Changing Italian Citizenship Rules: A Look at Ancestry and Residency Requirements
Italy Reinforces Ancestry-Based Citizenship Rules Ahead of Residency Referendum
Italy has tightened its rules on ancestry-based citizenship, just days before a referendum aimed at easing the path to citizenship by residency. Here's what the revised and proposed regulations could mean for you.
Last Tuesday, the Italian government approved the final version of a new law strengthening the requirements for ancestry-based citizenship applications. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration enacted the measure via an unusual urgent decree, typically reserved for addressing natural disasters and public health emergencies. The sudden law change left millions of Italian descendants ineligible for citizenship, causing widespread anger and sorrow.
The emergency decree was ratified by parliament on May 20th but underwent key last-minute amendments before final approval. Meanwhile, a public referendum proposing to relax the criteria for citizenship by residency is scheduled for June 8th and 9th.
It may seem paradoxical for Italy to hold a vote on easing naturalization requirements just a few weeks after tightening restrictions on citizenship by ancestry; however, the timing is coincidental. The upcoming referendum was not initiated by Italy's hard-right coalition government, which is urging voters to boycott the vote, but by left-wing opposition parties after they secured over 600,000 signatures in favor of the proposed reform.
The referendum is unlikely to pass due to the requirement of a voter turnout of over 50% to be valid – a threshold rarely met in Italian referendums. If the quorum is reached, however, the latest polls suggest that the coalition supporting the reform may have enough votes to secure a victory.
Here's a summary of the revised and proposed reforms.
Tightened Ancestry-Based Citizenship Rules
Under the final version of the new law, children born outside of Italy are eligible for citizenship only if one parent or grandparent holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship. Parents and grandparents with dual citizenship cannot pass Italian citizenship on to foreign-born children, unless they renounce their other, non-Italian citizenship.
However, there are exceptions to the exclusive requirement. A parent or adoptive parent who has been a resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child's birth or adoption can pass citizenship to their foreign-born child, even when holding dual nationality. A second exception applies to individuals who obtained Italian citizenship by descent under the old, more lenient rules, which merely required applicants to have an Italian ancestor who was alive on or after March 17, 1861. These individuals, including dual nationals, can pass on citizenship to foreign-born children under the age of 18 by submitting a request by May 31, 2026.
The decree did not provide further details on how this request should be submitted or to whom. The new law does make things easier for one group: former Italians who had to relinquish their Italian citizenship after naturalizing as a citizen of another country before Italy legalized dual citizenship in 1992. These individuals can reacquire their Italian citizenship, provided they apply between July 1, 2025, and December 31, 2027, and pay a contribution of €250 to the Italian state. Once again, the decree did not provide specifics on how this request should be submitted.
Proposed Changes for Residency-Based Citizenship
On June 8th and 9th, Italians will vote on a proposal to reduce the wait time for residency-based Italian citizenship from ten years to five. The vote requires a turnout of over 50% to be valid; if this threshold, or quorum, isn't met, the referendum won't count, regardless of the result.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the hard-right anti-immigrant League party, has criticized the proposal, calling it potentially dangerous. However, opposition leaders argue that the changes still wouldn't make the process particularly lenient, as Italy's rules on naturalization are among the toughest in Europe. Despite opposition, establishing residency would still necessitate demonstrating tax payment, having no criminal record, and speaking Italian.
Easing residency requirements would benefit many adults who have relocated to Italy and their children born outside of Italy, as well as people born in Italy to non-Italian parents, who currently can only apply for citizenship at the age of 18 on condition of having legally lived there without interruption. If they don't apply before turning 19, they must demonstrate three years of legal residency, meet the same language test and income requirements as all other citizenship candidates, and wait up to three years for their application to be approved.
For the latest information, advice, and practical guidance on Italian citizenship, visit our citizenship section.
- The revised law on ancestry-based Italian citizenship now requires that one parent or grandparent must hold exclusively Italian citizenship, excluding those with dual nationality from passing citizenship to foreign-born children, unless they renounce their other, non-Italian citizenship.
- The new rules stipulate that if a parent or adoptive parent has been a resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child's birth or adoption, they can pass Italian citizenship to their foreign-born child, even with dual nationality.
- The new Italian law also specifies that individuals who obtained Italian citizenship by descent under the old rules can pass on citizenship to foreign-born children under the age of 18 by submitting a request by May 31, 2026, but details on how this request should be submitted were not provided.
- In the upcoming referendum on June 8th and 9th, Italians will vote on a proposal to reduce the wait time for residency-based Italian citizenship from ten years to five, despite hard-right coalition government urging voters to boycott the vote.
- Easing residency requirements would benefit many adults who have relocated to Italy and their children born outside of Italy, as well as people born in Italy to non-Italian parents, who currently can only apply for citizenship at the age of 18 on condition of having legally lived there without interruption.
- For insights, advice, and practical guidance on Italian citizenship, including under the new ancestry-based and proposed residency-based regulations, visit our citizenship section under policy-and-legislation and general-news categories.
