Italy’s Constitutional Court Upholds Generational Caps on Citizenship by Descent

In a landmark decision, Italy’s Constitutional Court has rejected challenges to Law 74/2025, upholding the controversial generational caps on citizenship by descent (ius sanguinis). The ruling reinforces the “Tajani Decree,” effectively ending the centuries-old principle of indefinite citizenship transmission for the Italian diaspora.

The ruling, issued on March 12, 2026, declared that the restrictions introduced last year do not violate the Italian Constitution or European Union treaties. For the estimated 80 million people worldwide claiming Italian ancestry,primarily in Brazil, Argentina, and the United States, this decision significantly narrows the path to an Italian passport.

The "Legal Fiction" of Non-Acquisition

At the heart of the law is a critical legal distinction: the state does not “revoke” citizenship; instead, it deems that individuals born abroad who do not meet specific criteria never acquired Italian citizenship in the first place.

This “legal fiction” applies retroactively, regardless of birth date, unless an applicant meets one of three narrow exceptions:

Existing Applications: The citizenship was recognized through an application filed before 11:59 p.m. on March 27, 2025.
Exclusive Citizenship: A parent or grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship (never naturalized in another country) at the time of the applicant’s birth or their own death.
Residency Requirement: A parent or adoptive parent resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the applicant’s birth/adoption.

What the Court Decided

The Constitutional Court examined several challenges raised by the Tribunal of Turin and found them largely “unfounded” or “inadmissible.”

Retroactivity & Rights: The Court rejected the claim that the law arbitrarily distinguishes between applicants or retroactively revokes rights. It ruled that the March 2025 cutoff was a valid exercise of legislative power.
EU Citizenship: The Court substantively ruled that restricting ius sanguinis does not violate EU citizenship provisions under the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
Human Rights Claims: Challenges based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were declared inadmissible on procedural grounds, meaning they were not examined on their merits.

Remaining Legal Battlegrounds

While this ruling is a major victory for the Italian government, the legal fight is not entirely over. Three key fronts remain:

The Mantova Referral: A separate challenge from the Tribunal of Mantova, based on different legal arguments, is scheduled for a hearing on June 9, 2026.
The “Minor-Age Issue”: On April 14, 2026, Italy’s Supreme Court (Sezioni Unite) will decide if an ancestor’s naturalization while their child was a minor severed the bloodline. This decision could independently disqualify thousands of pending cases.
European Courts: Legal experts suggest that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg or the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg represent the last hope for descendants who fail to meet the new Italian criteria.

Practical Impact on the Diaspora

According to current estimates, roughly 60,000 applicants who managed to file before the March 2025 deadline will have their cases processed under the old, unlimited-generation rules.

However, for millions of others in the “Great Arrival” diaspora, the door has largely closed. Diaspora organizations in South America and the U.S. have signaled they will continue to support further appeals, but for now, the “Tajani Decree” stands as the law of the land in Italy.