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Updated July 2026 · Law 74/2025 rules
Italian Citizenship by Descent
If your parent or grandparent was Italian, you may still have a legal right to an Italian passport, and with it the freedom to live, work, and invest across all 27 countries of the European Union. The rules changed in 2025. Here is exactly where you stand today.
2 generations
Qualify through a parent or grandparent
27 countries
Full rights to live and work across the EU
€600
Government fee per adult applicant, no investment required
3 routes
Consulate, Italian municipality, or court
Section One
Why Italian citizenship is worth claiming
This is not a visa you renew or an investment you maintain. Citizenship by descent is the recognition of a right you may have held since birth. Once recognised, it is yours for life.
A True EU Passport
Italian citizens travel visa free to over 185 destinations and hold the unrestricted right to live, work, study, and retire in any European Union country, from Lisbon to Vienna, with no permits and no minimum stay.
A Right, Not a Purchase
There is no property to buy and no fund to subscribe. If you qualify, the Italian state recognises a citizenship you already carry in your bloodline. The government filing fee is €600 per adult, plus document costs.
Dual Citizenship Allowed
Italy has permitted dual citizenship since 1992. You keep your current nationality, subject to your own country’s rules, and your recognised status can pass to your children under the current framework.
Section Two
The 2025 reform, explained honestly
For over a century, Italy recognised citizenship by descent with no generational limit. A single Italian ancestor who emigrated in the 1880s could anchor a claim for descendants four or five generations later. That era ended on 24 May 2025, when Law 74/2025 came into force and rewrote Article 3 bis of the citizenship law.
Under the new framework, a person born abroad who also holds another citizenship no longer acquires Italian citizenship automatically. Recognition now runs through two generations: in broad terms, you need a parent or grandparent who is, or was, exclusively an Italian citizen, or a parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years before your birth. The Ministry of the Interior confirmed the operating rules in Circular 26185 of 28 May 2025, and the Constitutional Court upheld the reform in ruling 63/2026, published in April 2026. These rules are settled law.
Here is what most headlines miss: the reform closed the widest door, but it left several others open. Transitional protections, judicial routes for special cases, a fast track to naturalisation for descendants, and a reacquisition window running to the end of 2027 all remain available. The right move depends entirely on the details of your family line, which is exactly what a proper eligibility review establishes.
Generational limit
Parent or grandparent
Key legal test
Exclusive Italian citizenship
Old rules cutoff
27 March 2025
Application routes
Consulate, comune, court
1948 cases
Court only
Descendant fast track
2 years residence
Reacquisition window
Until 31 Dec 2027
Investment required
None
Section Three
Who still qualifies in 2026
You may have a live claim to Italian citizenship by descent if at least one of the following applies to you. Each condition has technical requirements underneath it, so treat this as a first filter, not a verdict.
An exclusively Italian parent or grandparent
A parent or grandparent who holds only Italian citizenship today, or who held only Italian citizenship at the time of your birth, or at their death if they passed away before you were born.
A parent who lived in Italy before your birth
Your parent or adoptive parent, already an Italian citizen, resided in Italy for at least two continuous years before your birth or adoption. Historic residence certificates are required as proof.
You filed before the cutoff
Applications submitted to a consulate, comune, or court before 27 March 2025, or with an appointment already booked and communicated by that date, are assessed under the old rules with no generational limit.
A court case already pending
Judicial recognition actions filed before the cutoff date continue under the previous framework. If your family started a case, its value may extend to you.
An unbroken line of transmission
In every scenario, the chain matters. If an ancestor in your line renounced Italian citizenship or naturalised elsewhere before the next birth in the chain, the line may be broken. This is where most claims are won or lost.
Proof to the official standard
Authorities require certified evidence: non naturalisation certificates, civil records, and legalised translations. Sworn personal declarations are not accepted on the key points, so the document file must be built properly.
Section Four
Three ways to apply, three very different journeys
The right route depends on where you live, how your line qualifies, and how quickly you want to be in Europe. Choosing well at the start saves months, sometimes years.
Route One
Italian consulate abroad
- Apply in your country of residence
- €600 government fee per adult
- No need to relocate to Italy
- Appointment backlogs vary widely by consulate
- Best when you plan to stay where you are for now
Fastest in practice
Italian municipality
- Move to Italy and register in a comune
- Residence permit while awaiting citizenship
- You live in Italy while the file is processed
- Often the quickest overall timeline
- Best when you are ready to relocate
Route Three
Italian court
- Required for 1948 maternal line cases
- Available when consular access is blocked or unreasonably delayed
- Handled by Italian counsel on your behalf
- No personal relocation required
- Timelines depend on the tribunal
Section Five
The doors the reform left open
Even if the direct descent route is closed for your generation, Italian law still offers meaningful paths for people with Italian roots. These are the ones we assess most often.
