Italian citizenship by descent according to the new Law 74/2025

With Law 74/2025 the changes introduced by the Italian Government to the Italian citizenship law have become final and now the landscape for thousands of Italian descendants has changed.

Minor children

Among the new rules it is particularly interesting to analyze the condition of minor children and the transmission of Italian citizenship to them in case of Italian parents by birth or of parents who acquire or re-acquire Italian citizenship.

Minors born to Italian parents by birth

Minor children of Italian citizens by birth are now subject to the following rules:

A) for children who were still minors (under 18 years of age) on May 24, 2025, Italian parents are entitled to submit – starting from July 1, 2025, and within May 31, 2026 - a declaration which will allow them to acquire Italian citizenship

B) children up to 1 year old can acquire Italian citizenship if a parent or guardian submits a declaration for them to acquire Italian citizenship, within the first birth year

C) children over 1 year old must reside in Italy for 2 consecutive years following the submission of a declaration by their parents

The declarations to be filed by parents/guardians within the timeframes indicated above shall be received by the competent Italian consular and municipal authorities, even though for now the technicalities for their presentation are still to be confirmed. Minors who have been granted Italian citizenship according to the rules listed above may in any case renounce it once they turn 18, provided that they hold another nationality, to avoid creating a stateless situation.

Minors born to Italian parents who acquired Italian citizenship by residency, marriage or reacquisition

According to the previous rules, in particular Article 14 of Law No. 91/1992, minors would have acquired Italian citizenship together with their parent who was acquiring it by reacquisition, marriage or residency, as long as they shared the same residence.

The new version of said Article has significantly changed the panorama: minor children can acquire Italian citizenship together with their parent (who is acquiring it through residency, marriage or reacquisition) only if they have been legally residing in Italy for at least 2 years.

Alternatively, in case of minors younger than two years, they must have been born in the Italian territory.

Transmission of Italian citizenship by descent

In light of the changes introduced by Law 74/2025, the rules for the transmission of Italian citizenship by descent have been disrupted and, generally speaking, the main principle governing this matter is that for individuals born abroad, Italian citizenship will not be granted even if they have Italian descendance, unless they fall under one of the exceptions provided for by the new law:

A)     those who have submitted their application to claim Italian citizenship by descent with the competent Italian Consulate, Court or Municipality prior to March 27, 2025 (midnight), will have their application evaluated in accordance with the previous regulations 

B)     those who submitted their application after March 27, 2025, but exclusively if their appointment with the competent Consulate/Municipality was scheduled and communicated to the applicant by the competent authority before that date, will have their applications evaluated in accordance with the previous regulations 

C)    individuals who have a parent or a grandparent who held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of their death or currently holds it, will be able to apply according to the new rules 

D)    individuals who have a parent or adoptive parent who has been residing in Italy for at least 2 consecutive years after the acquisition of Italian citizenship and prior to the date of their birth or adoption

Your Way to Italy: our assistance

These changes have a significant impact on the situation of many Italian descendants around the world: for an assessment of your specific case, please contact our team at yourwaytoitaly@lcalex.it. 

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide on the subject. You should seek specific advice for your particular case.