside Italy holding foreign citizenship. To qualify under the post-reform standard of Article 3-bis, your lineage must meet one of the following criteria:

1. 1st Degree (Parent): Your Italian parent was born an Italian citizen and maintained or possessed Italian citizenship at the time of your birth.
2. 2nd Degree (Grandparent): Your Italian grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of their death or at the moment of your parent’s birth. If the grandparent naturalized or held dual citizenship, the chain is broken unless an exception applies.
3. Great-Grandparent and Beyond (3rd+ Degree): Claims based on great-grandparents (3rd degree) or great-great-grandparents (4th degree) are statutorily barred under standard administrative procedures, unless protected by the March 27, 2025 safeguard or pursued through specialized judicial channels.

The Generational Screening Matrix: Testing Your Lineage

To determine where your claim stands under Law 74/2025, assess your ancestral chain against this legal screening matrix:

Parent Status at Your Birth	Grandparent Status at Parent Birth / Death	Degree of Lineage	Legal Outcome Under Law 74/2025
Italian Citizen (born Italian)	Exclusively Italian Citizen	1st / 2nd Degree	Chain Fully Intact: Recognized under Article 3-bis.
Foreign Citizen at your birth	Exclusively Italian Citizen at death	2nd Degree	Conditionally Intact: Grandparent transmission preserved if parent acquired jure sanguinis.
Foreign Citizen at your birth	Naturalized abroad before parent’s birth	2nd Degree	Severed Chain: Barred by 1912 loss provisions & Art. 3-bis.
Foreign Citizen	Foreign Citizen / Dual National	3rd Degree+ (Great-Grandparent)	Statutorily Blocked: Requires 2026–2027 Strategic Roadmap.

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Part 3: What to Do If Blocked by Law 74/2025

If your genealogical chain extends to a great-grandparent or your Italian ancestor naturalized, receiving a refusal or consular pause is not necessarily the end of your pathway. When evaluating what to do if blocked by law 74 2025, applicants must avoid generic advice and focus on precise legal defenses recognized by Italian jurisprudence.

First, verify whether you received a formal notice of rejection under Article 10-bis of Italian Law 241/1990. If an Italian Consulate issued a Preavviso di Rigetto, you have a strict 10-day window to file formal legal observations. Discover how we successfully resolved these suspensions in our 10-bis Consular Defense Case Study and review the procedural mechanics of combating administrative rejections.

Second, if your administrative path is barred, your rights must be asserted before the Italian Civil Courts. In the following section, we analyze the four active strategic litigation avenues available in 2026 and 2027.

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Part 4: The 2026–2027 Strategic Roadmap for Italian Citizenship Descendants

For applicants whose lineage exceeds the second degree or whose Italian ancestor held dual nationality, standard consular routes are closed. Legal practice in 2026 centers on four distinct judicial and statutory pathways:

Pathway 1: The CJEU Referral Track (Constitutional Court Order 147/2026)

While the Italian Constitutional Court upheld Article 3-bis domestically in Ruling 63/2026, it recognized substantial tension between Law 74/2025 and supranational European Union law. In June 2026, the Consulta issued Ordinanza n. 147/2026, staying proceedings and referring preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg.

The referral centers on Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the landmark CJEU doctrine established in Rottmann (C-135/08) and Tjebbes (C-221/17). Under EU jurisprudence, the automatic loss or deprivation of nationality of a Member State—which entails the loss of European Union citizenship—must comply with the principle of proportionality, requiring an individual assessment of the person’s situation. Italian civil judges handling post-reform petitions can be formally petitioned to stay (sospensione del processo) proceedings pending the CJEU’s binding ruling. If the CJEU declares the automatic cutoff incompatible with EU law, Article 3-bis must be disapplied by Italian courts.

Pathway 2: The “Impedimento Incolpevole” & Consular Prenot@mi Dysfunction Defense

Thousands of eligible descendants were prevented from filing prior to the March 27, 2025 cutoff solely due to chronic consular booking dysfunction (the “Prenot@mi Wall”). Italian administrative law establishes the fundamental doctrine of impedimento incolpevole (blameless impediment caused by administrative default) and legittimo affidamento (protection of legitimate expectations).

While some courts have adopted strict documentary standards (see the Bologna Court Prenot@mi Ruling), judicial petitions backed by comprehensive technical proof of system impossibility—certified portal error logs, timestamps, registered PEC warnings, and consular delay notices—are actively argued before regional tribunals. Furthermore, following the Ministry of Interior’s Circular No. 65050/2026 (which overturned prior administrative instructions like Circolare 43347), establishing administrative non-responsiveness remains a core pillar in court-mandated recognitions.

Pathway 3: The “Genuine Link” Defense (Article 3-bis, Paragraph 1, Letter c)

Article 3-bis contains an explicit statutory exception that bypasses the two-generation barrier entirely. Under letter (c), the generational limit is lifted if the applicant’s parent (or adoptive parent) resided continuously in Italy for at least two full years (24 months) after acquiring or holding Italian citizenship and before the child’s birth or adoption.

