The Palermo Court has issued another significant ruling protecting an American descendant who attempted to pursue Italian citizenship before the Tajani Decree. His efforts were placed in limbo by a consulate that kept him on a waiting list for more than two years without ever granting an appointment. This marks the third case this year that the Palermo Court has recognized efforts of applicants attempting to claim their Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) before the Tajani Decree had taken effect.
Applicant’s Story
An American applicant was seeking recognition of Italian citizenship through his great-grandfather who was an Italian immigrant. His great-grandfather immigrated to the United States, got married, and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen. This happened however after his daughter (the applicant’s grandmother) was already an adult. Since his grandmother was already an adult when her father naturalized, there was no “minor age issue” involved in this case, leaving the applicant’s line of descent uninterrupted. The applicant had begun pursuing recognition through the Italian consular system. He joined his consulate’s waiting list before any changes to Italy’s citizenship laws had been made and remained on the waiting list for more than two years while awaiting an appointment.
While awaiting his appointment to be scheduled, the Tajani Decree was enacted. In March of 2025 the Italian government issued the Tajani Decree which dramatically narrowed eligibility for those applying for Italian citizenship by descent. As a result, the applicant’s pending administrative pathway was disrupted before a formal consular decision could be issued. After being on a waiting list for an appointment for so long and now unable to proceed through that route any further, the descendant filed a court case in Palermo in February of 2026 asking the court to recognize his citizenship based on his uninterrupted lineage from his great-grandfather.
The Judge’s Decision
The judge ruled in favor of the American applicant and based his reasoning heavily on “the timing” of the applicant’s actions. Before the Tajani decree went into effect the applicant was already on the waiting list for an appointment, for over two years. He points out in his ruling the language in the preamble of the Tajani Decree stating that the previous citizenship rules should continue to apply to proceedings that were already underway before the decree. The judge decided that the applicant fell under this protected category even though the applicant did not file his lawsuit until February 2026 which was after the Tajani Decree restrictions, similar to the case we saw come out of Florence. The judge also concluded that his position had been established before the decree because he had already taken steps to obtain his citizenship before the cutoff date. He further stated that the applicant could not legally sue before the Tajani Decree’s restraints because the consulate had neither denied his request yet nor refused to process it. After the new law changed his eligibility as well as waiting more than two years without being assigned an appointment, the consular delay now became more than an administrative inconvenience. It became a legal hurdle that entitled him to seek judicial relief. The judge then determined that with the lengthy delays in obtaining an appointment created enough sufficient legal uncertainty to justify a lawsuit, therefore, the case was properly before the court. The court then formally recognized the applicant as an Italian citizen and ordered the appropriate civil registry authorities to record his citizenship. The Ministry of the Interior did not appear in court to contest the case, so the court directed each party to cover their own legal costs.
The Court’s Reasoning
In its ruling, the judge explained that although the Constitutional Court -for now- upheld the Tajani Decree in Judgment No. 63/2026, it did not hold that everyone who failed to submit an application before the cutoff date automatically lost the right to seek recognition of Italian citizenship. Instead, the Constitutional Court acknowledged that individuals who had already taken meaningful steps toward obtaining citizenship before the law changed could, in appropriate circumstances, remain eligible to have their claims considered under the previous citizenship laws. Based on that reasoning, the judge concluded that the applicant’s case should be evaluated under the law in effect before the Tajani Decree.
Although the decision is not binding in all the Italian courts, it provides a well-reasoned precedent for applicants who began pursuing recognition of their Italian citizenship before March 28, 2025, but were prevented from completing the process because of lengthy consular delays. This reasoning marks another important development in the evolving approach the Italian Courts are taking in citizenship by descent cases. While each case depends on its own facts and legal circumstances, we look forward to seeing how the courts will continue to apply this line of reasoning in future decisions.
Italian Citizenship Assistance can help
If you would like your case for citizenship analyzed or believe that you may have a court case, Italian Citizenship Assistance is here to help! You can contact us at [email protected].
