For over 160 years, the principle of ius sanguinis (citizenship by blood) served as a surefire guarantee that a child born to an Italian citizen was, by definition, an Italian citizen. However, a landmark announcement from the Constitutional Court indicates that it will uphold a controversial 2025 emergency decree, fundamentally altering how Italian citizenship by descent is recognized and stripping millions of their perceived birthright.
This legal pivot represents a dramatic departure from the 1865 civil code and subsequent laws in 1912 and 1992 that solidified the rights of Italians living abroad. While the court’s detailed verdict is expected in the coming weeks, the preliminary statement suggests that questions of constitutional legitimacy regarding the new restrictions are largely “unfounded.” For descendants across the Americas and Europe, this marks the end of an era where cultural heritage translated into a legal pathway back to the “Bel Paese.”
The New Restrictions and the 2025 Emergency Decree
The shift began in earnest on March 28, 2025, when the Italian government issued an emergency decree that tightened the requirements for citizenship recognition. Under the new rules, an applicant must now prove that they have at least one parent or grandparent who was born in Italy.
Furthermore, the law effectively targets dual citizenship for the diaspora; the ancestor in question must have held solely Italian citizenship at the time of the descendant’s birth or at the time of their own death, whichever occurred first.
This policy creates an immediate “Japa” bottleneck for the Italian diaspora, particularly in countries like Argentina and the United States, where multi-generational ties have long been maintained. The state’s legal counsel successfully argued that those who had not officially claimed their status by 2025 possessed only a “fictitious link” to the country. This reclassification means that what was once considered a right from birth is now being treated as a lost expectation, leaving many families with a painful disparity where one sibling may hold a passport while another is permanently barred.
A Growing Crisis of Population and Bureaucracy
Italy’s decision to slam the door on its descendants comes at a time of profound internal crisis. The country is currently battling a shrinking and aging population, with a record 155,732 Italians emigrating in 2024 alone. While some local authorities in regions like Sicily have attempted to revitalize depopulated “one-euro home” towns by recruiting doctors and professionals from the diaspora, these initiatives are now under threat. The government, however, remains focused on the logistical strain. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of Italians residing abroad surged from 4.6 million to 6.4 million, overwhelming consulates and clogging regional courts with thousands of citizenship lawsuits.
The process of claiming citizenship had already become a gauntlet of administrative hurdles, with document costs reaching 300 euros per certificate and consulate waiting lists stretching to ten years. Furthermore, descendants of Italian women born before 1948 who previously won recognition through gender discrimination lawsuits now find that the door has been slammed shut.
Many suggest that geopolitical pressures and a desire to limit the mobility of citizens who do not pay taxes or perform civil duties within Italy fueled this “politically huge” reform.
The Legal War
Constitutional Court’s discouraging stance, the legal battle is far from over. Some citizenship experts point to a 2025 judgment that initially affirmed the right to citizenship from birth, highlighting a confusing and rapid shift in the court’s opinion. While the Constitutional Court’s verdicts cannot be appealed within Italy, lawyers are already looking toward the European Union courts in Luxembourg as a final theater of war. The argument remains that if a person is born a citizen, a government cannot retroactively declare that birthright “a joke.”
The next major milestone in this “long battle” will take place on April 14, 2026, at the Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest legal authority. Legal professionals are advising descendants with active cases to seek postponements until the fall of 2026, while those who have not yet filed are being urged to wait. For now, the millions of people who identify with their Italian roots face a period of deep uncertainty, as the country they call home officially moves to cut them loose from their ancestral heritage.
