Italian citizenship by descent · Built for the 2025 reform
An Italian passport is an EU passport: the right to live, work, and study across all 27 EU countries. The 2025 reform narrowed the rules, but a parent-or-grandparent path is still open for many American families. We'll tell you straight if you qualify, then run the whole case.
Most American families with an Italian-born parent or grandparent look at the first. A smaller group with a pre-1948 Italian-born female ancestor looks at the second. You don't have to guess. That's our job.
Under Law 74/2025, your parent or grandparent can still pass Italian citizenship down — if they were Italian-born and held that citizenship at the moment it was passed to the next person in your line. This is the route most American families look at first.
A smaller group qualifies through an older route. If your Italian line runs through a woman born before January 1, 1948, a court case may still recognize citizenship that the old law denied her. This route is unaffected by the 2025 reform — and we'll flag it for you if it applies.
The first contact is free. The eligibility read is candid. If a path exists for you, we'll name it clearly.
In March 2025, Italy enacted Law 74/2025, capping citizenship by descent at two generations. Only a parent or grandparent, not a great-grandparent, can now be the Italian-born ancestor.
In March 2026, the Constitutional Court upheld this cap in Sentenza 63/2026. For many families who started the process, the answer is now no.
The exception: the 1948 judicial route was separate from this reform and remains fully intact. Courts continue to hear these cases.
Information current as of May 2026. Updated when the law changes.
For the consular path — the three dates that decide it
Bring these three dates. We'll read them and tell you where you stand.
Many services still describe Italian citizenship as if 2024 rules apply. We open every conversation with what changed and how it affects your specific case.
Most people we hear from aren't sure which path fits. That's fine. Give us five family facts; we'll read your line against the post-2025 law and tell you which door is yours — or that none is. No self-diagnosis required.
If you qualify, we'll say so. If you don't, we'll tell you that clearly and explain what, if anything, might still be available. No false hope.
Share your family story on the next page. We read every submission ourselves and reply within two business days — with a straight answer, even if that answer is “no.”
Possibly, yes. Files filed (or with confirmed Prenot@mi appointments) at or before 23:59 Rome time on March 27, 2025 are generally treated under the pre-reform regime.
The cutoff is precise. If you're not sure where your case stood at that moment, we'll help you reconstruct the timeline with evidence rather than memory.
It means that at the moment your grandfather passed citizenship to your parent, he could not also hold U.S. citizenship. If his U.S. naturalization predated the birth of the next person in your line, even by months, the line may have been broken under Italian law.
This is the most common reason an otherwise-perfect file fails. We'll ask for the three dates that decide it: your grandfather's birth, his U.S. naturalization, and the birth of his child in your line.
Twelve to eighteen months is typical, depending on the tribunal and complexity of your family line. Cases with missing documents or disputed records take longer.
We'll give you a realistic range after reviewing your case — not a marketing number.
We work on a flat fee for your case — agreed up front, before any work begins, so there are no surprises. A 1948 judicial case typically costs more than a consular descent application but less than comparable U.S. legal proceedings.
The fee depends on the number of applicants, the complexity of your family line, and the documents we need to procure. Tell us your story and we'll quote you a clear price for the full process.
We do — from your first eligibility assessment through to recognition. Patria Citizenship runs the full process: reviewing your lineage, building the document file, and managing every step for you.
Where a 1948 case goes before an Italian tribunal, the court filings and appearances are carried out by the Italian-admitted lawyers on our team. You work with us throughout — one point of contact, one process, start to finish.
We read it. We never sell it to advertisers or data brokers, and we don't use it for ad retargeting. If your case moves to a partner firm in Italy, we share your details only after you approve that firm by name. And if you'd prefer we delete your submission after replying, say so in your message and we will.
Plain-English guides built around the law as it actually stands today — the 2025 reform, the 1948 court route, and the dates that decide a case.
Italy's 2025 law changed the rules for citizenship by descent. Most guides haven't caught up. Here are the three questions that actually determine whether you qualify - based on the law as it stands today.
The 2025 reformIn 2026 Italy's Constitutional Court upheld the 2025 citizenship reform in Sentenza 63/2026. Here's what the ruling actually means for Americans, translated out of legal jargon into three real scenarios.
The 1948 routeThe 1948 case is real and still open, but the popular claim that it's 'completely unaffected' by the 2025 reform is no longer accurate. Here's what the maternal-line court route actually does in 2026.
Share your family story. We'll reply within two business days with a straight answer — whichever way it goes.
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