Italian Citizenship by Descent: New Guide from the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs

Following the Italian Supreme Court’s decision that changed the long-standing case law, according to which one could claim Italian citizenship as long as the Italian ancestor did not naturalise as a foreign citizen before the birth of the next in line, on the 3rd of October the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs issued new guidelines for the public authorities on Italian citizenship applications by descent (Iure sanguinis).

According to the new guidelines, the applicant must demonstrate that the Italian ancestor naturalised (if he did) while his next descendant was already an adult; older than twenty-one at the time.

On the contrary, if the Italian ancestor naturalised while the next in line was still a minor - even though the latter obtained foreign citizenship according to the ius soli principle (because they were born in a foreign country that recognised it) we have the so-called “minor issue”.

For example: a client's grandfather immigrated to the US in 1920; the client's father was born in 1925 and had US citizenship from his birth; the client's grandfather naturalised as a US citizen in 1945 (his son was 21 at the time), subsequently we have a minor issue.

As a result, even though the Supreme Court’s decision is not a binding precedent which must be followed by the lower courts and the administrative public authorities, in acknowledging this new, stricter understanding, some municipalities, consulates and Italian courts have started to apply the restrictive interpretation, therefore raising the minor issue.

To clarify the correct route for public administrations to follow, on October 3rd, 2024, the Italian Ministry of the Interior issued a new memo (circolare) advising public authorities to deny citizenship applications where the minor issue is present.

It is important to highlight that this memo does not have a validity of law, in fact, it can be considered as a recommendation to the Italian administrative authorities and only affects applications submitted at Italian consulates and Italian municipalities; not cases presented in Italian courts - directly speaking. 

Therefore, judges may still accept applications involving the minor issue. Our law firm has won several cases presenting the minor issue in recent months.

In closing - do not panic about this new interpretation of the minor case; our lawyers will carefully review your documents to ensure they are accurate and complete, minimising the risk of rejection. Giambrone & Partners' Immigration Lawyers are here to guide you through every step of the citizenship application process.