We want to share an important legal development that may benefit your Italian citizenship case.
What happened:
On July 26, 2026, Italy’s highest court (the Corte di Cassazione) issued a ruling that clarifies and strengthens the rules around citizenship transmission for individuals whose ancestors were born abroad to an Italian parent, or simply individuals born abroad to an Italian parent.
Why it matters:
In many family histories, someone in the line — whether any of your parents, or yourself — was born outside Italy to an Italian mother or father, in a country (like the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Argentina, etc.) where being born there automatically grants citizenship of that country too. This means that person was a dual citizen from the moment of birth — Italian by blood, and the other nationality by birthplace. This could be your parent, or even you.
Previously, some courts had ruled that if an Italian ancestor later gave up their Italian citizenship (for example, by becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen) while the next in line (a parent or yourself) was still a minor, the child’s Italian citizenship was lost too — breaking the family’s citizenship line.
This new ruling changes that. The Court confirmed that when a person is a dual citizen from birth, their Italian citizenship stays intact even if their parent later naturalizes elsewhere and loses their own Italian citizenship. The child’s citizenship can only be given up through their own voluntary choice once they become an adult — it is not automatically lost because of something their parent did.
What this means for you:
If your case had previously stalled or was denied because an ancestor’s parent naturalized abroad while the ancestor was a minor, this ruling may reopen the door — provided the ancestor was a dual citizen from birth (i.e., born in a country that grants automatic citizenship by birthplace).
Important — this does not change everything:
This ruling addresses one specific legal question. It does not override or replace the other eligibility requirements introduced by the 2025 citizenship law reform (Decree-Law 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025). Those requirements — including the restrictions on citizenship by descent introduced by that reform — still apply in full. Having said that, the exclusivity requirement and generational limit are still in place. It is important to notice that this law was challenged before Italy’s Constitutional Court, and while the Court initially upheld it, it has since reversed course. The Constitutional Court has now referred the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to determine whether the law is compatible with EU legal principles, particularly given concerns that it was applied retroactively and without adequate individual assessment.
This is genuinely a positive development. If the ECJ rules against Italy, the law would be invalidated entirely, and the Italian government would be required to draft new legislation that complies with EU rules. This could open a more favorable path forward for applicants.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.
Warm regards,
Limmi Global Inc.