Italian Citizenship Eligibility Guide 2026 and Document Kit

Since 28 March 2025, the rules on Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) — the route many Americans know as Italian dual citizenship — are not the ones most families have heard about. A new provision, Article 3-bis of Law No. 91 of 1992, limits recognition for people born abroad with another citizenship, and many eligibility pages still describe the old rules. This Italian citizenship eligibility guide explains the law as it stands in September 2026, and the Document Kit shows how to build the file once you know you qualify.

Both are written by Marco Bersani, Avvocato (Bar of Verona) and Abogado ejerciente (Bar of Madrid), whose firm litigates citizenship by descent cases before Italian courts.

Not ready to buy? Download the free one-page check on the 27 March 2025 cutoff.

Immediate download. Payment is processed by our sales platform, which acts as the seller of record and handles sales tax. Updates included.

Who this Italian citizenship eligibility guide is for

It is for you if you have Italian ancestry — an Italian parent, grandparent or more distant ancestor — and want to understand, before you spend money on certificates, whether you can still obtain Italian citizenship, and by which route. In particular:

• You want to know whether you qualify for Italian citizenship after the 2025 reform, and why.
• You plan to apply for Italian citizenship at an Italian consulate yourself and want to prepare the file properly.
• Your Italian ancestor was a great-grandparent or a more distant relative, and you need to know whether that line still counts.
• Your family history includes a naturalization, a woman in the line before 1948, or a grandparent who was a minor child when a parent naturalized.

It is not a substitute for legal advice on your own case. If you would rather have a lawyer read your family history, see our free eligibility check below.

What is inside the Eligibility Guide

Twenty-three pages, in plain English, organized around the question most people are really asking: do I still qualify for Italian citizenship by descent, and what can I do about it?

• The 27 March 2025 cutoff. The Italian citizenship requirements after the reform: what Article 3-bis says, and the five exceptions that still allow recognition — including the rule on a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, and the rule on a parent who lived in Italy for two consecutive years.
• A three-color self-test. Eight questions that sort your situation into GREEN (the administrative route appears open), YELLOW (a case for Italian courts) or RED (no route apparent today).
• The naturalization question. How to check whether your Italian-born ancestor broke the chain by becoming a citizen of a foreign country before the next child’s birth, and who must prove what.
• The “minor issue” and the 1948 rule. What the Italian courts decided in 2009 and in 2026, stated precisely — what each ruling decided, and what it only allows you to argue.
• Consular blockage. What the Court of Cassation held in May 2026 about applicants who could never obtain an appointment.
• Consulate or court. Where each route leads — the Italian consulate where the applicant resides, or a court in Italy — how long it realistically takes, and why the court route is not a shortcut.
• Special situations. Ancestors from former Austro-Hungarian territories, former Italian citizens who can reacquire citizenship until 31 December 2027, and the declaration for a minor child of a recognized citizen, now extended to 31 May 2029.
• What is still open. The reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union and the other questions that could change your result.

What is inside the Document Kit: your citizenship application file

Thirteen pages and a companion workbook, for the part that most often goes wrong: assembling the necessary documents.

• Which documents, for whom. The birth certificate, marriage certificate and death record for every person in the direct line, and the naturalization evidence for the Italian ancestor.
• Italian records. How to request the full birth record from the Italian municipality, and why it needs no apostille.
• US records and apostilles. Which office issues the apostille for state records and for federal records, and in what order to proceed.
• Naturalization records. How the USCIS Genealogy Program works, step by step, and why a “no record” response is often the most useful page in the file.
• Translations, and names that do not match. How to handle Giuseppe in Italy and Joseph in New York without weakening the application.
• The ten most common mistakes, and when to stop and have the case assessed.

The workbook includes your family chart, a Key Facts sheet with three automatic checks that point you to the right chapter, a fictional worked example, and a document tracker that shows what is ordered, received, apostilled and translated.

Updates are included. The law on citizenship by descent is moving, and so is the practice of Italian authorities. When a court decision or a change in Italian law affects the content, buyers receive the revised edition by email at no cost.

How this differs from our free eligibility check

Frequently asked questions

Do I qualify for Italian citizenship by descent?

Since the 2025 reform, it depends on whether you fall within one of the five exceptions in Article 3-bis — above all, whether a parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship, or whether you had filed before the cutoff. The self-test in Chapter 2 walks you through it.

What are the new rules for Italian citizenship by descent in 2026?

The 2025 law is still in force. The Constitutional Court upheld it in April 2026, and in July 2026 it referred a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Guide explains what that does and does not change.

What are the eligibility criteria for Italian citizenship?

For citizenship by descent: an unbroken line from an Italian citizen ancestor, no loss of citizenship along the line under the law in force at the time, and — for anyone born abroad with another citizenship — one of the exceptions in Article 3-bis. Other routes, such as marriage or residence, have different criteria and are not covered by this Guide.

Can I keep my US citizenship if I obtain Italian dual citizenship?

US law does not require you to give up US citizenship to hold Italian citizenship. Other countries have their own rules; if you hold a third citizenship, check that country’s law as well.

Will this guide tell me whether I will get an Italian passport?

No. It explains the law and helps you sort your situation. No guide, and no honest professional, can promise an outcome.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is general information and does not create an attorney–client relationship.

Can I get a refund?

All sales are final, except where applicable consumer protection law gives you a right to cancel or to a refund. Purchases are processed by our sales platform, which acts as the seller of record, and its terms apply to your order. If a file is corrupted or cannot be downloaded, write to us at guides@mbersanilaw.com and we will send a working copy.

General information only. Not legal advice. Law and case law as of 15 September 2026. © 2026 Bersani Law Firm & Partners.