On March 28, 2025, an emergency decree (decreto-legge) was approved by the Italian Council of Ministers, which outlines new eligibility rules concerning the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent. The much-discussed changes have led to countless questions and concerns, leaving many with Italian ancestry wondering if they have a path forward in their dual citizenship journey. This article will delve deeper into the main provisions of the decree, whether it has constitutional validity, and address the future outlook of citizenship applications.

What changes under the new decree?

Prior to March 28, to qualify for Italian citizenship by descent it was sufficient to prove an unbroken chain of Italian ancestry going back to an ancestor who was born in Italy. According to the previous rules, citizenship could be claimed with no generational limits, as long as the ancestor who was born in Italy was alive in 1861 (when Italy became a nation) and as long as citizenship was transferred between one generation and the other.

Under the most recent rules, set forth in the March 28, 2025 emergency decree, only individuals with at least one parent, or grandparent, who was born in Italy, or individuals whose parent resided in Italy for at least two years prior to their birth, can claim Italian citizenship by descent.

All applications filed in an Italian consulate, municipality, or court, prior to March 28, 2025 are subject to the previous rules.

What is an emergency decree and what are its effects?

Decree-law no. 36/2025 was introduced by the Italian Council of Ministers on March 28, 2025 and is a type of legislation used generally in emergency situations where the provisions included in the decree go into immediate effect. The decree then needs to be approved by Parliament within 60 days. In this case, the decree created a two-generation limit for those applying for Italian citizenship by descent, and within 60 days from March 28, Parliament will either need to convert it into law as is, convert it with changes, or not convert it at all.

One question that is being raised is whether an emergency decree was the right type of legislation to be used in these circumstances. Many argue that it was not appropriate or even legal for the government to use an emergency decree to regulate a citizenship process and to change without notice the way somebody qualifies for Italian citizenship by descent.

Is the decree retroactively affecting the right to citizenship of individuals of Italian descent?

In a 40-page report that was created by the Italian government in the hope that it will facilitate the conversion of the decree into law, the government has tried to explain why the decree does not have retroactive effects. The government has explained that the decree does not aim at revoking any citizenship for people who have it already. Instead, the decree is removing the ability for a certain category of people to be able to apply for citizenship by descent, particularly those people who qualified under the old rules but who didn't take action prior to March 28. According to the government, these individuals, who never showed any interest in obtaining citizenship by descent, under the new rules are considered to have never acquired Italian citizenship at birth.

However, the government opened itself up to critics and many have argued that the decree itself could be considered unconstitutional. With regard to this specific point, many argue that it is not legal for the government to strip somebody of the right to apply for recognition of their Italian citizenship, a right that, in most cases, they were not able to exercise in a timely manner. For instance, applications that were about to be filed: people who were in the queue to secure an appointment at their Italian consulate or who had their appointment scheduled for years in the future. The rights of all of these individuals were severely penalized by a decree that went into effect on the same day in which it was made public. The prolonged delays in securing an appointment at the Italian consulates and the fact that it takes a long time to collect documents are points that are likely to be brought before the Constitutional Court.

Regardless, there is no doubt that the decree, to some extent, changes retroactively the citizenship status of individuals born abroad to Italian citizens who were considered Italian at birth under the previous law. In this regard, it would have been more appropriate to apply any potential new law changes to individuals born after such laws come into effect.

All that said, scrutiny by the Constitutional Court can only happen through an incidental appeal before the Constitutional Court during a normal judicial proceeding. In other words, it is not possible to challenge the decree directly, but the decree can be challenged or requested to be reviewed as part of a judicial proceeding when somebody is exercising their right to claim Italian citizenship. Also, this request to review the decree could come from the judges themselves.

Legal basis to argue that the decree is in clear violation of the constitution

The issue of discrimination (violation of Article 3 of the Italian Constitution) is probably one of the most frequent arguments that will be coming up in judicial proceedings initiated from now on regarding citizenship applications. It is a topic that will need to be discussed before the Italian Constitutional Court as to whether the emergency decree discriminated against a certain category of people. To some extent, people are being discriminated against and specifically, those who were unable to submit their applications prior to March 28. Under the previous rules, somebody who would have been considered Italian by birth, though maybe were not fully registered, now would be ineligible for Italian citizenship under the new guidelines. This could be considered a form of discrimination. In addition, the decree was kept secret by the government and released suddenly on March 28. Therefore, people were caught off guard, and many were in the process of preparing to apply for Italian citizenship but now, under the new rules, are discriminated against because they are in a different eligibility class from other people who were able to submit their applications prior to March 28. This includes many individuals who were unable to submit their applications through no fault of their own (for instance people who were in the queue, waiting for an appointment at their local Italian consulate).

As explained before, the decree also casts doubt on the potential violation of the principle of retroactivity of the laws, as the individuals who were eligible for Italian citizenship under the old rules were born as Italian citizens.

Is a judge required to apply the decree in all judicial cases?

The decree is legally in effect as of March 28 and a judge must apply the decree because the judge must apply the law. Additionally, any future law that may be converted will also need to be applied by a judge, so it's not possible for a judge to just disregard the decree itself or any future law.

However, it is possible for a judge to request on its own that the Constitutional Court reviews the decree, or a future law, to determine whether the law or the decree are compliant with the constitution. A judge could decide to suspend their judgment while they await the Constitutional Court to render their decision.

That being said, a judge is also legally able to interpret the law, so it's possible that there is room for interpretation with regard to the provisions that were included in the decree, and additional proposed laws, if they are confirmed by Parliament as they are.

What is the best course of action?

The sudden change in the law caused a lot of frustration for many people, particularly those who feel very connected to their Italian roots and who feel the decree is unjust and unfair.

The process of converting this emergency decree is now in the hands of the Italian Parliament and a lot of Italian American organizations are making their voices heard.

However, the decree has already raised significant legal concerns and has been questioned for its violation of the Italian Constitution. At Italian Citizenship Assistance we remain committed to representing the interests of the people who were in the process of applying for citizenship and are affected by the Decree.

It is important to remember that the rules set for in the decree do not apply to applications submitted prior to March 28.

For current updates and information on the possible conversion of the decree into law, be sure to visit italiancitizenshipassistance.com or contact us if you have further questions.