The General Council of Italians Abroad (CGIE) has rejected DDL 1450/2025, a bill presented to the Italian Senate that changes access to Italian citizenship jure sanguinis (by blood). The proposal further restricts the right of descendants born abroad and extinguishes citizenship by marriage for those residing outside Italy.
The CGIE's opinion, released on August 4, classifies the text as unconstitutional and discriminatory. The council believes the bill "violates the principles of equality and non-retroactivity" by limiting rights that are judicially recognized as imprescriptible.
What does DDL 1450 propose?
Officially presented on April 8, 2025 and signed by Minister Antonio Tajani, DDL 1450 is under analysis by the Senate Constitutional Affairs Committee, and is expected to advance next September.
The proposal reinforces the guidelines of Decree-Law 36/2025 (Tajani Decree) and introduces new provisions that directly affect descendants, spouses and minors abroad.
Among the most relevant new changes are:
- End of citizenship by marriage for residents outside Italy. Citizenship can only be requested after two years of legal residence in Italian territory, eliminating the previous rule of three years of marriage abroad.
- Maximum period of 48 months to complete administrative processes of citizenship and 12 months to execute final court decisions, after a formal request from the interested party. In other words, the comune will have 12 months to complete the transcription of the certificates.
- Loss of citizenship due to lack of effective ties with Italy for 25 years, valid for those with dual nationality. For those born after the law came into effect, the loss is presumed if the birth certificate is not transcribed in Italian records by the age of 25.
- Prohibition of the use of witnesses or oath as evidence in citizenship recognition processes.
- Increase in consular fees from €600 to €700 for requests for recognition via consular channels.
The text of the proposal also emphasizes that citizenship must represent a “concrete expression of belonging to the national community,” overcoming the model of automatic transmission by blood ties.
CGIE Reaction
For the CGIE, DDL 1450 excludes thousands of descendants of Italians from the right to citizenship and must be corrected to avoid legal distortions. In an official statement, the organization points out that the proposal maintains unconstitutionalities already present in Decree-Law 36/2025, especially when establishing a retroactive framework for the recognition of an imprescriptible right.
“Bill 1450/2025 maintains the unconstitutionalities already introduced by DL 36/2025, in particular by introducing a distinction between holders of the same genealogical requirements before and after March 27, 2025: the introduction of a retroactive term for an imprescriptible right”, states the opinion.
The note also criticizes the government's central argument, which links the tightening of rules to the preservation of national identity.
“The norm does not protect national identity, but penalizes it in those who experience it in a transnational dimension.”
Despite its opposing position, the CGIE is in favor of a legislative reform that is constructed in a participatory manner, based on dialogue and respect for already consolidated rights.
"By expressing a negative opinion on this bill, but a positive one regarding a process of reforming the citizenship law, the CGIE remains available for further dialogue in the full exercise of its institutional role," the note concludes.
Read the full note here: CGIE Opinion
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