Court Ruling Threatens Millions’ Right to Obtain Italian Citizenship

A recent court ruling in Italy has sparked widespread debate after supporting government-imposed restrictions on granting Italian citizenship to children of expatriate communities, potentially preventing millions worldwide from obtaining citizenship through their family heritage.

The decision followed the Italian Constitutional Court’s approval of a law enacted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government in 2025, which imposes stricter conditions on the citizenship-by-descent system, known as jus sanguinis.

For decades, Italy’s citizenship law clearly stated that a child born to an Italian parent automatically acquires Italian citizenship, even if born abroad.

However, the new law adds further restrictions, stipulating that citizenship will only be granted if one of the parents or grandparents was born in Italy and exclusively held Italian citizenship at the time of the child’s birth.

Under these amendments, many descendants of Italian emigrants abroad may lose their right to claim Italian citizenship, affecting millions of people of Italian descent worldwide.

In recent years, many individuals in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and the United States have benefited from citizenship-by-descent laws to obtain an Italian passport.

Official data indicates that the number of Italian citizens living abroad has risen significantly over the past decade, increasing from approximately 4.6 million in 2014 to more than 6.4 million in 2024.

Italian consulates abroad have also seen a large increase in citizenship applications; the Italian consulate in Argentina alone processed nearly 30,000 applications for citizenship in 2024.

The Italian government justified these amendments by citing several factors, primarily the sharp rise in citizenship requests and the resulting pressure on consulates and courts.

Some officials argue that many applicants have very weak ties to Italy, despite benefiting from privileges granted by an Italian passport, such as the right to live and work across European Union countries.

This ruling comes at a time when Italy faces growing demographic and economic challenges, with many young people continuing to emigrate abroad.

Critics argue that the new restrictions could prevent millions from reclaiming their legal and cultural ties to Italy, while the government maintains that the goal is to regulate the citizenship system and ensure a genuine connection between applicants and the state.

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