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CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT (NEW RULES)

REFORM OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT (IURE SANGUINIS)

This Consulate is currently working, based on the new law that came into effect on 24 May 2025, to prepare clear and comprehensive guidance for the public and to update its official website. Users are therefore requested to regularly check the relevant website page, which will also be referred to in the case of phone or email enquiries.

Law no. 74 of 23 May 2025 (published in the Italian Official Gazette on 23/05/2025, no. 118) has converted with amendments Decree-Law no. 36 of 28 March 2025, which introduces urgent measures on citizenship.

Italian citizenship is based on the principle of “jus sanguinis” (right of blood), whereby a child born to an Italian father or mother is an Italian citizen. The new decree, as converted into law, does NOT modify this fundamental principle but introduces important limitations to the transmission of citizenship from one generation to the next, based on the actual connection with Italy and the possession of another citizenship.

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION:
The regulatory framework remains unchanged and the previous criteria continue to apply ONLY for the following categories of individuals:

  • persons born in Italy, even if they also hold another citizenship;
  • persons born anywhere, provided they do not hold any other citizenship.

Italian citizenship is transmitted from parent to child, for a maximum of two generations, on the condition that the Italian parent has never renounced their citizenship or was not naturalised during the minority of the direct descendant.

For recognition of Italian citizenship by descent, the following must be proven:

  • the descent starts from an Italian parent or grandparent (“dante causa”);
  • the “dante causa” retained their citizenship until the descendant reached majority of age or emancipation;
  • the descent from the “dante causa” is demonstrated through civil status documents (birth, marriage, divorce, death), which must be legalised, if required, and officially translated.

WARNING: Women transmit citizenship to their descendants only from 1 January 1948.
From 1865 to 26 April 1983, a woman’s citizenship followed that of her husband. A foreign woman automatically acquired Italian citizenship through marriage (and retained it in case of widowhood). Likewise, an Italian woman who had lost her citizenship through naturalisation before marriage but subsequently married an Italian citizen by 26 April 1983 reacquired Italian citizenship through marriage.

PLEASE NOTE: If the ancestor was naturalised before the birth or during the minority of the next descendant, the line of transmission is interrupted. Therefore, there is no entitlement to recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (see Articles 7 and 12 of Law no. 555/1912).

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Decree-Law no. 36/2025 of 28 March 2025, converted into Law on 24 May 2025 (Law no. 74/2025), introduced additional requirements for the recognition of citizenship by descent.
In particular, under the new provisions, an applicant born abroad must meet the above conditions and also fall into at least one of the following categories:

  1. Must have exclusively Italian citizenship (i.e., does not have and cannot have any other citizenship);
  2. A parent (including adoptive) or grandparent must have had exclusively Italian citizenship at the time of the applicant’s birth (or at the time of their death);
  3. A citizen parent (including adoptive) must have been resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship, but before the birth or adoption of the applicant.

EXCEPTION
These additional requirements do not apply to applicants who booked and confirmed an appointment by 11:59 pm (Rome time) on 27 March 2025.

A non-refundable consular fee of Euros 600 (payable in local currency, in cash or by debit card) is required to process the citizenship application (Art. 7B of the consular fee schedule).

NEW CASES OF CITIZENSHIP ACQUISITION ABROAD (MINOR CHILDREN OF CITIZENS WHO DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSMIT CITIZENSHIP)
In certain cases provided by Article 4(1-bis) of Law no. 91/1992 and Article 1-ter of Decree-Law no. 36/2025 (as converted into law), minor children born abroad to an Italian citizen who does not automatically transmit citizenship (i.e., not falling into one of the three categories above), may acquire Italian citizenship under two scenarios (subject to a Euros 250 contribution to the Italian Ministry of the Interior):

  1. First case (all conditions must be met simultaneously):
    a. At least one parent is an Italian citizen by birth (even if also holding another citizenship);
    b. Both parents submit a declaration of intent to acquire Italian citizenship WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE CHILD’S BIRTH. This declaration must be formal and made in person at the Consular Office.
  2. Second case (transitional rule, all conditions must be met simultaneously):
    a. Applicants were minors on the date the law converting Decree-Law no. 36/2025 came into effect (i.e., under 18 as of 24 May 2025);
    b. Applicants are children of a citizen by birth recognised as such on the basis of an administrative or judicial application submitted by 11:59 pm (Rome time) on 27 March 2025 or on the basis of an appointment booked by that date;
    c. Parents must submit the declaration by 31 May 2026. If the applicant turns eighteen years old in the meantime, he/she must submit the declaration personally by that date.

