An important recent ruling by the Court of Venice regarding the addition of minors to a citizenship case filed before the reform has provided a promising, reasonable view to allow such persons to be considered under the old citizenship by descent rules. Below, we detail what happened, how this might affect future similar cases, and what you need to know if you have a similar situation.
What happened with the Venice Court?
On September 14, 2026, the Venice Court made an important ruling that can positively affect future children born after the Tajani Decree and their claim to Italian citizenship through preexisting jure sanguinis cases.
Essentially, Venice chose to recognize the citizenship of five minor children who joined an existing citizenship application that had been filed before the reform. The case involved an ancestor born in 1862, and the case itself was filed in 2023: this means that under the rules established by the Tajani Decree itself the case was subject to the “old rules”. The judge decided that the minor children who were added to the case after the decree could be considered as the same status as the other applicants, i.e. considered under the framework of pre-reform citizenship jure sanguinis guidelines. The judge’s reasoning was that the case was ongoing, not yet fixed, allowing the minors to join. Furthermore, Article 105 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure expressly allows third parties—in this case, minors—to join an ongoing lawsuit (known as intervento), even if they are born while the trial is underway.
Important dates related to the Tajani Decree
We have written significantly on the Tajani Decree and the news surrounding it since it went into effect. As a reminder, the decree came into force on March 28, 2025 and restricted Italian citizenship jure sanguinis to only those with Italian parents or grandparents. The decree was codified into law on May 20, 2025 and is currently being challenged in many ways.
It is important to note that, according to the Tajni Decree itself, cases filed before March 28, 2025 are still to be considered under the former rules.
With that said, there have even been many cases filed after March 28, 2025 in which applicants successfully acquired citizenship under the old rules, for instance due to their ability to demonstrate that they had attempted multiple times, in good faith, to secure a citizenship appointment before the decree, or because they were able to prove that the case was initiated before the new rules went into effect.
How the court’s decision affects minor children
While the Venice Court’s ruling is not binding for future similar cases, it does provide a promising precedent that other courts may follow. The reasoning the judge provided for allowing the minors to be considered under the old rules was sound: the minors did not create an entirely new case, but rather were added to a preexisting one that was protected under the pre-reform framework. The minors were able to be considered as the same status as the rest of their family, avoiding complications in which their families members could acquire Italian citizenship but they would be blocked. As mentioned above, the concept of such an intervento in an ongoing court case is not new, and is a part of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure. For these reasons, it is hopeful that such minors in the future can be added on to preexisting citizenship jure sanguinis cases and easily considered under the old rules.
How to know if you have a similar situation
In particular, this affects those who fit the following criteria:
- Applicants who filed a citizenship case before March 28, 2025
- A minor was left out of the initial filing
- A minor was born after March 28, 2025
Once a decision on the application has been made, no further persons can be added to the case. For this reason, if you believe you have a situation that fits the above, you should act quickly to add your minor child to the filing.
Italian Citizenship Assistance can help
Do you need to add a minor child to your preexisting citizenship case? Would you like further help declaring your minor child’s Italian citizenship under the new rules? Italian Citizenship Assistance is happy to help. Get in touch with our experts today at [email protected]
