Italian Citizenship Through Ancestry Is Ending After Italy's Court Backs New Law

Travel Pirates ^ | 03 14 2026 | Celia Robbins

[yesthatjallen]

For generations, Italy has followed a simple rule called jus sanguinis, or “right of blood.” In practice, it meant that if you had an Italian ancestor and could document the family line, you could claim Italian citizenship, sometimes even several generations later.

That approach made Italy’s system one of the most generous citizenship policies in Europe. It allowed millions of people in places like the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia to reconnect with their roots and apply for an Italian passport. Now, that long-standing system may be about to change in a major way.

What the Court Decided

On Thursday, March 12, Italy’s Constitutional Court signaled that it intends to uphold a controversial citizenship law introduced by the Italian government in March 2025 through an emergency decree. The measure had been challenged by several judges who questioned whether it conflicted with Italy’s constitution, given that citizenship by descent, known as jus sanguinis, has been a core principle of Italian law since the country unified in 1861.

Following the first of four scheduled hearings, the court indicated that the legal objections raised by the Turin court were largely unfounded or not admissible. A full written ruling explaining the court’s reasoning is expected in the coming weeks, once the remaining hearings are completed.

For many people who hoped the court would preserve the existing citizenship rules, the early signal from the court was a major setback. Legal experts involved in challenging the law described the decision as a severe intervention that could affect millions of people with Italian ancestry, potentially narrowing one of Europe’s most expansive citizenship policies.

SNIP

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: ancestry; citizenship; italy

[NY.SS-Bar9]

Click-bait headline.

People with a parent or grandparent born in Italy will still qualify

I received my Italian passport in January. I qualified two-weeks before the change.

[Freee-dame]

I am totally opposed to dual citizenship. I definitely do not think that anyone should be voting in two different countries.

[Leaning Right]

A friend of mine is an American, born and raised here. He applied for and received Irish citizenship. He got it because his father was Irish.

He has no interest in voting in Irish elections. He got it just because he likes to travel, and having an Irish passport makes it easy for him to travel throughout the EU.

That makes sense.

Nevertheless, I agree with you. The Founders made a mistake here. Either you’re an American or you’re a citizen of some other country. Pick one.

[Flavious_Maximus]

There is a baseball classic tournament going on right now.

Italy beat Puerto Rico 8-6 to move onto the semi-finals for the first time ever. Only 3 players out of 30 on the Italian team were actually born in Italy. ALL of them live in the United States yet they are allowed to represent the nation of Italy because of ancestors.

[Dr. Franklin]

Europe’s elites don’t want people who are actually of European descent coming back to Europe as citizens, especially North Americans. Constitutional law is irrelevant to them, but they love third world migrants for some strange reason. I am aware of one citizenship case that the European Court of Rights refused to hear by just ignoring it and pretending it was filed late, when it plainly wasn’t. Migrants have human rights, but ethnic Europeans outside of Europe don’t according to the European ruling class.

[Tired of Taxes]

When the law was first changed, I read that Italy changed the law because a large number of people, mostly from South America, were claiming Italian citizenship through their bloodline, but they had no connection to, or real appreciation of, their Italian ancestry. The way Italy saw it, many people only wanted Italian citizenship for the EU passport. Supposedly, many of the South Americans were so far removed from their Italian ancestry that they had to hire companies to research their ancestry to find out if they had an Italian ancestor. Under the new rule, I still might qualify for citizenship, but I see no point in it.

[Dr. Franklin]

When the law was first changed, I read that Italy changed the law because a large number of people, mostly from South America, were claiming Italian citizenship through their bloodline, but they had no connection to, or real appreciation of, their Italian ancestry. The way Italy saw it, many people only wanted Italian citizenship for the EU passport.

But it's perfectly OK for Europe's elite to allow mass immigration of Muzzies and other Third World people with no cultural connection to Europe so they can burn down the churches and rape European women? Seriously? If they don't like the Italian constitution then they should change the constitution, not ignore its plain language by judicial fiat. EU member states get more representation in the EU parliament based upon their populations. It doesn't matter where they live. If an American gets an Italian passport but works in France, that still counts toward more Italian population and votes in the EU parliament. That person isn't burdening Italy for anything. Refusing to grant them passports is just prejudice against the foreign born.

[Tired of Taxes]

The new law doesn’t stop us from moving to Italy and establishing citizenship like anyone else. It only changes the law that gives people of Italian ancestry a faster, more affordable pathway to citizenship.

Under the old law, anyone who could trace their bloodline to an Italian ancestor as far back as 1861 (with some restrictions - for example, on female ancestors) could declare Italian citizenship for a low cost and some paperwork. Unfortunately, so many people have applied in recent years that the courts became backlogged. Most of those people do not move to Italy. But, because of the backlog, people with Italian ancestry are not being fast-tracked.

So, to cut down on the backlog, Italy is limiting the “bloodline” to two generations. If you had an Italian parent or grandparent, you can still file for citizenship by bloodline (again, with some restrictions). I was disappointed by the change in the law, too, but I understand the reasoning. Some people abused the system and ruined it for everyone else.

[Dr. Franklin]

The new [statutory] law doesn’t stop us from moving to Italy and establishing citizenship like anyone else. It only changes the [constitutional] law that gives people of Italian ancestry a faster, more affordable pathway to citizenship.

There, I fixed that for you. When statutes can override constitutions, there is no constitutional law. You missed that point. If you, or anyone else, doesn't like the constitutional law, then change it. That can't be done by statute.