Italy's Constitutional Court confirms end to unlimited citizenship inheritance

Italy's Constitutional Court (Consulta) confirmed the constitutionality of a reform limiting the granting of citizenship based on blood ties, rejecting objections raised by a court in Turin. This decision upholds the provisions introduced by decree no. 36 of 2025, which was subsequently transformed into law no. 74 of 2025. The new law ends the principle of unlimited citizenship inheritance by descendants of Italian emigrants who do not maintain real ties with their ancestors' country. According to the court's ruling, persons born abroad and holding other citizenship will be considered as never having possessed Italian citizenship if they do not demonstrate specific ties to Italy. This reform introduces a significant change to the previous practice, which allowed people tracing their origin even from very distant generations to obtain a passport. ius sanguinis

The court in Turin had questioned the legality of the new provisions, but Corte costituzionale ruled that the state has the right to regulate the rules for acquiring citizenship in a way that prevents abuse. The reform primarily targets the phenomenon of mass applications for Italian documents by people who have never lived in Italy, do not know the language, and treat the passport merely as a convenience for traveling within the European Union. According to the new regulations, the process of inheriting citizenship is limited to two generations, aiming to restore authenticity in the relationship between citizen and state. Italian citizenship law from 1992 was based on a very liberal interpretation of the ius sanguinis principle, which led to a situation where millions of people in South America and the USA could apply for an Italian passport. In March 2025, the Italian government began tightening these rules, arguing that the system was overloaded with applications from people having no connection to contemporary Italy. Previous reform attempts met resistance from diaspora and emigrant communities, but the current ruling closes the path to challenging the law on constitutional grounds.

The court's decision means that thousands of ongoing proceedings for citizenship recognition may be resolved negatively if applicants do not meet the new criteria regarding ties to the country. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly advocated for tightening the system, pointing to the need to protect the value of the Italian passport. The reform is part of a broader package of changes to migration and citizenship law, aiming to adapt Italian regulations to the standards of other European countries, where citizenship inheritance is usually limited temporally or by generation. Changes in ius sanguinis rules 2025/2026: Inheritance: Unlimited by generation → Limited to two generations; Requirement of ties to the country: No requirement → Obligation to demonstrate specific ties; Status of persons without ties: Considered citizens from birth → Treated as if they never possessed citizenship

Legislative process of the citizenship reform: 28 March 2025 — Decree adoption; 15 May 2025 — Law no. 74; 12 March 2026 — Consulta ruling