Introduction
The new DL-36 (the so-called ‘Tajani Decree’) has had a major impact on all people petitioning for their Italian citizenship by descent, drastically affecting people’s rights. These changes have sparked many questions among our clients filing to court, and we have collected the most relevant ones here.
While these changes are already in effect and indicate what the government would like to enforce permanently, they could not be further from our position because, according to the citizenship laws in place up to and including March 27, 2025, any person born to an Italian parent (ius sanguinis) is already an Italian citizen. On March 31, we encouraged people to fight for their rights (you can read more about it here) and keep pushing their case forward in order to challenge the constitutionality of these new provisions.
Key Terms
1st-generation; 2nd-generation; 3rd-generation: ‘1st-generation’ is a term applied to the children of emigrants, i.e. the first generation of children born outside Italy. ‘2nd-generation’ would be the second generation (i.e. the grandchildren of the ancestor born in Italy), and so on.
Constitutional Court: The body that guarantees the enforcement and respect of the principles of the Italian constitution.
Court of Appeal: The court that is tasked to judge in the second degree of judgment, on the sentences pronounced in the first degree by the court.
Court of Cassation: The highest level of judgement in Italy, tasked with ensuring the correct interpretation and application of the law.
DL-36: The new Decree-Law no. 36/2025, which has introduced new eligibility requirements. Decree-Laws are intended as an emergency means of legislation, effectively bypassing the ordinary process of legislation. It must be converted into law within 60 days of publication, or it becomes null and void.
MAECI: The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Ministry is set to be responsible for a centralized office in Rome processing citizenship applications in the future.
FAQs
1. What are the effects of the new DL-36?
As the law stands: Citizenship transmission is now restricted to two generations to everyone who has not applied or filed a case up to and including March 27, 2025. Only those with an Italian parent or grandparent born in Italy are now eligible.
We are advocating: Whoever was born to an Italian parent (ius sanguinis) before March 28, 2025 was already an Italian citizen therefore we are willing to take such a case to court.
2. Has it already passed? If so, is it true that filing to court within 60 days of the date of publication of DL-36 could guarantee me that my case would be evaluated under the previous set of principles?
As the law stands: DL-36 was issued on March 28th, 2025 and its provisions have been applicable since that moment. It is valid for the following 60 days, during which it must be converted into law by the parliament or it will cease to be valid (even retroactively).
Therefore no, filing to court within 60 days of the date of publication of DL-36 will not enable your case to be evaluated under the previous set of principles, unless the filing deadline is changed by the conversion of DL-36 (currently March 27, 2025).
We are advocating: Whoever was born to an Italian parent (ius sanguinis) before March 28, 2025 – regardless of the filing deadline – was already an Italian citizen therefore we are willing to take such a case to court.
3. My Italian ancestor is my great-grandfather/great-grandmother. Can my mother/father get citizenship as the grandchild of an Italian citizen born in Italy, and then pass citizenship onwards?
As the law stands: Your mother/father is eligible to receive citizenship from your great-grandmother/great-grandfather. However, it would not be possible for your parents to pass citizenship down to you, unless they had resided in Italy for 2 consecutive years prior to your birth.
We are advocating: As you were born to an Italian parent (ius sanguinis) before March 28, 2025, you were already an Italian citizen therefore we are willing to take such a case to court.
4. I obtained my citizenship by descent through my great-great-grandparent/ great-grandparent/grandparent born in Italy. Can my minor child receive automatic citizenship from me?
As the law stands: You would be eligible to pass citizenship to your minor children only if you had resided in Italy for 2 consecutive years prior to their birth or if you were born in Italy.
We are advocating: Whoever was born to an Italian parent (ius sanguinis) before March 28, 2025 was already an Italian citizen. However we consider it prudent to wait to advise on the transmission of citizenship to minor children (third-generation) until the new citizenship laws are embedded. If the new citizenship laws do not become more favorable towards minor children (third-generation onwards) in the next two years or so, we are willing to take such a case to court. Children born on or after March 28, 2025 (or the new filing deadline if changed by the conversion of DL-36) would need to live in Italy for three years to acquire Italian citizenship through naturalization.
5. Can DL-36 be overturned?
It is possible that the provisions of DL-36 will be amended or challenged. This can happen in different ways:
- DL-36 can be amended when converted into law, by May 27th, 2025;
- The conversion law, or interpretation of its contents, can be amended upon review by the Constitutional Court;
- By possible future legislative amendments, as a consequence of guidelines implemented by the Constitutional Court.
For more information please read this post.
6. If we file to court now, after March 27, and we are rejected, is our journey over? Can I file an appeal?
When a case is rejected, it is possible to appeal the decision twice: first in the Court of Appeal, then in the Court of Cassation.
7. If my case is rejected in court, can I apply again through the (still-to-be-established) centralized office under MAECI?
If a case is rejected in court, it will not be possible to apply with the same lineage to MAECI. However, the two tiers of appeal will still be available to you (see FAQ 6).
8. If our case, filed in court after March 27, is rejected, and DL-36 is overturned, can we apply again in court?
It is not possible to re-file a case that was previously rejected and not appealed. Considering the normal timeframe of a judicial proceeding, it is expected that the critical points of DL-36 will be consolidated by the time a case filed after March 27, 2025 is heard. We can, however, time the case strategically if we expect more favorable conditions in the future.
9. If we decide to file now, after March 27, is it advisable to include minor children in case DL-36, or the resulting converted law, are deemed unconstitutional?
We advise including minor children in the filing of your case. That way, should the decision be overturned they would be directly involved.
10. We didn’t want to add our young minor children to the case already filed, as it was going to add an extra expense. Is there any way we can make an amendment to our current case and add the children now?
It is possible to apply for your young minor children now. Adding a new petitioner qualifies as a separate case that the judge would, in normal circumstances, merge with the existing one. The judge’s actions would be difficult to predict and they may not merge the two, because the constitutional questions raised by DL-36 would be applicable to the second petition.
If your hearing date is far out (e.g. from mid-2026 onwards) we suggest waiting until all critical points of DL-36 have been addressed and clarified and, hopefully, that the new citizenship laws are more favorable towards minor children.
11. I had an appointment with the consulate scheduled. The consulate has now decided to temporarily suspend it. What can I do? Can I file my application to court?
If consulates fail to provide appointments or suspend scheduled appointments, the judicial route can be taken. DL-36 does not explicitly allow consulates to suspend already scheduled appointments. Shifting jurisdiction from Consulates to a central office of the MAECI is one of the provisions included in a separate bill. The bill is yet to be debated and approved, with an indefinite timeline. Until then, consulates must proceed as per the old provisions.
Most importantly, fight for your rights:
We are stalwart defenders of your rights and believe that this must be fought before the highest authorities to challenge the restrictions imposed by DL-36.
Read more here: Justice for Italian Descendants: Understanding the 2025 Citizenship Reform.