Italian citizenship by descent from grandparents: requirements after the 2025 reform

Can Italian citizenship still be obtained through grandparents?

Short answer: yes, obtaining Italian citizenship through a grandfather or grandmother may still be possible, but only if specific requirements are met.
It is necessary to verify the degree of kinship, whether the ascendant held exclusively Italian citizenship, any naturalisations in the family line and any exceptions provided for applications already submitted.

The answer depends on the family history and on the date on which the application was started.

After the 2025 reform, the mere fact of having a grandparent born in Italy is not always enough to obtain recognition of Italian citizenship.

The legislation requires verification, among other aspects, of whether the first, or second, degree ascendant is exclusively an Italian citizen or, if deceased, was so at the time of death.

A grandfather or grandmother may still be relevant, but not automatically.

The genealogical line must be reconstructed precisely, checking for any interruptions due to naturalisations, loss of citizenship or lack of the requirements introduced by the new rules.

What changed with Decree-Law 36/2025 and Law 74/2025

Decree-Law 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025, significantly changed the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent.

The new rules provide that anyone born abroad who holds another citizenship is, as a general rule, considered never to have acquired Italian citizenship, unless one of the conditions laid down by law applies.

The grandparent represents the maximum limit of the line of descent that may be used for recognition iure sanguinis, subject to specific exceptions provided by law.

These include, for example, applications submitted by 27 March 2025, appointments communicated by that date, judicial proceedings for ascertainment already started within the relevant deadline, the presence of a parent or grandparent who is exclusively an Italian citizen, or the qualified residence in Italy of a parent before the birth or adoption of the child.

The reform does not completely abolish iure sanguinis, but it limits its automatic application for many descendants born abroad.

When a grandfather or grandmother can still allow recognition of citizenship

To reconstruct the line of descent, it is no longer possible to go back in time before the grandparents, who represent the starting point of the bloodline: if they did not lose their citizenship, they may have transmitted it to children and grandchildren.

Grandfathers and grandmothers are second-degree direct-line ascendants.

For this reason, they remain central in cases of Italian citizenship by descent from grandparents.

Those who have Italian origins through descent from a more distant Italian ancestor, starting from a great-grandparent, can no longer have Italian citizenship recognised iure sanguinis, unless they submitted an application before 27 March 2025 or filed a claim before an Italian court before 27 March 2025, or unless they have grounds to appeal in court against a questionable decision adverse to recognition.

The reform, confirmed by the Constitutional Court, introduced the two-generation limit and redefined both acquisition by descent and reacquisition of citizenship, with consequences also for minors born abroad and for the children of newly recognised Italian citizens.

Italian citizenship through grandparents: what it means after the 2025 reform

Under the rules updated to 2025/2026, a person is entitled to recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis) if they have at least one Italian grandparent born in Italy and can prove that this ascendant held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of the child’s birth, or at the time of their death.

The 2025 reform transformed the role of grandparents from a ‘usable branch’ into a generational boundary.

In summary:

• Italian citizenship is transmitted from parent to child for a maximum of two generations:
• 1st generation: child of an Italian citizen (parent),

or

• 2nd generation: grandchild of an Italian grandparent, if the parent was in turn born to an exclusively Italian parent.

The chain of transmission of citizenship must not have been interrupted before transmission to the next generation.

Eligibility requirements for iure sanguinis citizenship through grandparents born in Italy

To proceed with an application for iure sanguinis citizenship through a grandparent, check whether you meet these fundamental requirements:

• Direct descent: you are the child or grandchild of an Italian citizen.
• Generational limits: your relevant ascendant is the parent or grandparent born in Italy.
• Ancestor’s citizenship: the grandparent must not have naturalised as a foreign citizen before the birth of the parent.
• Exclusive possession: the ascendant must have maintained Italian citizenship at the time of the descendant’s birth or at the time of their own death.

Critical issues:

• If the ancestor naturalised as a foreign citizen before the birth of the child, citizenship may have been interrupted.
• Before 1948, Italian women did not transmit citizenship. For pre-1948 cases, recognition must take place through judicial proceedings.

To proceed, it is necessary to collect the full documentation and, depending on the place of residence, submit an application to the competent Italian Consulate or in Italy.

Who can obtain Italian citizenship by descent from grandparents

Under the current rules, Italian citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis) may be obtained by anyone who has at least one parent or grandparent born in Italy who held Italian citizenship at the time of the descendant’s birth.

The requirement of exclusive possession of Italian citizenship is one of the stricter new elements introduced by the 2025 reform to limit the automatic transmission of iure sanguinis.

In essence, this requirement establishes that, in order to transmit the right to citizenship, the ascendant (parent or grandparent) must not have held any citizenship other than Italian citizenship during certain key periods.

