Italian citizenship by descent: how to get around the delays of Consulates?

In countries where the number of applications is very high, the time required to process the paperwork and book appointments for the submission of applications can be extremely long and can reach several years.

In a ruling on December 10, 2020, the Court of Rome ruled accepting the appeal of some Brazilian citizens to obtain Italian citizenship by iure sanguinis even though the 2 years from the submission of the application at the Italian Consulate in Brazil had not yet elapsed.

Italian Consulates and Embassies, in fact, pursuant to Article 3 Presidential Decree 362/1994 have 2 years to finalize applications submitted for the recognition of Italian citizenship by iure sanguinis.

The applicants, prior to the expiration of the aforementioned 2-year time limit, had filed an appeal with the Court of Rome in which they had acknowledged that they had filed an application for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent from an Italian ancestor but that the processing time of the Italian Consulate where the application had been filed was at the time about 10 years.

The Tribunal of Rome ruled on the appeal, finding that unreasonable waiting and response times of the Consulates essentially constituted a denial of justice and, therefore, recognized the applicants' actual need for judicial recourse and granting the application declared them Italian citizens.

The process of recourse to the courts in the case of delays or excessive waiting by Italian Consulates and Embassies abroad must be based on actual and proven reasons and must be duly documented in order to be positively accepted by the Italian Courts.

Recent changes

In 2025 the Italian Government approved a reform of Italian citizenship law that has altered the condition to claim Italian citizenship by descent and the competence of Consulates to handle applications - we invite you to read our blog to remain updated on those changes and the evolution of the rules on Italian citizenship by descent thereafter.

Your Way to Italy: our assistance

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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Article written by Alessia Ajelli, Managing Associate of LCA Studio Legale, Italian lawyer specialized on Italian immigration and citizenship law, and Paolo Grassi, Trainee of LCA Studio Legale.