Based on recent rulings in the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione), a memo (circolare) was created on October 3, 2024 by the Italian Ministry of the Interior outlining a new interpretation of the Italian citizenship law that will be applied going forward to citizenship by descent applications submitted at Italian consulates worldwide and Italian municipalities.
According to the memo, if the Italian-born ancestor voluntarily acquired foreign citizenship while their child was still a minor (before March 9, 1975, the age of majority was 21 in Italy), the minor child, born in the US, lost his or her Italian citizenship automatically. Therefore, this would have interrupted the chain of citizenship leading to the applicant, making them ineligible through this Italian ancestor. While this interpretation will be applied on applications going forward, if your Italian citizenship has already been recognized, your citizenship status will not be affected.
Please note that the above-mentioned circolare is NOT a new law, it is a memo that includes guidelines for the Italian public administration. Therefore it only affects applications filed at consulates and Italian municipalities and does NOT directly impact any cases that are presented to an Italian court.
Eligibility
The ability to apply for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent is based on the principle of jure sanguinis, or right of blood. To qualify, you first must have an Italian ancestor who was born after March 17, 1861 or still living in Italy on this date, when Italy became a unified country. The first Italian Citizenship Law on June 13, 1912 (Law no.555/1912) established regulation for the acquisition and transmission of Italian citizenship and also stipulated that acquiring a foreign citizenship would mean automatically renouncing one’s Italian citizenship. Not until August 16, 1992 did Law 91/1992 come into effect, permitting dual citizenship.
Therefore, according to the above mentioned circolare, if you are applying via an Italian Consulate or municipality, it’s necessary that your Italian-born ancestor either never acquired a foreign naturalization or if they did, it was after June 14, 1912 AND after their child, the next descendent in line, was no longer of minor age. On the other hand, if you are presenting your case via an Italian court, it is sufficient that your Italian-born ancestor either never naturalized or, if they did, that it was after June 14, 1912 and after their child was born (according to the most common interpretation applied by the Italian courts).
The “Court Routes”
As mentioned, this new interpretation of the law is being applied at all Italian consulates and municipalities and they will not accept applications with this so-called “minor age issue”. However, Italian courts are not bound by the circolare. In fact, citizenship by descent cases that would normally be presented to an Italian consulate can also be petitioned to the Italian Courts due to prolonged wait times to secure an appointment that exceed 730 days. If you have a citizenship case where your ancestor naturalized while their child (the next descendant in line) was a minor, your application will not be accepted at your local consulate, however, it can be successfully filed via an Italian court. Filing in court requires a judicial proceeding, which can contain an element of risk, however, the majority of Italian courts are approving these types of cases. It’s important to note that when applying at an Italian court, the lawsuit will be filed at the court covering the jurisdiction of the municipality where your Italian ancestor was born.
Another alternate path, if you have this “minor age issue”, is to apply through a female Italian-born ancestor who never naturalized, or naturalized when their child (the next descendant in line) was an adult, or naturalized involuntarily and automatically due to their husband’s naturalization. In fact, the 1912 Citizenship law did not permit women to pass citizenship down to their children. This did not change until January 1, 1948, when the Italian constitution went into effect and women were given the right to transmit citizenship to their children born after this date. In recent years, however, a case in the Italian courts challenged this as unlawful and discriminatory and now legal precedent states that principles in the constitution should be applied retroactively, including events that occurred prior. If there is a woman in your Italian lineage who gave birth to her child outside of Italy before January 1, 1948, you are not eligible to file your citizenship application through an Italian consulate or municipality. However, these cases can be filed via the Italian courts through what is called a “1948 case”.
Similarly, the automatic naturalization of the woman due to their husband’s naturalization as a US citizen prior to September 22, 1922 (the Cable Act) has been recognized as invalid by the Italian courts. It was only with the Cable Act that women were given the ability to apply for US citizenship on their own. All cases of “automatic naturalization” prior to 1922 are considered by the Italian courts as invalid and it has been established that women who acquired US citizenship involuntarily actually maintained their Italian citizenship and were able to transfer it to the next person in the Italian line.
Conclusion
In summary, if your Italian-born ancestor acquired foreign citizenship while their child (the next descendant in line) was still a minor, you will no longer be able to submit your application to an Italian consulate or Italian municipality. However, there may still be a path to apply through the Italian courts if there are extended wait times at your local Italian consulate. Alternatively, if you also have a female Italian-born ancestor who never naturalized or naturalized when their child, the next descendant in line, was an adult, or naturalized involuntarily, you can apply through the Italian courts with a 1948 case.
If you have questions regarding your eligibility or would like further information about Italian citizenship by descent, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