According to the new provisions available from the Consulates, for example the Consulate of Brisbane and the Consulate of New York:

• Exclusivity of the ancestor: the Italian ascendant (parent or grandparent) must have held exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of the applicant’s birth or at the time of their own death.
• Purpose of the rule: this rule serves to demonstrate a ‘genuine link’ with Italy, giving priority to those who descend from families that maintained only the legal bond with the Italian State and did not naturalise elsewhere.

Exceptions and recognition of citizenship

If the ascendant did not hold citizenship exclusively, citizenship may still be recognised if one of the following alternative conditions is met:

• Parent’s residence: the parent legally resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring citizenship and before the birth of the child.
• Previous applications: the recognition application was duly submitted by 27 March 2025.

Required documentation

To start the recognition procedure, make sure you have, or can obtain, the following:

• Grandparent’s birth certificate, issued by the Italian municipality of birth.
• Birth and marriage certificates, depending on those that the relevant Consulate considers necessary.
• Certificate of non-naturalisation, or naturalisation judgment if naturalisation occurred, for the grandparent.
• Residence certificate or migration history, if necessary to prove the continuing link.
• Identity documents, depending on those that the relevant Consulate considers necessary.

The specific documents vary according to the Consulate of reference.

Before producing unnecessary documents that may involve a cost, it is advisable to assess exactly which of them will be needed.

Citizenship for minors descended from Italian grandparents

The citizenship of minors requires particular attention, because after the reform it is no longer correct to refer to automatic acquisition.

Law 74/2025 provides that a foreign or stateless minor, child of a father or mother who are Italian citizens by birth, becomes a citizen if the parents or guardian declare the intention to acquire citizenship and if one of the prescribed conditions applies:

• continuous legal residence in Italy for at least two years after the declaration,

or

• declaration submitted within one year of birth or of the date on which filiation, including adoptive filiation, from an Italian citizen is established.

For minors on the date of entry into force of the conversion law, who are children of citizens by birth falling within specific transitional cases, the declaration may be submitted by 31 May 2026.

For this reason, in cases involving minor children it is advisable to assess the family situation, the minor’s date of birth, the status of the Italian parent and the place of residence as a matter of urgency.

Acquisition by benefit of law (minors)

For minor children born abroad to Italian parents, citizenship is no longer automatic.

The application, which must be submitted by means of a ‘declaration of intention’ within one year of birth, marks the transition from iure sanguinis citizenship to a form of benefit of law.

Reacquisition of citizenship and alternatives for people of Italian origin in ‘grandparent’ cases

When recognition of citizenship iure sanguinis through grandparents is not available, alternatives may exist.

One concerns the reacquisition of citizenship by former Italian citizens.

The reform provides for a time window from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2027 for those who were born in Italy or resided there for at least two continuous years and lost citizenship under specific provisions of Law 555/1912.

Another alternative concerns people of Italian origin.

Law 74/2025 introduced measures to support the recovery of Italian roots, including entry and residence for subordinate employment, outside the ordinary quotas, for a foreign national resident abroad who descends from an Italian citizen and is a citizen of a State that was a destination for significant flows of Italian emigration, as identified by ministerial decree.

In addition, for some descendants of Italian citizens, the period of legal residence in Italy required for the granting of citizenship has been reduced from three to two years.

Citizenship through residence for people of Italian origin

Descendants of Italian citizens who emigrated abroad, although they may have lost the right to apply for citizenship iure sanguinis, may still be able to obtain Italian citizenship in another form and through different procedures.

If you are of Italian origin and no longer fall among those entitled to citizenship iure sanguinis because of the new generational or time limits, there are alternative routes based on residence in Italy:

• Entry for work/roots: the new ‘Article 1-bis’ of Decree 36/2025 introduced provisions to facilitate entry and residence for work for people of Italian origin, allowing them to reside in Italy and subsequently obtain citizenship.
• Residence as a criterion: the law shifts the focus from the mere blood connection (‘iure sanguinis’) to effective residence in Italy.
• Reduction of the residence period (citizenship by residence): with the May 2025 decree, the period of legal residence in Italy required for the granting of citizenship to people of Italian origin was reduced to two years, instead of the previous three.
• Quota-free entries for people of Italian origin: the decree introduced facilitated entries (‘outside the quota’) for descendants of Italian citizens from certain countries, identified as ‘States that were destinations for significant flows of Italian emigration’ → a ministerial decree published in the Official Gazette on Monday 24 November 2025 identified exactly those
• Residence permit for work/residence: people of Italian origin may enter Italy with residence permits for work and, after two years of legal and uninterrupted residence, may apply for citizenship.

