Italian citizenship by descent: updates on the “Minor Issue”

In recent months, the debate surrounding Italian citizenship by descent has gained new relevance, especially in light of the upcoming interventions of the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation. Both institutions will be called upon to rule on matters that in recent years have generated legal uncertainty and conflicting decisions: on one hand, the implications of the so-called “Tajani Decree,” and on the other, the increasingly discussed “minor issue,” which concerns the loss or retention of Italian citizenship in cases where an ancestor naturalized while the descendant was still a minor.

The role of the Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest judicial authority, does not determine facts but ensures the uniform application of the law nationwide. For this reason, its upcoming ruling on the minor issue and the Tajani Decree is highly anticipated: a decision from the Cassation can definitively guide the work of lower courts, reducing the interpretative inconsistencies that currently characterize many cases related to citizenship jure sanguinis.

The context: recent developments in Jure Sanguinis citizenship

For over a century, the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent followed relatively straightforward criteria: those descending from an Italian citizen, and able to demonstrate continuity of citizenship within their family line, had the right to recognition, provided that the ancestor was still an Italian citizen after the Unification of Italy and had not lost citizenship before the birth of the next descendant.

With the introduction of the Tajani Decree, approved in March 2025 and converted into Law 74/2025 last May, this landscape changed significantly. The decree and its conversion law introduced an important restriction: the right to jure sanguinis citizenship is retained only if the parent or grandparent was exclusively an Italian citizen at the time of the descendant’s birth, or if they had lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring citizenship. The most controversial issue under review by the Cassation concerns whether these limitations may—or may not—be applied to individuals born before the decree came into force.

The “Minor Issue”: an unresolved interpretative problem

Alongside the Tajani Decree, the Cassation will also have to address the complex topic of the so-called “minor issue.” This concerns situations in which an Italian ancestor acquired a new foreign citizenship while their child, born abroad, was still a minor. For years, courts generally held that such naturalization did not automatically lead to the loss of Italian citizenship for the minor. More recently, however, many courts have begun questioning the validity of this interpretation.

The issue arises from the fact that some isolated rulings by the Cassation, as well as a circular issued by the Ministry of the Interior in October 2024, stated that the minor could indeed lose citizenship under such circumstances. However, since this circular is an administrative document rather than a law, it does not bind the courts nor definitively resolve the question. This has resulted in divergent decisions on identical cases, creating a misalignment that makes clarification from the Supreme Court indispensable.

It is important to distinguish this phenomenon from a different, historically settled matter: minors born in Italy who later emigrated. In that context, loss of citizenship following a parent’s naturalization has always been considered automatic. The “minor issue” concerns exclusively children born abroad to Italian citizens.

What to expect from upcoming decisions

Over the next year, both the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court will examine key aspects of the Tajani Decree, albeit from different perspectives. It is possible that the decree’s scope will need to be limited, or even that it may be declared incompatible with constitutional principles, especially regarding acquired rights and the principle of non-retroactivity of laws.

As for the minor issue, the Cassation’s ruling expected in 2026 will likely be decisive: the Court will need to determine, once and for all, whether a minor’s citizenship automatically follows that of the naturalizing parent, or whether it remains intact until the child reaches adulthood.

Amid pending rulings and regulatory uncertainty, those applying for Italian citizenship by descent today find themselves in a rapidly evolving environment. The decisions of the high courts could significantly reshape access to Italian citizenship, clarifying doubts that have long caused confusion among applicants, public administrations, and the judiciary.

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The content of this article is intended to provide general information on the topic. For doubts or specific cases, it is advisable to seek specialized legal advice tailored to your particular situation.