This “Genuine Link” provision recognizes that physical integration into the Italian Republic renews citizenship transmission rights for subsequent generations born abroad. If your parent lived, studied, or worked in Italy with registered residency (iscrizione anagrafica) during their lifetime prior to your birth, your lineage is statutorily protected. Read our dedicated legal analysis on the Genuine Link Defense under Law 74/2025.

Pathway 4: The 1948 Maternal Line Judicial Action

Where descent passes through an Italian female ancestor who gave birth to her child before January 1, 1948 (the date the Republican Constitution entered into force), the claim cannot be handled administratively by consulates and must be filed as a 1948 Maternal Action before the competent Italian Civil Court.

Because 1948 claims are rooted in constitutional equality (Articles 3 and 29 of the Italian Constitution, rectifying historical sex discrimination under the 1912 law), judicial tribunals apply heightened constitutional scrutiny. Courts have shown greater reluctance to impose arbitrary generational cutoffs where doing so would perpetuate pre-1948 gender discrimination. For applicants with eligible maternal lines, this judicial route represents one of the most resilient legal strategies in 2026.

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Part 5: Complete Jurisprudential Overview (2026 Court Rulings)

Understanding current court decisions is essential before filing any citizenship claim in Italy:

1. Supreme Court United Sections Ruling No. 24045/2026 (Confirmed by Decision 24184/2026)

The Sezioni Unite of the Italian Supreme Court issued Ruling No. 24045/2026 to resolve persistent conflicts across lower courts. The Supreme Court settled two critical questions: first, it definitively affirmed that Law 74/2025 is not retroactive, protecting all pre-March 27, 2025 cases. Second, regarding the historic “minor issue” under the 1912 statute, it ruled that an ancestor’s foreign naturalization during the child’s minority caused citizenship loss, reinforcing the necessity of post-reform litigation strategies. This stance was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Decision No. 24184/2026.

2. Constitutional Court Sentenza No. 63/2026

On April 30, 2026, the Italian Constitutional Court published Sentenza n. 63/2026, reviewing multiple constitutional challenges referred by regional tribunals. The Consulta upheld Article 3-bis against domestic constitutional challenges, ruling that the Italian Parliament holds wide legislative discretion to regulate nationality and tie jure sanguinis transmission to an effective genuine connection with the State.

3. Constitutional Court Ordinanza No. 147/2026 (CJEU Referral)

Recognizing that nationality loss directly extinguishes European Union citizenship rights, the Constitutional Court issued Ordinanza n. 147/2026, elevating the legal dispute to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The CJEU will determine whether a rigid generational limitation without individual proportionality review violates European Community treaties.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Law 74/2025 abolish Italian citizenship by descent completely?

No. Law 74/2025 does not abolish jure sanguinis citizenship. It establishes a generational threshold for foreign-born dual citizens. Transmission remains fully active if your parent was an Italian citizen or your grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship at death, or if you qualify under statutory exceptions or judicial appeals.

Can I file a court case in Italy if I missed the March 27, 2025 deadline?

Yes. Post-deadline applicants can initiate judicial proceedings before the competent Italian Civil Court. Petitions may assert the Genuine Link defense, argue consular system impossibility (impedimento incolpevole), initiate a 1948 maternal action, or request a formal judicial stay pending the CJEU ruling under Order 147/2026.

What is the difference between Decree-Law 36/2025 and Law 74/2025?

Decree-Law 36/2025 (the Tajani Decree) was the initial emergency decree enacted on March 28, 2025. Law 74/2025 is the final parliamentary conversion statute enacted on May 23, 2025, which confirmed Article 3-bis into permanent statutory law while defining the safeguard cutoff date.

How long will the CJEU take to rule on Constitutional Court Order 147/2026?

Preliminary ruling proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg typically take between 15 and 20 months. During this period, Italian civil judges possess the authority to suspend individual citizenship lawsuits pending the CJEU’s binding interpretation.

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Legal Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute formal legal counsel. Italian citizenship laws and judicial interpretations are strictly fact-specific. Consult an experienced Italian immigration and citizenship attorney to analyze your ancestral documents.

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Last Updated: August 2026 | Jurisprudential Consolidation

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If you submitted your application prior to the cutoff or are facing an administrative objection from a consulate citing Law 74/2025 or Circular 43347/2024, you can invoke the impedimento incolpevole principle via an Article 10-bis formal consular response to safeguard your legal rights.

judicial route in Italian courts (including pre-1948 maternal lineage petitions)

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📌 UPDATE (September 2026): Read our latest operational and legal analysis on the popular referendum launched against Law 74/2025: Italian Referendum Platform and Italians Abroad: When Public Administration Disalignment Becomes a Democratic Deficit.