Italian Senate approves tightened citizenship eligibility criteria for applicants
Down and Dirty on Italy's Citizenship Bend
Trash talkin' politics for the win 😉
The snooty Italians in the Senate gave a big ol' thumbs up to some shady updates on who can claim their citizenship by virtue of their ancestry, y'all. This is another knee-jerk move towards the lightning-fast decree taking hold as law.
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The Senate slapped this update with a vote of 81 in favor and 37 against, after the government pulled a fast one and rammed through this urgent decree in March, leaving everyone's shorts in a bunch about tightening those citizenship by descent rules.
The brand-new law now demands that applicants still slap a parent or grandparent with Italian soil under 'em at birth, and those Italian passports gotta be the only citizenship on the menu. Look mare, this flips the script from the old rules that had anyone with an Italian ancestor (alive after March 17th, 1861 – when Italy became a total baller) eligible for the application process.
Antonio Tajani, the Foreign Minister, chatted with reporters, claiming the Senate vote marks a "super important" move to "reinforce our system and quash any sneaky bullsh*t".
"No more free passes for individuals born abroad who don't have at least one parent or grandparent with that genuine Italian passport", Tajani said, adding, "Now, if you wanna claim Italian citizenship, you're gonna need a blood relative who took their first breath on Italian soil."
Tajani also revealed that the amendment, proposed by none other than himself, will grant requests for Italian-born emigrants who had to relinquish their citizenship to get their foot in the door in the countries they settled.
The two-generational limit went live in March under the decree law, allowing the government to step over some lawmakers and cut through the red tape. As always, the government needs approval from both houses of parliament within 60 days for this decree to become set in stone.
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With the Senate giving the green light, the decree heads to the lower house of parliament to finalize the deal, and it's expected that this'll go through without a hitch.
Tajani put the squeeze on the decision back in March, blaming a "commercialization" of Italian passports for the need to tighten things up. He pointed the finger at sleazy businesses cashing in on people seeking out their Italian ancestors to scrounge up the documents they needed to apply for citizenship – all that flimflam flooded consular and municipal offices with requests for documents THAT NOBODY wanted to process.
The number of Italian citizens scooting around the globe has ballooned by 40 percent over the last decade – blowing up from 4.6 mil to 6.4 mil, according to foreign ministry figures.
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#Politics #Italian citizenship
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Q&A: How Italy's rules for claiming citizenship by descent have changed
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Leo Cusumano Frances Durbin
Side Note:
Hold up, here's some extra intel:
- The Italian citizenship by descent rule has experienced an extraordinary shake-up with the adoption of the "Tajani Decree" (Decree 36/2025) on March 28, 2025. This decree introduces a two-generation limit, meaning individuals with less than a grandparent born on Italian soil are now ineligible for Italian citizenship by descent. In contrast, previous rules allowed claims through more distant ancestors as long as they were alive after March 17, 1861[1][4].
- The revised restrictions have immediate consequences, affecting numerous people from countries like the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia, who were previously eligible for Italian citizenship through more distant relatives[1][5].
- These changes also prompted new procedures for citizenship recognition, with the Italian foreign ministry responsible for centralized application processing. Detailed rules and regulations are yet to be specified during the transitional period[1].
- The decree remains provisional, with the final green light subject to parliamentary approval within a 60-day window. The decree's ultimate validity remains uncertain during this period[1].
- The latest updates on Italy's citizenship by descent rules, dubbed the 'Tajani Decree', received approval from the Italian Senate with 81 votes in favor and 37 against.
- The new law now demands that applicants have a parent or grandparent with Italian soil under them at birth and possess only an Italian passport.
- Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, stated that these changes aim to "reinforce our system and quash any sneaky bullshit" in Italian citizenship applications.
- Tajani also announced that the amendment would provide an avenue for Italian-born emigrants who had given up their citizenship to reclaim it, subject to parliamentary approval.