Constitutional Court and descent from grandparents

The Constitutional Court, with judgment no. 63/2026, confirmed the legitimacy of Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992, introduced by Decree-Law 36/2025 and converted into Law 74/2025.

The Court reconstructed the new rules as an original bar to the acquisition of Italian citizenship for certain categories of people born abroad, not as the revocation of a status already officially acquired.

It declared some questions inadmissible and others unfounded, thereby confirming the resilience of central aspects of the reform.

The ‘minor issue’ remains separate. It concerns the effects of the naturalisation of the Italian parent on the minor child.

This issue may have a decisive impact on applications based on grandparents, because a naturalisation that occurred in the previous generation may have interrupted the transmission of citizenship.

In June, the Constitutional Court will in any event be called upon to assess other situations linked to the narrowing of the right to Italian citizenship for descendants of emigrants.

Minor issue and the Court of Cassation

The debate on the effects of parents’ naturalisation on the citizenship status of minor children is currently under review by the Joint Divisions of the Court of Cassation, following the hearing of 14 April 2026.

The ruling of the Joint Divisions of the Court of Cassation is expected by June 2026, in order to understand whether it was legitimate to deny the right to citizenship to the descendants of those involved in the so-called ‘minor issue’.

The ‘minor issue’ is a legal dispute concerning Italian citizenship iure sanguinis that relates to the automatic loss of citizenship by minor children before 1992 when the Italian parent naturalised as a foreign citizen.

It is based on the interpretation of Article 12 of Law no. 555 of 1912, which provided that, if the parent lost Italian citizenship, the cohabiting minor children would lose it as a consequence.

The doubt regarding its correct interpretation arises within the same law, since, under Article 7, if the child was born abroad in a country applying ius soli, such as the USA, Brazil or Argentina, the child already held foreign citizenship from birth and should therefore have retained Italian citizenship despite the parent’s choice.

The key issue is whether citizenship should also be considered lost for children, minors and cohabiting, who had already been born when the parents naturalised as citizens of a foreign State.

Circular no. 43347 of 3 October 2024 of the Ministry of the Interior introduced a significant tightening on the Minor Issue, adopting the restrictive approach of the Court of Cassation (judgments no. 17161/2023 and no. 454/2024).

The Court of Cassation is now called upon to express its view on the matter through its Joint Divisions.

Its opinion could put an end to issues that have remained unresolved and support the application of the new law, or it could reopen countless cases, thereby accepting that even descendants of more distant ancestors may regain possession of a right that should not have been denied.

Quick guide to iure sanguinis citizenship

Descendant’s situation	Fundamental requirement	Outcome	Type of procedure
Grandchild (grandparent line)	Grandparent not naturalised before the birth of the parent	Yes	Administrative (mandatory application)
Child of an Italian citizen	Parent who was a citizen at the time of birth	Yes	Administrative (mandatory application)
Minor child of a newly recognised Italian citizen (resident in Italy)	Parent resident in Italy for 2 years before the birth	Yes	Automatic
Minor child of an Italian citizen (abroad)	Parent who must formalise the transcription	Yes	Administrative (declaration required)
Ancestor > Grandparent	No procedure pending on 27/03/2025	No	N/A

Note: The exception to the grandparent rule applies if an application was submitted by 27 March 2025, if there are grounds for a judicial appeal based on questionable decisions, or if the parent legally resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years before the birth of the child.

How Boccadutri can intervene in ‘grandparent-grandchild’ cases

If you have doubts about the migration history of your parents, our team can analyse your specific line and assess which rights and possibilities you have based on your family line.

It is worth knowing that the ‘automatic’ nature of citizenship for children born in Italy or to resident parents is a statutory privilege that does not, however, remove the obligation to handle the transcription of the relevant civil status records with the consulates.

Often, what is perceived as ‘automatic’ still requires documentary work in order to be formalised and made enforceable against the Public Administration.

For those who descend from Italian grandparents and are in a complex situation, such as a naturalised parent, birth outside Italy or blocked applications, Studio Boccadutri carries out:

• genealogical tracing back to the grandparent, with precise verification of who was an Italian citizen and when;
• verification of interruptions in the bloodline, such as naturalisations, dual citizenship and renunciations, and assessment of the parent’s or grandparent’s reacquisition route;
• assistance with applications and appeals for minors born abroad, when the parent-grandparent connection is still in place and complies with the two-generation limit.

For those who descend from an ascendant before the grandparents, the concern is that the right may have been disregarded by interpretations that were not consistent with the law.

In that case, Boccadutri International Law Firm can assist you in court to assert the legal validity of your origins and a right acquired before the entry into force of the restrictions on iure sanguinis citizenship.

FAQ

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