Italy’s Official Gazette of 28 February published Law No. 26/2026, converting Decree-Law 200/2025 and, crucially, pushing from 31 May 2026 to 31 May 2029 the deadline for foreign-born minor children of Italian citizens to file a ‘beneficio di legge’ declaration of citizenship at consulates worldwide. The three-year extension gives breathing space to thousands of families who struggled to secure appointments on the over-subscribed Prenot@Mi platform.
![Law 26/2026 Extends Deadline for Minor Children to Claim Italian Citizenship]()
To help families and employers navigate the updated requirements and secure hard-to-find consular bookings, VisaHQ offers end-to-end document and visa support for Italy, including apostille coordination, sworn translations and appointment scheduling through its portal at https://www.visahq.com/italy/
Consular posts in Brussels, Chicago and Buenos Aires have already updated guidance, but applicants must still present full birth certificates, proof of uninterrupted parental citizenship and evidence of residency at the time of declaration. For global-mobility teams the change reduces the risk that employees on expatriate assignments will age-out dependants and lose access to EU free-movement rights. Companies should audit assignee files to identify children approaching majority and schedule notarisation of required documents well before the new deadline; demand for apostille services is expected to spike. Immigration lawyers note that Law 26 also streamlines judicial procedures for contested citizenship cases, introducing a fast-track tribunal route expected to cut average rulings from 24 to 12 months. HR should monitor how courts interpret transitional provisions, particularly for children who turn 18 between the old and new deadlines.
To help families and employers navigate the updated requirements and secure hard-to-find consular bookings, VisaHQ offers end-to-end document and visa support for Italy, including apostille coordination, sworn translations and appointment scheduling through its portal at https://www.visahq.com/italy/
Consular posts in Brussels, Chicago and Buenos Aires have already updated guidance, but applicants must still present full birth certificates, proof of uninterrupted parental citizenship and evidence of residency at the time of declaration. For global-mobility teams the change reduces the risk that employees on expatriate assignments will age-out dependants and lose access to EU free-movement rights. Companies should audit assignee files to identify children approaching majority and schedule notarisation of required documents well before the new deadline; demand for apostille services is expected to spike. Immigration lawyers note that Law 26 also streamlines judicial procedures for contested citizenship cases, introducing a fast-track tribunal route expected to cut average rulings from 24 to 12 months. HR should monitor how courts interpret transitional provisions, particularly for children who turn 18 between the old and new deadlines.
