Italy: Citizenship by Descent (Jus Sanguinis)

Regime A: Applications filed BEFORE March 27, 2025 (11:59 PM Rome time)

• –Unlimited generations (theoretically traceable through great-great-great-grandparents)
• –Still being processed under old rules
• –1948 Rule applies (see below)
• –Ancestor naturalization break applies

Regime B: Applications filed ON OR AFTER March 27, 2025 (Law No. 74/2025)

• –Maximum two generations: must have a parent OR grandparent born on Italian soil (nati in Italia)
• –⚠️ "Born in Italy" means physically born on Italian territory. An Italian citizen who was born abroad (even holding Italian citizenship their entire life, even born to Italian parents abroad) does NOT satisfy this requirement. The territorial birth test is separate from the citizenship chain test.
• –Great-grandparent or beyond: no longer eligible for new applications
• –New requirement: demonstrate "effective bond" (vincolo effettivo) with Italy; implementing regulations not yet fully defined as of June 2026
• –1948 Rule still applies where relevant
• –Ancestor naturalization break still applies

The first question in any Italy screener must determine which regime applies.

• –1948 Rule: Before Italy's constitution came into force (January 1, 1948), women could not legally transmit Italian citizenship to their children. If a female ancestor in the chain gave birth before this date, that child was not Italian through the mother. A judicial route exists (filing in Italian civil court) but is now more complex under the 2025 law. Result: MAYBE with detailed explanation.
• –Padre ignoto (unknown father): If a child was recorded with an unknown father in civil records, Italian citizenship may pass through the Italian mother regardless of the 1948 rule. This is a significant exception. Surface as MAYBE with legal note.
• –Naturalization timing is the #1 disqualifier. The key is: was the ancestor Italian at the time their child was born? If yes, that child was Italian. What happened to the ancestor afterwards (even naturalization) doesn't affect the child who was already born Italian.
• –US naturalization vs. Italian citizenship loss: Italy did not recognize dual citizenship until 1992. Italian-Americans who naturalized as US citizens before 1992 technically lost Italian citizenship under Italian law at the moment of naturalization. The key question is always: when did naturalization happen vs. when was the child born?
• –"Effective bond" requirement (new, 2025): Not yet fully defined in regulation. Watch for implementing regulations. For the screener, surface as a caveat for Regime B applicants.
• –Church marriage vs civil registration: Ancestors with church-recognized but civilly unregistered unions may have children recorded as illegitimate in civil records. Surface as MAYBE with documentation note.

• –Birth, marriage, death certificates for every person in the chain
• –Ancestor's Italian birth certificate (from their birth comune)
• –US/foreign naturalization certificate or USCIS records (to establish naturalization date)
• –All documents must be apostilled and translated into Italian by sworn translators

1. 1.Determine which regime applies (pre/post March 27, 2025)
2. 2.Order vital records from Italian communes (uffici di stato civile) for each ancestor
3. 3.Order US/foreign naturalization records (USCIS N-400 records, ship manifests)
4. 4.Compile chain of birth/marriage/death certificates, apostilled
5. 5.Contact nearest Italian consulate for appointment (multi-year wait in many countries; book early)
6. 6.Consider an Italian immigration attorney, especially for 1948 Rule cases