Guide
Italian citizenship by descent after DL 36/2025: the door narrowed
By Covered Abroad Research Desk · Last verified July 2026
What article 3-bis actually says
The consolidated text on Normattiva is blunt. In derogation of the historic citizenship laws (1865, 1912, 1983, 1992), a person born abroad, even before the article's entry into force, who possesses another citizenship is considered never to have acquired Italian citizenship, unless one of the listed conditions applies:
- an administrative application with documentation was filed with the consulate or comune by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 (or an appointment communicated by then — letter a-bis);
- a judicial claim was filed by the same deadline;
- (c) a first- or second-degree ascendant (parent or grandparent) possesses, or possessed at death, exclusively Italian citizenship;
- (d) a parent or adopter was resident in Italy for at least two continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the child's birth or adoption.
Source: Decreto-Legge 36/2025, art. 1 (art. 3-bis), testo consolidato — Normattiva, read 10 September 2026.
Who this cuts off — and who still qualifies
Read the conditions together and the shape is clear: the open-ended great-grandparent chain — the classic jure sanguinis file through an ancestor who emigrated in 1900 and naturalised elsewhere — is closed for anyone who hadn't filed by 27 March 2025. What survives: lines where a parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship (no second passport), and children of parents who actually lived in Italy for two continuous years. The decree was converted with modifications by Law 74/2025 (one letter suppressed in conversion), and the consolidated text carries updates through early 2026 — read the current wording before commissioning any genealogy work.
Source: DL 36/2025, convertito con modificazioni dalla L. 74/2025 — Normattiva, read 10 September 2026.
60-second check
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Check my policyIf you filed before the cut-off
The law grandfathers three groups by the 27 March 2025 23:59 (Rome) line: applications lodged with consulates or comuni with documentation, appointment-holders whose slot was communicated by that date, and judicial claims filed by then — all assessed under the rules applicable on 27 March 2025. If that's you, the old framework governs your file. If it isn't, the honest starting point is conditions (c) and (d) — and for those still qualifying and planning the move, Italy's residence routes and their insurance files are covered across our Italy guides.
Source: DL 36/2025, art. 1, lettere a)-d) — Normattiva, read 10 September 2026.