Italy Set to Tighten Citizenship by Descent Rules Following Senate Approval

With 81 votes in favor and 37 against, the Italian Senate has approved a decree-law aimed at restricting access to Italian citizenship for individuals born abroad through jus sanguinis (citizenship by descent). The newly approved text marks a significant shift in Italy’s long-standing approach to citizenship rights for descendants of Italian emigrants.

Key Changes Under the New Citizenship Rules

According to the new legislation:

A person born outside Italy will only be recognized as an Italian citizen if at least one parent or grandparent holds only Italian citizenship at the time of the child’s birth.

Alternatively, individuals may still qualify if their parents lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring citizenship and before the child’s birth.

These amendments aim to tighten the criteria and reduce automatic entitlement to Italian citizenship by ancestry.

Brazilian and Argentine Descendants Among the Most Affected

As reported by NSC, the new rules are expected to heavily impact descendants in Brazil and Argentina, which received millions of Italian emigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Between 1870 and 1920, nearly 1.4 million Italians migrated to Brazil.

Today, Brazil is home to an estimated 30 million Italian descendants, with over 800,000 current Italian citizens, either expatriates or dual nationals.

In 2023, a total of 61,000 individuals were granted Italian citizenship by descent, with Brazilian nationals accounting for 68.5% of these approvals—nearly 42,000 cases.

Argentinians were the third-largest group to gain Italian citizenship in 2023, with over 16,000 people naturalized—a figure that quadrupled since 2021, according to Istat (Italian Office for Statistics).

Government Defends Stricter Measures

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani defended the move, stating that citizenship must not be taken lightly:

“Being an Italian citizen is a serious matter; it is not a joke to have an [Italian] passport in your pocket to go shopping in Miami. We want those who wish to become Italian citizens, because they have the right and because they feel connected to our country, to be able to do so. But without abuse, with the end of the use of our nationality for other reasons.”

— Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy

Background: Jus Sanguinis Reform

On March 28, 2024, the Italian government officially tightened the rules governing citizenship by descent.

Until now, applicants were not required to reside in Italy, although eligibility required proof of ancestry. Under the revised policy, applicants will need to have resided in Italy for at least three years at some point to qualify—further reinforcing the need for genuine ties to the country.