Q&A: How Italy’s rules for claiming citizenship by descent have changed

The Italian government has tightened rules for claiming citizenship by descent (also known as citizenship iure sanguinis) in a drastic move intended to put an end to forms of “abuse” of the country’s citizenship laws.

“The granting of citizenship is a serious thing and there has been abuse [of the system] in past years,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said, citing the growing “commercialisation of Italian passports”.

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“Many descendants of emigrants will still be able to obtain Italian citizenship, but precise limits will be set,” he added.

Here’s an overview of what exactly has changed and what to expect going forward as the government plans to bring in additional measures in the near future.

What’s changed?

Under previous rules, Italy placed no generational limit on citizenship by descent claims. 

Anyone who could prove that they had an Italian ancestor who was alive on or after March 17th, 1861 – when the Kingdom of Italy was established – and that no one in their line of descent had lost or renounced Italian citizenship before the birth of their child could seek Italian citizenship. 

This meant that people with Italian ancestry could often claim citizenship by proving blood ties with an Italian ancestor that was four or, at times, even five generations removed from them. 

The decree issued on Friday introduced stringent limits, establishing that only people with an Italian parent or grandparent born in Italy, or with an Italian parent who lived in Italy for a minimum of two continuous years, will now qualify for citizenship by descent. 

Though there are no official figures yet, Friday’s decree is believed to have stripped tens of millions of people of the right to apply for Italian citizenship iure sanguinis.

Prior to the change, between 60 and 80 million people with Italian ancestry were eligible for citizenship, according to Italy’s foreign ministry.

Is the decree retroactive?

The decree doesn’t have a retroactive effect.

The changes outlined in the decree came into force on Friday, March 28th. This means that, if you submitted your citizenship by descent application with an Italian consulate or municipality, or filed your 1948 rule case with an Italian court prior to March 28th, previous rules will continue to apply in your case. 

In other words, your ongoing application won’t be affected by the latest decree.

Similarly, those who have already obtained citizenship by descent through a court ruling or by successfully applying through an Italian municipality or consulate will continue to hold Italian citizenship.

Why is Italy changing citizenship by descent rules?

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday that the decree is aimed at curbing widespread “abuse” of Italy’s citizenship laws, including what he referred to as the “commercialisation of Italian passports”.

He said that a growing number of private companies were making a fortune by helping people track down their Italian ancestors and secure the vital records needed in the application process. 

This has resulted in several consular and municipal offices being flooded with demands for documentation, he added.

According to foreign ministry data, the number of Italian citizens living abroad has increased by 40 percent in the past 10 years – from 4.6 million to 6.4 million.

A statement from Italy’s government said that the reform was also part of efforts to ensure that new citizens have an “effective connection with the country of origin”. 

Concerns of this kind are not new in Italy.

Earlier this year, MPs from Italy’s ruling coalition (Brothers of Italy, Forza Italia and the League) filed a citizenship reform proposal in which they said that citizenship by descent laws created “mechanisms that do not consider the existence of a genuine emotional bond with Italy”, resulting in “an exponential increase” in citizens who lack “a tangible connection” to the country.

Could all of this be overturned?

The changes came into force as part of an urgent government decree (decreto legge), which allowed them to temporarily bypass parliament’s vote.

As is the case for all urgent decrees though, Friday’s decreto will have to be ultimately approved by lawmakers, with the deadline falling on the 60th day from the date of its enforcement.

If parliament were to vote against the decree, citizenship rules would revert to the previous system. 

This is however an extremely unlikely scenario, as the ruling coalition relies on a comfortable majority in parliament.

In other words, the changes are largely considered a done deal.

The government’s decision to push through the citizenship changes via an urgent decree has been harshly criticised by Italy’s opposition in recent hours, not least because the procedure is generally reserved for emergencies such as natural disasters, conflicts or public health risks. 

Fabio Porta, from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), said on Friday that the move showed “little respect for parliament and even less for the system of representation of Italians abroad”.  

“When it comes to such delicate matters, it is not acceptable to intervene hastily,” he added.

Are there further plans to tighten citizenship by descent laws?

Yes. The government said in a statement that it had submitted two draft laws (disegni di legge) including plans to further tighten current citizenship by descent rules.

Under the first draft law, people born abroad would have to register their birth certificates with Italian authorities before turning 25 to be able to apply for citizenship iure sanguinis later in life.

Italian citizens living abroad would also have to exercise citizen “rights and duties” including renewing their passports or voting in Italian elections at least once every 25 years in order to keep their citizenship.

Besides citizenship by descent, the draft law also proposes a drastic change for citizenship by marriage claims.

At the moment, the spouse of an Italian national can apply for citizenship after two years of marriage if they are resident in Italy, or three years if they live outside of Italy.

If passed, the law would exclude spouses of Italian nationals living abroad from citizenship, meaning that only spouses living in the country would be able to naturalise.

Under the second draft law submitted on Friday, the fee for citizenship by descent applications would increase to €700 (it was already hiked from €300 to €600 earlier this year).

The above-mentioned disegni di legge haven’t yet been discussed by Italy’s parliament.

There are currently no publicly available details on when exactly these parliamentary discussions will happen.