PLEASE NOTE: The above two cases represent an acquisition of citizenship by “benefit of law”. The minor thus acquiring citizenship is NOT an Italian citizen by birth or by descent. According to Article 15 of Law no. 91/1992, citizenship is acquired the day after the parents’ declaration, not from birth.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATIONS:

  • The application is individual and must be submitted in person with the required documents.
  • If two or more family members intend to apply for recognition of citizenship by descent from the same ancestor, whether simultaneously or at different times, only one set of documents relating to the ancestor and common descendants is needed, provided all applicants reside in QLD or NT.
  • QLD or NT residents whose relatives have already obtained citizenship recognition from another Consulate or in Italy must still submit all original documents relating to the ancestor.
  • The Citizenship Office reserves the right to request further documentation if what is submitted is deemed insufficient.
  • Document research is the responsibility of the applicant.
  • The process to ascertain Italian citizenship will be completed within 730 days, as set by DPCM no. 33 of 17/01/2014 (Italian Official Gazette no. 64 of 18/03/2014).
  • The Consulate will notify applicants of the outcome via email, and in the case of a positive result, the relevant documents will be sent to the competent municipality in Italy for registration.
  • All original documents will be retained by the Consulate and will not be returned.

NO GENERAL ENQUIRIES REGARDING PROCEDURES OR REQUIRED DOCUMENTS WILL BE ANSWERED BY EMAIL OR PHONE.
PLEASE REFER TO THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE OFFICIAL WEB PAGES.

RULES IN FORCE UNTIL 11:59 PM (ROME TIME) ON 27 MARCH 2025
Applicants must submit their request for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent, along with other consular services, directly at the Consular Office with a prior appointment.

CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT UNDER THE PRINCIPLE OF IURE SANGUINIS
Article 1 of Law no. 91/1992 states that a child of an Italian father or mother is an Italian citizen by birth, provided the parent’s citizenship has already been recognised under the criteria in effect prior to Ministry of Interior Circular 43347.

WARNING:

  • Italian women lost their citizenship if they married a foreign national until 01/01/1948.
  • Italian women transmit citizenship only from 01/01/1948 onward.

To learn more about citizenship issues relating to women, click here.

Citizenship is transmitted from parent to child provided that the Italian ancestor has never renounced their citizenship or was not naturalised during the minority of the descendant.

To be eligible for recognition of citizenship by descent, the following must be proven:

  • The lineage begins with an Italian ancestor (“dante causa”);
  • The ancestor retained Italian citizenship until the next descendant reached adulthood or emancipation.
  • The lack of naturalisation or the date of any naturalisation must be confirmed by a certificate from the competent foreign authority.
  • The descent from the ancestor must be evidenced through civil status documents (birth, marriage, divorce, death), legalised if required and officially translated.

The required, complete, and properly prepared documentation must be submitted by the applicant.

PLEASE NOTE: If the ancestor was naturalised before the birth or during the minority of the next descendant, the line of transmission is broken. Citizenship by descent cannot be recognised (see Articles 8 and 12 of Law no. 555/1912).

APPLICATION FOR RECOGNITION OF CITIZENSHIP BY DESCENT

  • ONLY adults may submit an application for recognition of citizenship by descent. For minors, please refer to the relevant link.
  • Applications may be submitted at the Consulate of Italy in Brisbane ONLY by Australian citizens or other nationals holding a permanent Australian residency visa in Queensland or the Northern Territory.
  • Proof of residency in QLD or NT is required at the time of application.
  • The application is individual and must be submitted in person with a prior online appointment (Prenot@mi) and accompanied by the required documents.
  • If multiple family members wish to apply for recognition of citizenship by descent from the same ancestor, only one set of documents is needed, provided all applicants reside in Queensland.
  • Residents of Queensland whose family members obtained recognition of citizenship at another Consulate or in Italy must still submit all original documents relating to the ancestor.

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED ON THE DAY OF THE APPOINTMENT
FOR THE ANCESTOR (DANTE CAUSA):

  • Full birth certificate issued by the Italian Municipality
  • Marriage certificate, where applicable (legalised and translated)
  • Divorce decree, if applicable (legalised and translated)
  • Death certificate, if applicable (legalised and translated)
  • Certificate of “non-naturalisation” or “naturalisation”, where applicable (legalised and translated)

FOR THE APPLICANT:

  • Birth certificate (legalised and translated, if required)
  • Marriage certificate (legalised and translated, if required)
  • Divorce decree, if applicable (legalised and translated)
  • Proof of residence of the applicant seeking recognition of citizenship

If documents are from Australia, they must be apostilled and translated.
If they are not from Australia, the applicant must verify their validity with the competent Italian Consulate.
In exceptional cases, this Consulate may certify the translation, provided the foreign document is in English as an official language of the issuing country.

COSTS
From 1 January 2025, all applications for recognition of Italian citizenship by descent are subject to a consular fee of Euros 600 (payable in local currency).
This fee is mandatory under the law and does not imply any guaranteed outcome of the process. It is therefore NON-REFUNDABLE.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • All documents must be submitted in original form and will not be returned.
  • The Citizenship Office reserves the right to request additional documents if needed.
  • Document collection is the applicant’s responsibility.
  • The recognition process will be concluded within 730 days as per DPCM no. 33 of 17/01/2014 (Italian Official Gazette no. 64 of 18/03/2014).
  • The Consulate will notify the outcome via email, and in case of a positive result, forward the documents to the Italian Municipality for registration.

General information requests about procedures or required documentation will NOT be answered individually by email or phone. Please refer to the official online resources and supplementary materials.