A judgment of the Court of Roma, issued on April 2, 2025, reaffirmed the obligation for Italian consulates to issue a certificate of citizenship for minors adopted abroad, provided that the adoption was regularly transcribed in Italy.
The case involved a Italian citizen by naturalization, resident in Pratola Peligna, in the province of L'Aquila, but domiciled in Tunisia. She obtained an adoption order for her nephew, who was in a situation of abandonment, in the Court of Sousse, in Tunisia.
The foreign decision was transcribed in the civil registry of Pratola Peligna based on articles 64, 65 and 66 of Law No. 218/1995, a law that regulates Italian private international law. With this, the municipality recognized the validity of the judgment and declared the Italian citizenship of the minor, as provided for in article 3 of Law No. 91/1992.
As the minor resides abroad, it is up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the local Italian embassy, to issue the certificate of citizenship, in accordance with article 16 of Decree No. 572/1993 and articles 10 and 11 of Legislative Decree No. 71/2011.
Despite the documents being complete and several requests having been made, the Italian embassy in Tunisia did not issue the document. In view of this, the family appealed to the courts, represented by lawyers Arselinda Shoshi and Admira Beqiraj.
Only after the court summons did the embassy issue the certificate. The court considered the demand met, closing the case, but took the opportunity to reinforce two fundamental points: the validity of the transcription of the foreign adoption and the consular obligation to recognize citizenship when all legal requirements are met.
The sentence (n. 5058/2025) reiterates that the Italian citizenship it automatically results from the legally transcribed adoption and that consulates cannot fail to fulfill this legal duty.
FOLLOW-US
