Frequently Asked Questions About Italian Citizenship Under Law 74/2025
Guide to Frequently Asked Questions About Italian Citizenship Under Law 74/2025
Institutional Source: De.Martin & Associates Law Firm – Specialized Legal Assistance in Italian Citizenship Matters.
📎 Source: Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana – General Series No. 70 of March 27, 2025
The law applies exclusively to children and grandchildren of Italian citizens born in Italy.
For great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and subsequent generations, the only available path to request recognition of Italian citizenship is through judicial proceedings in Italy.
Individuals who initiated the administrative process before March 27, 2025 (with a protocol number or confirmed consular appointment) will continue under the previous legal framework.
📎 Source: Ministero dell’Interno – Circular No. 23/2025
Restriction of recognition exclusively to children and grandchildren of native Italian citizens.
Creation of a Central Citizenship Registry.
Administrative processing periods of up to 24 months.
Formalization of translations, legalizations, and technical documentary requirements.
📎 Source: Articles 3, 4, and 8 of Law 74/2025.
Yes, the right to citizenship by bloodline (“iure sanguinis”) remains fully valid. However, the applicable procedure now varies depending on the generational level.
* Children and grandchildren: administrative procedure under Law 74/2025.
* Great-grandchildren and subsequent generations: exclusively through judicial proceedings in Italy.
Yes. The non-naturalization of the Italian citizen before the birth of the next descendant in the lineage is an essential condition for Italian citizenship to be transmitted.
The chain of citizenship transmission is interrupted and the claim can no longer be recognized.
📎 Source: Corte di Cassazione – Judgment No. 4466/2009
Through a Certificate of Non-Naturalization issued by the immigration authority of the country of residence (for example, the National Directorate of Migration in Argentina).
Yes. Judicial proceedings in Italy remain available for all descendants who fall outside the scope of Law 74/2025 (that is, beyond grandchildren), provided that the chain of citizenship transmission can be verified without interruptions.
The competent authority to hear judicial claims for citizenship recognition is the Italian Ordinary Court corresponding to the place of birth of the Italian ancestor.
* Birth, marriage, and death certificates for the entire ancestral line.
* Legalizations, apostilles, and sworn translations.
* Certificates of Non-Naturalization.
📎 Source: Articles 6 and 9 of Law 74/2025.
De.Martin & Associates Law Firm offers a preliminary legal assessment of the family lineage in order to determine whether it is viable to initiate the process under the new law or whether it is appropriate to proceed through judicial proceedings in Italy.
Yes. Until May 31, 2026, the simultaneous recognition of minor children together with one of their parents is permitted through an application filed by operation of law (provided that one parent is already an Italian citizen), through the FAST IT system.
De.Martin & Associates provides comprehensive legal guidance so that you may complete your own update process correctly. Please contact us for information regarding professional fees.
📎 Source: Article 12 of Law 74/2025.
Adult children must initiate their own independent application process.
If they belong to a great-grandchild or subsequent generation, they may proceed exclusively through judicial proceedings in Italy, as established by the law.
On the official website of the Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana.
📎 Source: Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana
De.Martin & Associates has compiled the most frequently asked questions regarding the process of obtaining Italian citizenship by descent (“iure sanguinis”), particularly following the changes introduced by Law 74/2025.
Official Sources: interno.gov.it | esteri.it | gazzettaufficiale.it | cortedicassazione.it | poliziadistato.it | agenziaentrate.gov.it | mit.gov.it