Since the 2025 reform, Italian citizenship no longer passes automatically through every generation born abroad. Article 3-bis treats people born abroad who hold another citizenship as never having acquired Italian citizenship, unless an exception applies. For most American families the question is now precise: was a parent or grandparent exclusively Italian, did an Italian parent live in Italy for two years before your birth, or was your application filed before 27 March 2025? Four separate developments since then — two Constitutional Court rulings, an EU Court referral and a new circular on the minor issue — change details, not the basic rule.
- Since Law 74/2025, people born abroad with another citizenship are treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship unless an exception applies.
- Exceptions: an exclusively Italian parent or grandparent, or an Italian parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years before your birth.
- Applications filed (or appointments notified) by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025 keep the old rules.
- The reform is in force: Judgment 63/2026 did not strike it down; EU Court case C-816/26 is pending.
- Consular fee: €600 per adult (USD 691 in Q4 2026 at five US consulates), non-refundable.
Start with your birth, citizenships and application history
Before any genealogy work, answer three questions: Were you born abroad, and do you hold another citizenship? Did any Italian parent or grandparent hold only Italian citizenship (now, or at death)? Did you file an application, receive an appointment or start a court case before 27 March 2025? If all answers point away from the exceptions below, an old-style "jure sanguinis package" is unlikely to help.
What Article 3-bis changes
Decree-Law 36/2025, converted by Law 74/2025, added Article 3-bis to the citizenship law (Law 91/1992). It provides that a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is considered never to have acquired Italian citizenship, including persons born before the reform came into force, unless one of the listed exceptions applies (Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The reform also places on the applicant the burden of proving that no ground for non-acquisition or loss applies, and court cases on citizenship status do not admit witness evidence or oaths unless the law expressly allows them.
The exceptions that still open the door
- Exclusively Italian parent or grandparent. A parent or grandparent who holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship.
- Two years of residence. An Italian parent (or adoptive parent) who lived in Italy for at least two continuous years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before your birth or adoption.
- Applications already filed by the cut-off described below.
Each exception needs documents: for example, a historical residence certificate from the Italian municipality for the two-year rule, or evidence that a grandparent never naturalized elsewhere.
Send us your family line and any filing history. We will check it against Article 3-bis and the minor-issue circular and tell you whether an exception may apply.
The 27 March 2025 cut-off
The transitional rules protect administrative applications filed together with the necessary documents, and court applications, submitted by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025. They also protect applications submitted on an appointment date that the competent authority notified by that deadline. Recognition did not need to be completed by then, but the filing (or the notified appointment) did. Keep the proof of filing or of the appointment notice.
Constitutional Court and EU Court: what has actually happened
- Judgment 63/2026, deposited on 30 April 2026: the Constitutional Court declared the questions it examined unfounded or inadmissible. It did not strike down Article 3-bis (Corte costituzionale, 63/2026).
- Order 147/2026, decided on 9 June and deposited on 23 July 2026: the Court referred a question under Article 9 TEU and Article 20 TFEU to the Court of Justice of the EU and stayed the proceedings before it until the EU Court answers (Corte costituzionale, 147/2026). This did not suspend Article 3-bis in general; consulates continue to apply it.
- EU Court case C-816/26 (Picuso), lodged on 23 July 2026. As of 14 November 2026 we found no official hearing date or judgment. Nobody can promise how it will end.
The minor issue after circular 65050
Interior Ministry circular 65050 of 10 August 2026 confirms that, in cases governed by Law 555/1912, a child who was Italian by descent and also a foreign citizen by birth (for example, born in the US) did not lose Italian citizenship solely because a parent naturalized while the child was a minor. The new interpretation covers parental naturalizations between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992; earlier naturalizations are excluded. Refusals on this ground can be reconsidered: you ask the authority that refused, and it re-examines the original application rather than a new one (Interior Ministry, circular 65050). This does not bypass Article 3-bis for new applications.
Children: the 31 May 2029 declaration deadline
A special declaration deadline runs until 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029 for persons who were minors on 24 May 2025 and are children of citizens by birth covered by Article 3-bis(1)(a), (a-bis) or (b) (Embassy of Italy, Washington). It is acquisition by declaration for that group only, not a general deadline for every minor of Italian descent.
Refusal, cancelled appointment or pending file: different situations
In 2026 discussions, applicants often treat very different events as the same thing. They are not:
- A file submitted before the cut-off and still pending is assessed under the old rules, provided it was filed with the necessary documents.
