Italy Enacts Sweeping Citizenship Reform: Law 74/2025 Tightens Ancestry Dual Citizenship Rules

Italy dual citizenship reform has officially been enacted as the most significant citizenship reform in decades, with Law 74/2025 (Legge n. 74/2025) coming into force on May 24, 2025 after President Sergio Mattarella’s signature. The legislation, which converts the controversial Decree-Law 36/2025 (known as the “Tajani Decree”) into permanent law, fundamentally alters how Italian citizenship by descent operates, affecting millions of Italian descendants and potential applicants worldwide.

The “Tajani Decree” Becomes Permanent Law Through the Italian Parliament

The Council of Ministers first approved the emergency decree on March 28, 2025, under the leadership of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. After two months of parliamentary review, the decree has now been converted into permanent legislation with modifications.

The reform package, officially titled “Disposizioni urgenti in materia di cittadinanza” (Urgent provisions on citizenship matters), was published in the Official Gazette (Gazzetta Ufficiale) Series n.73 on March 28, 2025. After parliamentary debate, the final law was published in Gazette n.118 on May 23, 2025.

Key Changes to Citizenship by Descent

The new law introduces unprecedented restrictions on the transmission of Italian citizenship to children born abroad, moving away from Italy’s traditional liberal approach to jus sanguinis (citizenship by blood) dating back to the unification of Italy.

Generational Limits and Residency Requirements for Italian Descendants

Law 74/2025 brings significant changes to Italian citizenship by descent eligibility criteria, particularly introducing a generational limit on the transmission of Italian citizenship for those born abroad. The reform establishes that citizenship is no longer automatically transmitted to all descendants of Italian emigrants but requires specific connections to Italy.

For children born abroad, the new rules create four distinct pathways to citizenship:

1. Residence requirement: Italian parents with dual citizenship must have had residence in Italy for at least two consecutive years before the child’s birth for the child to acquire Italian citizenship
2. Exclusive citizenship: The Italian parent holds only Italian citizenship (no other foreign citizenship)
3. Grandparent rule: One grandparent must have held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of the child’s birth and if the grandparent is deceased, the grandparent must have only held Italian citizenship at their time of death
4. Child statelessness: The child born abroad does not automatically obtain or is not able to obtain any other foreign citizenship than Italian citizenship. This cannot apply to children born in countries with birthright citizenship like the United States or Brazil.

Impact on Current and Future Applications

The legislation creates a sharp distinction between applications submitted before and after March 28th, 2025. Those who submitted an application for citizenship before March 27th, 2025, find themselves in one condition, while those who applied after March 28th face another, without any transition or protection, in full contrast with the principles of the rule of law, raising legal concerns about jure sanguinis rights.

Government Justification and Objectives

According to the official government press release, the government cited “extraordinary necessity and urgency to introduce limitations in the automatic transmission of Italian citizenship to persons born and residing abroad, conditioning it on clear indices of the subsistence of effective ties”.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the decree’s primary architect, has positioned the reform as necessary to ensure that citizenship is granted only to those with genuine connections to Italy, rather than being transmitted indefinitely through generations with no ties to the homeland or residence in Italy.

Italian Media and Legal Commentary

The reform has generated significant debate within Italy’s legal community, particularly regarding citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis or jus sanguinis). Legal analysis publication Judicium described the changes as “moving in the opposite direction to Italy’s secular legal tradition, the Tajani decree now introduces strict rules with immediate and retroactive application”.

Critics argue that Law 74/2025 (or Legge n. 74/2025) amounts to a form of “mass legal disinheritance,” according to Corriere d’Italia, highlighting concerns about the retroactive nature of the changes. The new requirements are expected to impact thousands of Italian descendants seeking recognition of citizenship at an Italian consulate or other consular office abroad.

International Reaction and Diaspora Concerns

Throughout Italian diaspora communities, largely concentrated in the Americas, there is a great feeling of dismay about these procedural changes. Regular applicants and specialists alike were blindsided by the Italian government council’s emergency decree changing the nationality law. The documentary evidence required to apply for Italian citizenship through jure sanguinis and Italian ancestry often took many applicants years to obtain.

Without notice that the rules were coming to an end, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of applicants who were preparing an application for citizenship did not have the opportunity to submit an initial application granting them the necessary confirmation number to hold their place in line for citizenship. Even for those who obtain this consular number by March 27th, 2025, many are left in doubt if their application for dual citizenship at an Italian consulate or consular office within the European Union or abroad will ever be accepted, and if so when.

Transitional Provisions for Minor Children and Deadlines

The law includes important transitional provisions for families with minor children. Parents can still secure Italian citizenship for their minor children through a “declaration of intent” process at the appropriate consular office, but this must be completed by May 31, 2026. This pathway requires:

Ministry Guidance and Implementation

The Italian Ministry of Interior has issued preliminary guidance for consulates worldwide on implementing the new provisions. However, many practical questions remain unanswered as each consular office adapt their procedures to the new legal requirements.

The reform marks a definitive shift in Italian citizenship policy, prioritizing contemporary connections to Italy over historical emigration patterns that characterized much of the 19th and 20th centuries. For millions of descendants of Italian emigrants worldwide, the era of automatic citizenship by descent has effectively ended.

Conclusion

Italy’s Law 74/2025 (Legge n. 74/2025) marks the most restrictive reform to Italian citizenship by descent in decades. By tightening the residence requirement and placing generational limits on Italian descendants, the government has effectively ended the automatic recognition of jure sanguinis and jus sanguinis rights across multiple generations.

For individuals of Italian ancestry, especially those seeking recognition through an Italian consulate or abroad within the European Union, this law represents a turning point. Applicants considering an application for citizenship must act quickly, understand the role of their local consular office, and seek professional guidance to navigate these new legal realities.

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