Lega, the party that forms part of the Italian government, has presented an amendment to the bill on citizenship that changes controversial points in the previous text. The proposal recognizes the right to Italian citizenship to direct descendants — including grandchildren — even if neither they nor their parents were born in Italian territory.
The text modifies article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992, which deals with the recognition of citizenship by descent. The new wording, filed as AS 1432, eliminates the requirement of birth in Italy and reinforces the principle of jus sanguinis — that is, the right transmitted by blood.
According to the proposal, it will be possible to recognize the Italian citizenship if one of the parents, or even a grandparent, is an Italian citizen. This corrects the previous attempt, by Decree-Law 36, to limit recognition only to those who had an ancestor born or resident in Italy.
The change especially benefits descendants of Italians living abroad, who already have another citizenship.
The weak point of the new Lega drafting – by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini – is that recognition of citizenship will only be possible if the application was submitted by 23:59 pm on March 27, 2025, local time Rome, in accordance with the legislation in force up to that date. The restriction may give rise to legal challenges.
The amendment also repeals sections that denied citizenship to those born outside Italy before the new rule came into effect, which created a legal contradiction by disregarding rights already guaranteed by other laws.
The former deputy Luiz Roberto Lorenzato, Lega representative in Brazil, celebrated the change: “It is a first victory. We have managed to eliminate the requirement of being born in Italy. Now, anyone who is the grandchild of an Italian will be able to recognize citizenship and then pass it on to their parents, as is already the case in Portugal.”
The proposal will still be put to a vote and may undergo changes, including the inclusion of new amendments from other parties or a “maximum amendment” from the government to clarify the issue of retroactivity. Until then, the debate will continue between parliamentarians and representatives of Italian communities abroad.
Read the amendment in full
AS 1432
AMENDMENT
ARTICLE 1
TOSATO, STEFANI, BIZZOTTO, PIROVANO, SPELGATTI
At comma 1, capoverso < >, apply the following modifications:
- all'alinea, sopprimere le parole da: “In deroga” thin alle seguenti parole: “n. 2358”;
- replace the letter c) with the following: “c) a parent or adoptee or an ascendant of the first grade of the parent or adoptee is a citizen”;
- sopprimere le lettere d) and d e).
Comment: In materia di riconoscimento di cittadinanza per i nati e residenti all'estero, già in possession di altra cittadinanza.
The legge 91/1992, which is based on the right to the Italian cittadinanza, predicts that “it is a cittadino per birth in the figlio of the priest or the mother of the cittadini”. Il decree legge in esame introduces an article in derogation to the question cardine principle, predicting that the Italian cittadinanza does not automatically pass to the figlio itself, but that the genitore debba essere nato in Italy or debba aver vissuto almeno 2 anni in Italy o che un nonno sia nato in Italia.
The amendment to the letter a) chiarisce che si agisce nel perimetro dello ius sanguinis, la lettera b) ribadisce che la transmissione fra genitore e figlio è automatica e che è cittadino italiana anche colui che abbia il nonno cittadino italiana, a prescindere dal luogo di nascita e dalla residenza.
Resulting test that modifies regulations
Article 1. (Urgent provision in matters of public health)
1. Alla legge 5 February 1992, n. 91, in article 3 the following is inserted: «Art. 3-bis – 1. In derogation agli articoli 1, 2, 3, 14 e 20 della presente legge, all'articolo 5 della legge 21 aprile 1983, n. 123, agli articoli 1, 2, 7, 10, 12 e 19 della legge 13 giugno 1912, n. 555, nonché agli articoli 4, 5, 7, 8 e 9 del codice civile approvato con regio decree 25 giugno 1865, n. 2358, it is considered that no longer acquisto the Italian cittadinanza that is native all'estero before the date of entry into force of this article and is in possession of another cittadinanza, unless it comes to one of the following conditions:
a) the status of the city's interest is rich in reference to the normative application applicable on March 27, 2025, following the submission, correct data of the necessary documentation, presenting all the necessary information to console or to the competent authority not later than 23:59, now Rome, from the middle date;
b) the status of the interest of interest is legally correct, at the risk of the regulations applicable on March 27, 2025, following the directive presented at 23:59, now in Rome, on the same date;
c) a parent or adopter the ascendant of my first degree gave birth to the first adoptive parent is a citizen is born in Italy;
d) a parent or adopted child is resident in Italy for a long time due to the continuation of the date of birth or adoption of the child;
e) An ascendant citizen of my first generation was born in Italy. ».
2. All'articolo 19-bis of the legislative decree 1st September 2011, n. 150, which applies to the following modifications: a) the rubric is just the same as the following: «Controversy in the matter of the settlement of the status of the policy and Italian citizenship»; b) dopo il comma 2 sono aggiunti i seguenti: « 2-bis. Salvi i casi espressamente previsti dalla legge, nelle controversie in materia di accertamento della cittadinanza italiana non sono ammessi il giuramento e la testimoniale. 2-ter. In this controversy in the matter of the Italian city's agreement, the Italian city's agreement is tenuto ad allegare and proves the insussistenza of the cause of the lack of achievement or loss of the city's city foresight of the legge.».
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