For those born abroad who hold another citizenship, Italian citizenship may still be recognized if one of the following situations applies:
a) the administrative application, complete with all the necessary documentation, was submitted by 11:59 PM (Rome time) on March 27, 2025;
a-bis) the application was submitted on the day set by an appointment communicated by the competent Consular Office by 11:59 PM (Rome time) on March 27, 2025;
b) citizenship status was judicially certified following a judicial application submitted within the same deadline;
c) a parent or grandparent holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship;
d) a parent or adoptive parent has resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth or adoption of the child.
For the case referred to in letter c), in derogation of the existing mechanisms for the automatic transmission of citizenship, anyone born abroad, even before the entry into force of the new law, and holding another citizenship, is considered to have never acquired Italian citizenship, unless they derive it from a first- or second-degree ancestor who holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship. The situation the interested party was in at birth is taken into consideration.
In our legal system the general principle that determines the automatic acquisition of citizenship has not, in other words, changed. However, it has been subject to two important limitations. The first is generational in nature, in that the possibility of reconstructing citizenship by descent for an applicant born abroad stops at the generation of the second-degree ascendants (grandfather or grandmother).
The second is regulatory in nature, meaning that the applicant’s deceased relative (the ascendant from whom the applicant claims to derive their citizenship) must be, or have been, at the time of death, exclusively Italian and not simultaneously have possessed any other citizenship besides the Italian one.
Please note: if the applicant links their application to their grandparent, they must still demonstrate that the citizenship line also passes through the parent without interruption.
For the case referred to in letter d), the applicant may obtain Italian citizenship if the parent, or adoptive parent, who acquired citizenship through marriage, residency, or legal benefit, resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the birth or adoption of their child.
Note: the adoption must have occurred while the adoptee was a minor.
In this scenario, neither the Italian citizen’s residency in Italy prior to acquiring Italian citizenship, nor the foreign parent’s residency in Italy is taken into consideration, and any statement attesting residency will not be taken into considered either.
Last updated: April 10, 2026