Latest News About Italian Nationality Law

Italy’s latest nationality law news is that the 2025 citizenship-by-descent restrictions remain in force, and the Constitutional Court has signaled support for them in March 2026. The big change is that many descendants abroad now need a parent or grandparent born in Italy, rather than being able to claim citizenship through more distant ancestry.[1][2]

What changed

The 2025 reform narrowed Italian citizenship by descent and is being applied to applications filed after March 27, 2025, with some grandfathering for earlier filings and certain booked appointments. In practical terms, the law is a major tightening of the old jure sanguinis system, especially for people tracing citizenship through great-grandparents or further back.[2][3]

Latest court development

In March 2026, Italy’s Constitutional Court indicated that the constitutional challenge to the reform was largely rejected or inadmissible, which means the restrictions are still standing for now. A full written decision is still expected, and that may matter for how lower courts interpret the law going forward.[4][1]

Who is affected

People with Italian heritage abroad are the main group affected, especially those whose claims depend on ancestors more distant than a parent or grandparent. Some sources also note exceptions or transitional rules for applications already submitted or appointments already secured before the cutoff date.[3][1][2]

What to watch next

The next important development is the final written Constitutional Court ruling, plus any follow-on decisions from Italy’s supreme court on related citizenship cases. Those decisions could clarify whether any parts of the reform are narrowed in practice, even if the law itself stays in place.[5][1][4]

For a simple example: under the new rule, someone whose only Italian ancestor was a great-grandparent is much less likely to qualify than before, while someone with an Italian-born parent or grandparent is far more likely to remain eligible.[2][3]