Italian citizenship by descent after the 2025 law: who still qualifies

What changed

For more than a century, Italy let descendants of Italian emigrants claim citizenship through any number of generations, as long as the chain was unbroken. In March 2025 a decree-law (converted into Law 74/2025 in May 2025) changed that for people born abroad who hold another citizenship.

Under the new rules, such people are generally considered Italian from birth only if a parent or grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship, or if an Italian-citizen parent lived in Italy for at least two continuous years before the applicant's birth.

Who is grandfathered

• Anyone already recognized as a citizen keeps citizenship.
• Applications submitted to a consulate or comune, and court cases filed, by 11:59 pm Rome time on March 27, 2025 are decided under the old rules.
• People with a properly booked consular appointment communicated by that deadline may also be covered. Confirm with your consulate.

Who likely still qualifies

• A parent who was born in Italy and held only Italian citizenship
• A grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, typically one born in Italy who never naturalized elsewhere
• A citizen parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years before you were born

Great-grandparent lines

If your closest Italian ancestor is a great-grandparent or further back and you hadn't filed before the deadline, the administrative route is now generally closed. Court challenges to the law's constitutionality have been brought, so speak with an Italian citizenship lawyer about the current status before giving up. Meanwhile, consider the visa routes, such as the Elective Residence or Digital Nomad visa.

The old rules still matter

Even under the new law, the classic line-breakers still apply: an ancestor who naturalized before the next generation was born, or while that child was a minor, broke the chain. A maternal line with a child born before 1948 still requires a court case. See our guides on the 1948 rule and minor-at-naturalization.