The Italian government published a decree in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on Tuesday, the 25th, regulating the facilitated entry of descendants of Italians residing in countries with a strong presence of emigrants. This measure is part of the implementation of the Tajani Decree, approved in March and enacted into law in May 2025.
The regulation allows entry into Italy, outside of immigration quotas, for descendants of Italians who hold citizenship in seven countries with more than 100 Italians registered in the AIRE (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad).
The government uses data from December 31, 2024, to justify the creation of this list. Argentina has 989.901 Italians registered in the AIRE (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad). O Brazil has 682.300The United States has 241.056 cases. Australia has 166.848. Canada has 148.251. Venezuela and Uruguay have 116.396 and 115.658, respectively.
If Brazil remained among the countries subject to quotas, fewer than 50 positions would be offered to self-employed workers over four years. With the new rule, the number of authorizations for Italian-Brazilians becomes unlimited for subordinate jobs.
The measure applies to descendants of Italian citizens living abroad who hold citizenship of one of the countries mentioned in the decree. They will be able to apply for a residence permit for employment, even outside the limits of the migration quota system.
After two years of legal residency in Italy with this type of permit, these descendants will be able to apply for... Italian citizenship through facilitated naturalization.
Daniel Taddone, advisor to CGIE (General Council of Italians Abroad)He comments that the decision was already expected. "It was to be expected because this was already foreseen in the text that came out of the conversion of the decree into law, that they were going to say in which countries there would be a considerable presence, a considerable flow of Italian immigration."
However, he states that the basis used to define the list raises doubts. "Obviously, in my opinion, this demonstrates a misinterpretation of the issue of citizenship, because citizenship, in my opinion, is something very personal; it's not something that has to do with where you immigrated to."
Criteria for selecting countries
The decree states that the list was defined taking into account the current consistency of Italian communities abroad. Only countries with more than 100 Italians registered in the AIRE (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad) by December 31, 2024, were included.
South Africa, Mexico, Peru, and Chile were left out. The proposal to include them was presented by the General Council of Italians Abroad, but it was not accepted. The text stipulates that any eventual expansion will depend on new decrees.
Taddone questions the criteria used. “What makes a descendant in Brazil more meritorious than a descendant who is in Paraguay or, I don’t know, South Africa? I can’t see it.” He adds that “absolutely arbitrary criteria are being favored that are not under the control of the citizen.”
New approach to migration
The inclusion of article 1-bis in decree-law 36 of 2025, during its passage through the Senate, allowed for the development of a policy focused on... recovery from italian root, a concept that encourages descendants to return to their Italian roots.
The initiative also seeks to reduce the burden on the judiciary, which deals with thousands of cases of recognition of citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis).
The decree is signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, along with the Ministers of the Interior and Labor.
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