The Italian Court of Cassation has ruled that a child born abroad, who is Italian by descent and also a citizen of the country where he was born, does not lose Italian citizenship If your father or mother becomes a naturalized foreigner while you are still a minor.
The decision, taken by the United Sections and published this Monday (27)This brings to a close in the Italian judiciary the controversy known as the "minor issue," which in recent years has led to the rejection of applications for recognition of citizenship by descent.
Based on the principle of law established by the court, the judges affirm that a minor born abroad to an Italian father or mother, in a country that grants citizenship by birth, "He is a rightfully bipolar citizen from birth and retains Italian citizenship." even in the event of subsequent naturalization or loss of Italian nationality by the parent.
The decision concerns the interpretation of articles 7 and 12 of Law 555 of 1912, the old Italian legislation on citizenship.
The new law will now be reviewed by the European Union's courts. And there are European precedents that strengthen the defense of descendants.
- New legal front opened
- Processes can still be filed.
- Individual analysis of your case.
Article 7 protected Italian citizens born in another country who had also acquired citizenship of that country from birth. Article 12, in turn, provided for situations in which the loss of citizenship by parents could have effects on minor children.
In recent years, decisions by the Court of Cassation itself have begun to admit an interpretation that allows Article 12 to be applied even to children who were born with dual citizenship. According to this interpretation, the naturalization of the father or mother could interrupt the transmission of Italian citizenship even when the child was already Italian and a foreigner from birth.
The United Sections rejected this understanding.
"It is not possible to resort to one rule, that of article 12, to resolve situations regulated by another, that of article 7," the ruling states. The court says that the two rules govern autonomous situations.
Loss requires a choice from the citizen themselves.
One of the rationales behind the decision lies in how citizenship could be lost by those born with dual nationalities.
According to the Cassation Office, the situation of those who acquired Italian citizenship from birth. jure sanguinis and the foreigner iure alone It is regulated autonomously by article 7.
In these cases, the court states, the loss of Italian citizenship requires a "voluntary and conscious choice" from the citizen himself.
The naturalization of the father or mother, therefore, could not automatically produce this effect on the child.
The reasoning also delves into the nature of the right to citizenship. The United Sections reaffirm that the status of citizen constitutes a "permanent and imprescriptible subjective right" and consider an interpretation of the grounds for loss of citizenship to be excessively broad, as it could compromise acquired citizenship. jure sanguinis.
The passage reinforces one of the central points of the decision: citizenship acquired from birth cannot be considered extinguished by a choice made later by another person, in this case, the father or mother.
Upon examining the specific situation, the Cassation Office states that the son "retained Italian citizenship" even after the parent became a naturalized foreigner and lost their own Italian citizenship while the child was still a minor.
Who could lose their citizenship?
The ruling also establishes the circumstances under which Article 12 could have an effect on a minor child.
According to the United Sections, "only an unemancipated minor who exclusively holds Italian citizenship" It may suffer the effects of the loss of citizenship on the part of the parent in the cases provided for by the old legislation.
The Constitutional Court's decision changed the landscape. The new citizenship law will now be reviewed by the European Union's courts of justice.
This distinction is relevant for descendants of Italians born in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and the United States, where legislation grants citizenship by birth in the territory.
In these cases, the child of an Italian citizen could be born with dual citizenship: Italian citizenship, transmitted by blood, and that of the country of birth.
This is precisely the situation that the United Sections say is protected by Article 7.
The change began with decisions made by the Cassation Office itself.
For decades, Italian administrative interpretation held that the subsequent naturalization of a parent did not remove the citizenship of a child who was already born with dual nationality.
The situation has changed following more recent decisions by the Cassation Committee.
In 2024, the Ministry of the Interior incorporated this guidance into public administration. The interpretation then began to affect requests submitted to Italian consulates and municipalities, as well as judicial proceedings.
The controversy became known as "questione del minore" in Italy, or "minor issue," an expression widely used among descendants abroad.
The United Sections' decision once again changes judicial understanding by affirming that the bipolar minor was protected by the specific rule of Article 7.
Mother and father are treated equally.
The United Sections also established a principle regarding transmission through the maternal line.
The sentence determines that "full equality of mother and father"This applies both to the acquisition of citizenship by birth and to the analysis of the effects of the eventual loss of nationality by one of the parents.
The rule prevents equivalent situations from having different consequences depending on whether citizenship was transmitted by the mother or the father.
Previous decision is overturned.
In the case under review, the United Sections overturned the decision of the Rome Court of Appeal, which had adopted the restrictive interpretation.
The Cassation Office states that the appealed sentence was in “evident contrast” based on the principles established in the new decision.
The process will return to Rome Court of Appeal, which will have to conduct a new trial following the principles of law established by the United Sections.
Attorney Monica Lis Restanio, who worked on the case, stated after the result was announced that the "issue of the minor" can be considered closed. "at least before the courts".
The caveat refers primarily to the administrative effects of the decision.
It remains to be seen how the Italian Ministry of the Interior, consulates, and municipalities will adapt their procedures, and what will happen to applications that have already been rejected based on the interpretation now overturned by the Court of Cassation.
The annulment makes direct reference to the Tajani Law.
The ruling also addresses the citizenship reform approved in 2025, although this was not the central issue in the case.
The United Sections expressly mention Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992, introduced by Decree-Law 36/2025 and subsequently converted into Law 74/2025, known as the Tajani Law.
In the first principle of law established by the court, the Court of Cassation states that this new discipline This does not apply to legal actions for recognition of citizenship status filed before March 27, 2025..
This does not mean that the United Sections have invalidated the Tajani Law.
The "issue of minors" and the 2025 reform are distinct legal problems.
The first discussion addresses whether citizenship acquired at birth could be lost due to the subsequent naturalization of the parent, based on Law 555/1912.
The Tajani Law created new limitations on the recognition of citizenship for people born abroad, through article 3-bis of the current Law 91/1992.
The validity of these restrictions continues to be discussed separately.
With this new decision, therefore, the Court of Cassation resolves a controversy that had altered the interpretation of Italian citizenship in recent years, but it does not end the broader dispute provoked by the reform approved in 2025.
The full text can be read and downloaded here: www.cortedicassazione.it
Jicxjo
27 July 2026 13 at: 21
We live in such bizarre times of attacks on the law that reaffirming obvious fundamental principles and rights has become a revolutionary act.
André Bussioli
27 July 2026 13 at: 40
We are seeing a more favorable horizon again! May this unconstitutional retroactivity be resolved once and for all. We hope that confidence in the law will be preserved. The battle is long, and we must remain vigilant!
Thiago Yamanaka
27 July 2026 13 at: 45
Very good, we'll keep our fingers crossed!