Naturalisation in 2 Years
If a parent or grandparent was an Italian citizen by birth, you can apply for citizenship after just two years of legal residence in Italy, reduced from the standard ten. For many families this is now the most realistic path to the passport.
Reacquisition Until 2027
Former Italian citizens who lost their citizenship before 15 August 1992, typically by naturalising abroad, and who were born in Italy or lived there for two continuous years, can reclaim it by declaration until 31 December 2027.
Children and New Adults
Children of Italian citizens born abroad after 24 May 2025 can acquire citizenship by declaration within 36 months of birth, currently exempt from the government contribution. Young adults with an Italian by birth parent or grandparent can also declare after two years of residence in Italy.
Section Six
From family story to Italian passport
A citizenship by descent case is a legal file built on documents that may span three countries and a hundred years. This is how we run it, together with specialised Italian counsel.
1
Eligibility review
We map your family line against the Law 74/2025 tests and the transitional rules, and tell you plainly whether you have a case and which route fits it.
2
Build the evidence
Birth, marriage, and death records, non naturalisation certificates, apostilles, and certified translations, gathered from every relevant jurisdiction.
3
File the right way
Consulate, comune, or court, chosen for your situation. If you relocate, we coordinate the residence permit that lets you live in Italy while you wait.
4
Recognition and beyond
Registration of your Italian records, passport issuance, and if you wish, planning for banking, tax residence, and where in Europe you settle next.
Official information on Italian citizenship is published by the Ministry of the Interior at interno.gov.it and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at esteri.it. This page reflects the framework as of July 2026 and is general information, not legal advice.
Start Here
Find out if your family line qualifies
Tell me about your ancestry in two minutes. I will review it personally and come to the call already knowing your case. Prefer to talk first? Pick a time below the form.
Or book your consultation directly
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is Italian citizenship by descent still possible in 2026?
Yes, but under stricter rules. Since 24 May 2025, Law 74/2025 limits automatic recognition to two generations. You generally need a parent or grandparent who is or was exclusively Italian, or a parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years before your birth. The Constitutional Court upheld the reform in ruling 63/2026, so these rules are here to stay.
My great grandparent emigrated from Italy. Am I out?
Not necessarily. The test looks at your parent and grandparents, so the question becomes whether your grandparent, the child of that emigrant, ever held exclusively Italian citizenship. Family lines also hide surprises: pending court cases, applications filed before 27 March 2025, or reacquisition rights for a living relative can all reopen the picture. And if descent is truly closed, two years of residence in Italy can still lead to naturalisation for descendants.
What is a 1948 case?
Before 1 January 1948, Italian women could not pass citizenship to their children under the law of the time. Claims that run through a female ancestor before that date cannot be handled administratively and must go through the Italian courts, where they are routinely recognised when the line qualifies. Under the current framework these cases still require the new generational tests to be met.
How long does the process take?
It depends on the route. Document gathering typically takes several months. Consular queues vary enormously from one country to another, from months to years. Applying through an Italian municipality while living in Italy is often the fastest overall path, and court timelines depend on the tribunal. A realistic personal timeline is one of the first things we establish.
Will I have to give up my current citizenship?
No. Italy has allowed dual citizenship since 1992, so you keep your current nationality, subject to your own country’s rules. Note that the exclusivity test in the new law concerns your ancestor’s citizenship history, not yours: you can hold several nationalities and still qualify through a parent or grandparent who was exclusively Italian.
What does it cost?
The government filing fee is €600 per adult applicant, whether you apply through a consulate, a municipality, or the courts. On top of that come document costs such as certified copies, apostilles, legalisations, and translations, which vary with how many records your line requires. Professional fees depend on the complexity of your case, which is why we quote them only after a proper eligibility review.
Can my children be included?
Usually, yes, and this is often the strongest reason to act. Minor children can generally be dealt with alongside a parent’s recognition, and children born abroad to Italian citizens after 24 May 2025 can acquire citizenship by declaration within 36 months of birth. The rules for minors are the most technical part of the reform, so bring your children’s details to the consultation.
Your surname may be worth a passport
Tell me about your family line, your documents, and your timeline. I will tell you honestly whether you have a case, which route fits it, and what it takes to win it.