The Italian government’s Law Decree n. 36/2025 introduces significant changes to Italian citizenship laws. The aim is to regulate the growing number of citizenship applications and ensure a stronger bond between applicants and Italy. This article provides a brief analysis of the legal framework and the motivations behind the 2025 Reform (see our article on the 2025 Reform).
Historical Context of Italian Citizenship Laws
Italian citizenship can be acquired through various means, including naturalization and marriage. However, the defining characteristic of the Italian model remains the principle of jus sanguinis – via bloodlines or descent – historically the predominant path. The key legislative milestones shaping this system include:
- Law 555/1912: The law recognized Italian citizens who descended from an Italian ancestor, born or living after 1861, provided the lineage remained unbroken.
- 1948 Constitutional Reform: The reform recognized a woman’s right to transmit citizenship to children born after 1948; this had previously been limited to the male lineage. Following the new principles of gender equality provided for in the Italian Constitution of 1948, the Italian Supreme Court later ruled that Law 555/1912 discriminated against women (since men had no such limitation) and provided that women born before 1948 could transmit citizenship retroactively to their descendants.
- Law No. 91/1992: The law eliminates the previous requirement for Italian citizens to renounce their nationality when acquiring a new one.
Until March 2025, Italy’s citizenship by descent had no generational limits – allowing descendants of Italian emigrants to petition for Italian citizenship if they had an Italian ancestor alive after the country was formed in 1861. Thus, making it one of the most accessible nationality laws in Europe, provided descendants could meticulously document their link to their ancestors. This unrestricted provision led to a surge in applications, particularly from countries with large Italian diaspora communities, such as Argentina, Brazil, and the United States.
The Surge in Citizenship Applications and Administrative Collapse
Over the last decade, the number of citizenship applications has skyrocketed, with an estimated 40% increase between 2014 and 2024. The primary motivations for this growth include:
- No generational limits, unlike other European countries that impose stricter conditions on citizenship by descent (e.g., Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia).
- The global “power” of the Italian passport grants visa-free access to 175 countries (Arton Passport Index).
However, this exponential rise over the last ten years overwhelmed Italian administrative institutions. Italian Consulates, courts, and municipalities struggled to manage the volume of applications, leading to extensive delays.
Over the past decade, the number of Italian citizens abroad has increased by 40% – from 4.6 million to 6.4 million in 2024 – mainly from newly minted citizens.
Italian Consulates have struggled to keep up with the growing number of citizenship applications, leading to severe backlogs in many jurisdictions that make it nearly impossible to get an appointment. In 2023, the number of citizenship applications finalized by Italian consular offices jumped to 69,056, with 135,197 applications on the waiting list, a 27% increase in finalized applications, and a 112% increase in applications on the waiting list from 2022[1].
Italian Law 173/2020 provides that Consulates process citizenship applications within 24 to 36 months after submission, but in practice, many applicants wait and have waited much longer. As a result, more applicants are turning to the Italian courts, filing lawsuits under the principle of “denied justice” because of consular delays. This, in turn, has overwhelmed the Italian judicial system and local municipalities. Leading – by 2025 – to over 60,000 pending legal proceedings across Italy, despite a 2021 legal reform that sought to ease the pressure on the Court of Rome by transferring jurisdiction over citizenship court cases from the Court of Rome to the court in the municipality of the applicant’s Italian ancestor’s birthplace.
Italian municipalities are also struggling: a key example is Veneto, a northern Italian region, where small municipalities (such as Val di Zoldo, Valdastico, Tribano and others) —many with fewer than 1,000 residents— are now handling over 3,000 citizenship requests per year, a volume they cannot sustain. This combination of bureaucratic overload and legal challenges continues to complicate the path to Italian citizenship for thousands of applicants worldwide.
The Shift in the Citizenship Model and the 2025 Reform
In response to administrative backlogs and pressure from public institutions, the Italian government enacted stricter requirements for obtaining citizenship by descent with Law Decree 36/2025.
A primary goal of the reform is the need to curb administrative overload by introducing generational limits and requiring proof of an existing connection with Italy.
While the principle of jus sanguinis remains, Law Decree n. 36/2025 represents a shift towards a more restricted model – limiting automatic citizenship while not significantly expanding alternative pathways to citizenship (such as residency-based naturalization).
The reform aligns Italy’s policies more closely with European standards while still allowing descendants of Italians to apply under a structured and regulated framework. Despite this, estimates suggest that up to 60 million Italian descendants worldwide could still be eligible under the new provisions[2].
Conclusion
The recent reforms in Italian citizenship laws represent a significant shift aimed at balancing its historical principles with the need to manage the increasing number of applications and reduce administrative strain.
By introducing generational limits and connection requirements, Italy seeks to ensure that citizenship remains a meaningful bond rather than just a legal entitlement. While these changes bring Italy closer to European standards, they also raise important questions about access and heritage for those of Italian descent abroad.
We’re here to help you if you’re navigating these new regulations or need expert guidance on your citizenship application to ensure it is handled as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Stay informed with our latest updates and insights.
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