On March 28, 2025, Italy’s Council of Ministers adopted the “citizenship package,” a set of legislative measures proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to reform the citizenship regulations. These measures restrict citizenship by descent.
Key Changes
The reform proceeds in two stages. Some provisions will take effect immediately through a decree-law, and subsequently, a comprehensive reform of the substantive requirements and procedures concerning citizenship will be implemented.
- The decree-law approved on March 28, 2025, states that Italian descendants born abroad will automatically be citizens for only two generations: only those with at least one parent or grandparent born in Italy will be citizens from birth.
- Applications for recognition of citizenship by descent that were submitted before the end of March 27, 2025 will be processed according to the previous regulations.
- In the second phase, further and more detailed changes to the citizenship law will be introduced with a first draft law (also approved on March 28, 2025, but still under review). This law primarily requires citizens born and residing abroad to maintain real ties with Italy over time, exercising the rights and duties of citizenship at least once every twenty-five years.
The reform is completed with a second draft law that also revises the procedures for citizenship recognition.
- Residents abroad will no longer contact consulates but will instead go to a special centralized office at the Italian Foreign Ministry. A transitional period of about one year will be allowed for the establishment of this office. The goal is to make the procedures more efficient, with clear economies of scale. Consulates will need to focus on providing services to those who are already citizens, not on “creating” new citizens.
- Finally, the provision includes other measures to improve and modernize service delivery: legalizations, civil registries, passports, identity cards valid for travel abroad.
What to Expect
While the decree is already in effect, it must be approved by the Italian parliament and converted into law within 60 days to remain valid, and may be amended in this period.
Consular appointments for citizenship by descent applications have already been suspended. No new appointments can be booked for the time being. Moreover, those who have booked an appointment starting from April 2, 2025, will receive a communication of suspension from the consulate by email.
Erickson Insights and Analysis
Erickson Immigration Group will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more news is available. Please contact your employer or EIG attorney if you have questions about anything we’re reporting above or case-specific questions.
The post New Italian Law Restricts Citizenship by Descent appeared first on Erickson Immigration Group.
