The Italian Interior Ministry has circulated fresh instructions to municipal civil-status offices on how to implement this year’s overhaul of citizenship-by-descent (ius sanguinis) legislation. The circular, dated 22 December and published on the specialist portal Immigrazione.biz, clarifies procedures following the conversion into law of Decree-Law 36/2025.
Key change: automatic transmission of citizenship is now limited to two generations born abroad. Applicants who cannot demonstrate that either a parent or grandparent was born in Italy must meet new ‘effective link’ tests—such as documented cultural ties or periods of residence in Italy—before filing at a consulate or city hall. The circular instructs town registrars to pause applications outside these parameters and to re-open dormant files only if the stricter criteria are satisfied.
![Interior Ministry Issues Operational Circular on New Citizenship-by-Descent Rules]()
In this shifting landscape, VisaHQ can streamline the process for those who no longer qualify automatically or who need alternative pathways. Through its portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/), the company offers personalised guidance on securing Italian visas—such as Elective Residence Permits—as well as document legalisation and appointment scheduling, helping applicants and employers stay compliant with the new rules.
For global-mobility practitioners, the impact is twofold. First, fewer employees of Italian heritage will qualify automatically for passports that facilitate EU-wide work. Second, companies counting on speedy citizenship to avoid local work-permit quotas must now plan for longer lead-times or alternative visa categories (e.g., the Elective Residence Permit). Lawyers note that judicial appeals remain possible, but backlogs in regional administrative courts can exceed 18 months.
The circular also re-opens, until 30 June 2026, the window for former citizens who lost nationality before 1992 to reacquire it via a simplified declaration at the consulate, provided they relocate to Italy within one year. Municipalities have been told to create dedicated in-person slots and to accept digital copies of foreign vital-records certificates, a nod to ongoing pressure to digitise consular workflows.
Key change: automatic transmission of citizenship is now limited to two generations born abroad. Applicants who cannot demonstrate that either a parent or grandparent was born in Italy must meet new ‘effective link’ tests—such as documented cultural ties or periods of residence in Italy—before filing at a consulate or city hall. The circular instructs town registrars to pause applications outside these parameters and to re-open dormant files only if the stricter criteria are satisfied.
In this shifting landscape, VisaHQ can streamline the process for those who no longer qualify automatically or who need alternative pathways. Through its portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/), the company offers personalised guidance on securing Italian visas—such as Elective Residence Permits—as well as document legalisation and appointment scheduling, helping applicants and employers stay compliant with the new rules.
For global-mobility practitioners, the impact is twofold. First, fewer employees of Italian heritage will qualify automatically for passports that facilitate EU-wide work. Second, companies counting on speedy citizenship to avoid local work-permit quotas must now plan for longer lead-times or alternative visa categories (e.g., the Elective Residence Permit). Lawyers note that judicial appeals remain possible, but backlogs in regional administrative courts can exceed 18 months.
The circular also re-opens, until 30 June 2026, the window for former citizens who lost nationality before 1992 to reacquire it via a simplified declaration at the consulate, provided they relocate to Italy within one year. Municipalities have been told to create dedicated in-person slots and to accept digital copies of foreign vital-records certificates, a nod to ongoing pressure to digitise consular workflows.
