Italy Restricts Citizenship by Ancestry, Closing a Major Pathway to EU Passports

Italy Restricts Citizenship by Ancestry, Closing a Major Pathway to EU Passports

2026-03-14 global

Rome, Saturday, 14 March 2026.
Italy’s Constitutional Court has upheld strict limits on citizenship by ancestry. This March 2026 ruling effectively strips millions worldwide of a highly sought-after pathway to an EU passport.

The End of an Era for Jure Sanguinis

On March 12, 2026, Italy’s Constitutional Court issued a press release indicating its rejection of key constitutional challenges to Law 74/2025, originally introduced as Decree-Law 36/2025 [5]. The legislation fundamentally alters the country’s 1865 civil code tradition of unlimited ‘jure sanguinis’—or right of blood—which historically allowed descendants of the 16 million Italians who emigrated between 1861 and 1918 to claim citizenship [1]. Under the new framework, individuals born abroad who hold another citizenship are considered never to have acquired Italian nationality unless they meet strict exemptions [5]. These exemptions include having a parent or grandparent who possessed exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of their death, or having a parent who resided in Italy for two continuous years prior to the applicant’s birth [5].

Systemic Strain and the Demographic Paradox

The government’s harsh intervention stems from a system buckling under unprecedented administrative pressure. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of Italian citizens residing abroad surged from 4.6 million to 6.4 million, representing a growth of 39.13% [1]. This explosion in demand created severe bottlenecks at diplomatic missions worldwide. Italian consulates are currently facing staggering processing backlogs spanning 10 to 15 years [2]. In 2024 alone, Italian consulates in Argentina processed 30,000 citizenship applications, an increase of 10,000 from the previous year [1].

Despite the Constitutional Court’s seemingly definitive stance, the legal battle over ‘jure sanguinis’ is far from concluded. While Constitutional Court verdicts cannot be appealed [1], citizenship lawyers emphasize that the March 12 press release addressed specific, narrow arguments rather than declaring Law 74/2025 universally constitutional [3]. Two independent constitutional challenges remain actively pending: one at the Mantova Court, scheduled for a hearing on June 9, 2026, and another at the Campobasso Court [3]. Additionally, citizenship lawyer Marco Mellone is preparing for a distinct hearing at the Court of Cassation on April 14, 2026, warning that the new law is not ‘100% valid and forever’ [1].

Sources


Dual citizenship European mobility