Rejected for the “Minor Issue”? Italy’s New Interior Ministry Circular No. 65050/2026 Officially Reopens Denied Italian Citizenship Cases

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Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney–client relationship. It is based on the text of Ministry of the Interior Circular Prot. No. 0065050 of 10 August 2026 and the case law cited, as verified on 14 August 2026; administrative practice under the circular is still developing. For advice on your specific situation, please contact a qualified attorney. — Bersani Law, 14 August 2026.

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If your Italian citizenship by descent application was rejected because of the “minor issue” — an ancestor who naturalized abroad while his or her child was still a minor — stop what you are doing and read this. On 10 August 2026, Italy’s Ministry of the Interior issued Circular Prot. No. 65050, and it does something Italian ministerial circulars almost never do: it tells the authorities to go back and fix past denials.

Between late 2024 and mid-2026, thousands of Italian citizenship applicants received rejection letters from Italian consulates and municipal offices. The reason cited in many of those denials was the so called “minor issue,” a legal question about whether a child lost Italian citizenship when a parent naturalized in a foreign country. On 26 July 2026, Italy’s Supreme Court resolved that question. Weeks later, the Italian government followed with an administrative instruction that reopens the path for many of those denied applicants.

This article explains what changed, who benefits, and how to act on it.

In plain terms, the Interior Ministry has now formally instructed Prefectures — and, through them, Italian mayors and civil status officials, with Italy’s Foreign Ministry copied for the consular network — that the restrictive “minor issue” interpretation applied since October 2024 is officially superseded, and that people whose applications were denied on that basis can request a re-examination (riesame) of their original application, to be decided under the law in force when they first applied. For anyone who filed before the 27 March 2025 reform cutoff, that means the old, pre-reform rules — without the two-generation limit of Article 3-bis.

And because consular backlogs and appointment paralysis remain a reality across the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, Brazil and Argentina, the same legal turnaround that powers the circular also powers something else: a judicial route through the Italian courts for those whose consular applications were rejected — or who could never get an appointment at all. This article explains exactly what Circular No. 65050/2026 says, who qualifies for re-examination, the critical date windows, and how to decide between the administrative and the court route in 2026–2027.

Was your Italian citizenship application denied over an ancestor’s naturalization? Request a free case evaluation from Bersani Law — we will tell you within days whether Circular No. 65050/2026 reopens your case, and which route gets you to recognition fastest.

What Is Circular Prot. No. 65050 of 10 August 2026?

The circular was issued by the Ministry of the Interior — Department for Civil Liberties and Immigration, Central Directorate for Civil Rights, Citizenship and Minorities (protocol no. 0065050 of 10 August 2026). It is addressed to all Prefects, the Government Commissioners for Trento and Bolzano and the President of the Valle d’Aosta Region, and copied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate General for Italian Citizens Abroad and Migration Policies) and to the Central Directorate for Demographic Services — in other words, to the entire administrative machinery that processes Italian citizenship jure sanguinis applications in Italy and, through the Foreign Ministry, abroad.

Its subject line says it all: “Recognition of Italian citizenship iure sanguinis — Relationship between Article 7 and Article 12 of Law No. 555/1912 — New interpretive guidelines issued by the Joint Sections of the Court of Cassation.”

The circular is the administrative follow-through to Sezioni Unite Judgment No. 24045 of 26 July 2026, the Supreme Court ruling that ended the “minor issue” — which we analyzed in depth in our article on Judgment No. 24045/2026 and what it means for Italian citizenship by descent in 2027. With Circular No. 65050/2026, the Ministry expressly declares that the restrictive guidelines of its earlier Circular No. 43347 of 3 October 2024 — the document that triggered two years of rejections — are “to be considered superseded” for naturalizations occurring between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992, and instructs Prefects to relay the new position to mayors and civil status officials so that administrative practice conforms to the Supreme Court.

