Italy Jure Sanguinis Citizenship 2026: What the 2025 Reform Changed
Italian citizenship by descent used to be one of the most generous ancestry routes in the EU — no generational limit, no language test. A major 2025 reform changed that. Read this before you spend a dollar on genealogy research.
Read this first: the rules changed recently and are still contested
In 2025, Italy passed a reform (DL 36/2025) that significantly restricted who can claim citizenship jure sanguinis ("by right of blood"), tightening the descent chain in most cases. This is an active, evolving area of Italian law with litigation and legislative follow-up still in motion. Nothing in this article should be read as the final word on your eligibility — confirm your specific case, and the current generational limit, directly with the Italian consulate with jurisdiction over your case or a specialized attorney before spending money on document research.
What jure sanguinis is
Jure sanguinis lets a person with Italian ancestry claim Italian citizenship without ever having lived in Italy, provided they can document an unbroken citizenship chain back to an Italian-born ancestor. Historically this could reach back many generations; the 2025 reform limited eligibility for most applicants to a grandparent-level connection — verify the current cutoff for your case directly with the source below, since this is exactly the detail most likely to have moved since this article was published.
Costs, timeline, and outcome
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Income requirement | None |
| Processing time | 1–3 years |
| Cost | €600+ plus genealogical research costs |
| Result | Permanent Italian (EU) citizenship |
| Work rights | Full EU citizen rights |
| Language test | Historically none required for descent claims — verify this hasn't changed for your specific case |
The 1948 rule
Before January 1, 1948, Italian women could not pass citizenship to their children the way men could. Anyone whose claim runs through a female ancestor who had children before that date typically cannot apply through the normal consular process at all — that case has to go through Italian courts (a judicial route), not a consulate appointment. If your ancestral line runs through a woman born before 1948, plan for a lawsuit, a specialized attorney, and a materially longer timeline than the consular process.
Pros and cons
Pros
- EU passport without ever relocating
- Historically no language test required
- Children of a successful applicant are typically automatically eligible
Cons
- The 2025 reform limited eligibility to grandparents in most cases — many previously-eligible great-grandchild claims may no longer qualify
- Consulate backlogs commonly run years, not months
- 1948-rule maternal-line cases require a lawsuit, not a standard application
Track your Italian ancestry paperwork
GoThere helps you organize the document chain for citizenship-by-descent claims across Italy, Ireland, and Poland.
Download for iOSRelated guides
- Italy Elective Residency Visa 2026: Complete Guide
- Foreign Births Register 2026: Claim Irish Citizenship Through a Grandparent
- Poland Citizenship Confirmation 2026: Complete Guide
- Canada Citizenship by Descent 2026: Bill C-3 Explained
This article is informational and reflects publicly available understanding of Italian citizenship law as of publication in 2026. Jure sanguinis eligibility has changed significantly and remains subject to ongoing litigation and legislative developments this article cannot track in real time — verify current generational limits and consulate-specific procedures directly at esteri.it, and consult a specialized Italian citizenship attorney before relying on any figure or rule stated here.