New update on Italian citizenship by descent: important news regarding the so-called “minor issue”

If you are in the process of applying for Italian citizenship by descent, there are important updates you need to know. Recently, in fact, the Supreme Court of Cassation issued a number of rulings (ruling 17161/2023 and ruling No. 454/2024) that led the Ministry of the Interior to publish a new circular on October 3, 2024, which directly affects applications for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent filed with Italian consulates and municipalities.

In what does the change consist of?

The new interpretation endorsed through the ministerial circular states that if your ancestor born in Italy became a naturalized citizen of another state while your own son/daughter (i.e., the next in the line of descent) was still a minor (taking into account that until 1975 for Italy, the age of majority was reached at 21), that minor would automatically lose Italian citizenship. This circumstance entails the interruption of the chain of transmission of Italian citizenship and therefore the impossibility of applying for citizenship at an Italian consulate or municipality.

The normative and jurisprudential references

For the purpose of analyzing aspects related to the maintenance or loss of Italian citizenship of minors in case of naturalization of the parent, two articles of the Italian Citizenship Law No. 555/1912 (which remained in force until 1992) come to the fore, namely Art. 7, which provided that Italian citizens born and residing abroad, considered citizens of that country by birth, retained Italian citizenship unless they decided to renounce it once they became adults or emancipated, and Art. 12, which, on the other hand, provided that children automatically followed the citizenship status of their parents, consequently losing Italian citizenship.

Until recently most Italian consulates and municipalities called upon to decide on applications for recognition of Italian citizenship applied the more favorable provision (Art. 7), however following the aforementioned decisions of the Supreme Court this orientation has been completely overturned leading to the issuance of precisely the Ministry of the Interior circular that recommends from now on - thus only for new applications for citizenship and not for those who have already been recognized as Italian citizens by descent - the application of the restrictive principle set forth in Art. 12 of Law 555/1912 and thus to reject the applications of those who had an ancestor naturalized citizen of another state during the descendant's minor age, regardless of the latter's place of birth.

What options are available should the application of the principle enshrined in the circular affect the application for recognition of Italian citizenship?

Although Italian consulates and municipalities are now called upon to apply the principle and interpretation endorsed by the Ministry's circular, it is still possible that the Italian Courts will handle the issue differently - the jurisprudence of recent years includes several cases of approval of applications for recognition of Italian citizenship even in cases touched by the “rule of minors” and this orientation may continue to be affirmed, it will be necessary to see how the Courts decide to proceed from now on.

That said, therefore, if you are facing extremely long waiting times to apply for and/or obtain an appointment at the relevant Italian Consulate, or if there is a pre-1948 woman in the line of descent, applying for citizenship by descent through the Italian Courts to date may still be a quicker and more effective option with potential positive outcome.

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The content of this article is intended to provide general guidance on the topic. You should seek specialized advice regarding your specific situation