First approval by the chamber of deputies of the reform of consular services and procedures for Italian citizenship by descent

A little over a week ago, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that would profoundly redefine the organization of consular services and the procedures for managing Italian citizenship by descent. The bill, linked to the 2025 budget law, aims to make the operation of diplomatic offices more uniform and to centralize, in Rome, the processing of citizenship recognition cases iure sanguinis.

The bill provides for the creation of a Service for the Reconstruction of Italian Citizenship, a national office that will handle all applications for Italian citizenship by descent. As a result, applications will no longer be processed by Italian consulates abroad, but directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). Consulates will retain competence only for minors and for confirming the status of already recognized Italian citizens.

The government justifies this centralization by citing the need to ensure more consistent procedures and stricter checks on the authenticity of documents. In this regard, several Italian communities abroad have already expressed concern about potentially longer processing times and the loss of direct contact with consular offices, which for decades have managed applications for citizenship recognition by descent.

Among the other measures included in the reform are the modernization of the AIRE (Register of Italians Residing Abroad), which will be integrated into the National Register of Resident Population, and the reintroduction of the so-called “double legalization” of documents issued abroad, aimed at strengthening the verification of the authenticity of official acts. The bill also updates regulations concerning travel documents: citizens registered with AIRE will be able to request the Electronic Identity Card (CIE) in Italy and obtain an Italian passport more easily, thanks to coordinated procedures between the MAECI and the Ministry of the Interior.

The bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies also authorizes new hires within the Ministry and redefines the distribution of revenues from consular fees. A portion of these funds will be allocated to strengthening services and reducing backlogs—particularly those affecting applications for Italian citizenship by descent.

If the legislative process for the final approval of the reform is completed, it will gradually enter into force by 2028, with a transitional period allowing consulates to finalize applications already in progress. For the government, this represents a step toward a more efficient and digital public administration; for many Italian citizens abroad, however, the change represents a challenge that could further complicate the path toward obtaining recognition of their Italian citizenship and passport—already made more difficult by the recent reform of the citizenship law introduced by the Tajani Decree in recent months.

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