- An appointment counts only if the authority communicated the appointment date by the cut-off; check the date on your appointment confirmation.
- A refusal based on the minor issue can be reconsidered by the authority that issued it, under circular 65050.
- A refusal on other grounds is not reopened by that circular; it needs its own legal assessment.
Write down exactly which documents you have: confirmation of filing, appointment emails, the text of any refusal. Most of the answers depend on them.
Go to court now or wait for the EU Court?
This is the question families ask most after the referral, and there is no safe general answer. What is known: the reform applies today; the EU Court has not ruled; the court contribution of €600 is payable per claimant and is not refunded if the case fails; and the reform requires the claimant to prove the absence of grounds for non-acquisition or loss. What is not known: when the EU Court will rule and what it will say. A reasonable approach is to have a lawyer assess your line under current law first, then decide whether a case is worth filing now or after the ruling, knowing the costs you cannot recover.
US consulates: fees, documents and timing
The consular fee for recognition of citizenship by descent is €600 per adult application, non-refundable whatever the outcome (Consulate General, Los Angeles). In the fourth quarter of 2026 the dollar amount is USD 691 at the consulates in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston.
All five lists share a core: civil records for the line of descent, marriages, deaths and divorces where relevant, evidence of naturalization or non-naturalization, identification, proof of residence in the consular district, forms and declarations, payment and appointment confirmation, and since the reform, evidence of the Article 3-bis exception. The details differ:
- New York asks for recent Italian extracts and notarised, apostilled forms dated within six months (New York).
- Chicago uses category-specific lists and, since 1 July 2026, accepts applications exclusively by mail during set days of the appointment month (Chicago).
- Los Angeles publishes separate checklists for an exclusively Italian grandparent, an exclusively Italian parent and a parent meeting the two-year residence rule (versions of 29 May 2026).
- San Francisco and Houston require evidence of the relevant exception alongside the usual records.
Processing time: the amended consular legislation sets a completion period of 36 months, while the San Francisco page still mentions 24 months. Law 11/2026 also provides for central handling of adult applications from residents abroad from 1 January 2029; consulates keep applications received before then.
The court route
For claimants living abroad, citizenship-status cases go to the specialised immigration section of the court competent for the Italian municipality of birth of the relevant parent or ancestor. The court contribution is €600 for each claimant, including when several claimants file together. That is a filing contribution, not the full cost of a case: lawyers, translations and documents come on top.
Who this is for, and who it is not for
For: US and other families with an exclusively Italian parent or grandparent, an Italian parent who lived in Italy for two years before their child's birth, applications filed before the cut-off, or a previous refusal on the minor issue.
Not for: descendants relying on a great-grandparent alone with no applicable exception, or anyone promised a "guaranteed" recognition after the reform.
Frequently asked questions
Usually not on that basis alone. Since Law 74/2025, people born abroad with another citizenship are treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship unless an exception applies: an exclusively Italian parent or grandparent, an Italian parent who lived in Italy for two years before your birth, or an application filed by 27 March 2025.
No. Judgment 63/2026 declared the questions examined unfounded or inadmissible. Order 147/2026 referred a question to the EU Court (case C-816/26) and stayed that proceeding, but Article 3-bis remains in force and consulates apply it.
Circular 65050 of 10 August 2026 confirms that, for cases under Law 555/1912, a child who was Italian by descent and a foreign citizen by birth did not lose Italian citizenship just because a parent naturalized while the child was a minor, for naturalizations between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992. Earlier refusals on this ground can be reconsidered by the authority that issued them.
€600 per adult application, non-refundable. In the fourth quarter of 2026 that is USD 691 at the New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston consulates. Documents, translations and apostilles are extra.
Yes, for a specific group: persons who were minors on 24 May 2025 and are children of citizens by birth covered by Article 3-bis(1)(a), (a-bis) or (b) can make a declaration until 31 May 2029. It is not a general deadline for all minors.
Yes. Claimants abroad file with the specialised section of the court competent for the Italian municipality where the relevant parent or ancestor was born. The court contribution is €600 per claimant; legal fees are separate. The reform puts the burden of proof on the claimant.
Parallax reviews your line against Article 3-bis: who held which citizenships and when, any filings before 27 March 2025, and whether the minor-issue circular affects a past refusal. Where a legal opinion is needed, it is prepared with an Italian lawyer. We do not promise recognition.
Request a family-line review