Italy's 2026 Constitutional Court Ruling (63/2026) in Plain English: Does It Change Your Case?

If you've been following Italian citizenship news, you've probably seen headlines about a 2026 Constitutional Court decision, Sentenza 63/2026, with a lot of takes written in dense legal language. "Article 3-bis." "Non-acquisition versus revocation." "Section 9.1." If you're an American just trying to figure out whether you can still get citizenship through your grandmother, none of that tells you what you actually need to know.

So here's the ruling in plain English, and what it means for three kinds of readers.

What the court actually decided

When Italy capped citizenship by descent at two generations in 2025 (Law 74/2025), it was almost guaranteed to be challenged in court. It was. An Italian tribunal asked the Constitutional Court whether the new cap was unconstitutional.

In Sentenza 63/2026, the Constitutional Court upheld the reform. It rejected the challenge and confirmed that the two-generation limit stands. The decision was made on March 11, 2026 and the written judgment was published in the official gazette on May 6, 2026.

The one-sentence version: the 2025 reform is here to stay. This was the reform's biggest test, and it passed it.

What it does not change

This part matters as much as what it confirms, because some coverage made the ruling sound like a fresh disaster. It isn't a new restriction.

• It did not add new limits beyond what Law 74/2025 already set in 2025.
• It did not touch the pre-cutoff exception. If your application was filed (or your appointment confirmed) by March 27, 2025, you're still evaluated under the old rules.
• It did not abolish the 1948 maternal-line court route as a doctrine.

If you already understood the 2025 reform, the ruling doesn't move the goalposts. It bolts them to the ground.

What's still genuinely open

One honest caveat. A separate set of questions is still working through Italy's highest civil court, the Court of Cassation, including how far the 2025 limits reach into older judicial claims and the long-running "minor issue." Those are not decided by 63/2026. Anyone who tells you every question is now settled is overstating it. We track these closely and won't build your case on a guess.

What it means for you, in three scenarios

Scenario 1: You were already recognized, or filed before the cutoff. The ruling is good news by way of stability. Your situation rests on the pre-reform rules, and the court just removed the uncertainty about whether the whole framework might be torn up. Nothing here works against you.

Scenario 2: You're a new applicant within two generations (parent or grandparent born in Italy). Your path is intact, and now on firmer ground. The route most American families use, an Italian-born parent or grandparent with the citizenship-passing dates lining up, was never the target of this challenge. The ruling doesn't narrow it. What decides your case is still the specifics of your line, especially naturalization timing.

Scenario 3: Your nearest Italian ancestor is a great-grandparent (or further), with no pre-cutoff filing. This is the hard truth the ruling reinforces. The two-generation cap that likely closes the standard descent route for you is now confirmed as constitutional. It would not be honest to tell you to wait for the courts to undo it, because this decision points the other way. The better use of your energy is to check whether a different door exists, such as a closer qualifying ancestor you may have miscounted, a within-cap 1948 maternal line, or a residency-based path, rather than chasing a route the law has closed.

Why we're writing this in plain English when others don't

Most detailed coverage of 63/2026 comes from law firms writing for other lawyers, or for clients already deep in a case. That's useful, but it leaves a cold visitor, the person who just learned the rules changed, parsing terms like "Article 3-bis" with no idea whether any of it applies to them.

You deserve the version that answers the only question you came with: does this change my case, yes or no? For most people the honest answer is no. It confirms what was already true, and the work now is figuring out which of the three scenarios you're in.

If you're not sure which one is yours, that's exactly the read we do for free. Send us five facts about your Italian ancestor and we'll tell you where this ruling leaves you, plainly, within two business days.

Information current as of June 2026. Some related questions remain before Italy's Court of Cassation; we update this guidance as they're resolved.