What Is the “Minor Issue” in Italian Citizenship Law?

In most fields, a minor issue is a low-friction customer grievance that is easily resolvable, a bug that has a negligible impact on system functionality, or a small out-of-scope deviation that does not threaten project deadlines. Minor everyday problems are usually manageable rather than emergencies. In contract law, a minor issue is a procedural error that does not constitute a material breach of contract. In automotive engineering, a minor issue involves a non-critical component failure that does not render a vehicle unsafe. Severity levels in IT include minor issues that cause inconvenience or limited impairment; minor issues can usually be worked around without disruption; they are often cosmetic or usability-related and do not prevent task completion. A minor issue does not stop a system from working or block users from their main tasks.

In Italian citizenship law, the term means something different entirely, and the consequences are anything but minor.

The minor issue arises when an Italian parent naturalized in a foreign country while a child (or ancestor in the descent line) was still a minor under Italian law. Some Italian consulates and courts historically treated that child as having lost Italian citizenship together with the parent, breaking the jure sanguinis chain for all future generations. Other courts and scholars argued the opposite: that the child retained citizenship, especially if the child was born with Italian dual citizenship in a jus soli country. This split created uncertainty for thousands of Italian citizenship applicants worldwide.

Here is a concrete example. An Italian citizen emigrated to the United States in 1910. His son was born in New York in 1917, acquiring both Italian citizenship by descent and American citizenship by birth (jus soli). The father became an American citizen in 1925, when the son was eight years old. Under one interpretation, the son lost Italian citizenship at age eight because his Italian parent naturalized. Under the opposite reading, the son never lost it because he was already a citizen of another country at birth. That single disagreement can determine whether the son’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren are eligible for Italian citizenship by descent today, more than a century later.

How we got here: from Ordinance 17161/2023 to the Sezioni Unite

The circular itself reconstructs the whole arc. In Ordinance No. 17161/2023, the Court of Cassation held that a child born abroad — a dual citizen from birth under Article 7 of Law No. 555/1912 — nonetheless lost Italian citizenship if the cohabiting father voluntarily naturalized while the child was a minor, under Article 12(2) of the same law; Ordinance No. 454/2024 extended the same logic to the pre-1912 provisions of the 1865 Civil Code. The Interior Ministry adopted that reading in Circular No. 43347/2024, and consulates, municipalities and Prefectures began denying applications wherever the line ran through a minor at the time of an ancestor’s naturalization — with the transmission line considered broken unless the ancestor had reacquired Italian citizenship after coming of age.

The Sezioni Unite reversed course. As quoted in the circular, the Joint Sections held that Article 7 governs the distinct, autonomous condition of dual citizenship from birth (bipolidia), and that Article 12 simply cannot be applied to it: the two rules regulate different situations, and their “total autonomy… does not tolerate any promiscuity or applicative limits.” The circular then sets out the binding principles for all pending recognition procedures:

• a non-emancipated minor born abroad to an Italian parent in a jus soli country is a dual citizen by law from birth and keeps Italian citizenship even if the Italian parent naturalizes or loses citizenship, subject only to international treaties or the person’s own renunciation as an adult;
• Article 12 of Law No. 555/1912 can affect only a minor who held exclusively Italian citizenship and acquired the foreign one derivatively through the cohabiting parent’s naturalization;
• the full equality of mothers and fathers — established by Constitutional Court Judgments No. 87/1975 and No. 30/1983 — applies both to the transmission of citizenship and to the consequences of a parent’s loss of citizenship on the child.

Bottom line: the parent’s naturalization between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992 no longer breaks the line for a child who was a dual citizen from birth — and the Ministry has now ordered its entire administrative apparatus to apply this rule.

The Game-Changer: Re-Examination of Denied Applications — Under the Old Rules

Here is the part that makes Circular No. 65050/2026 extraordinary, and why it should set off alarm bells (the good kind) for thousands of families. For cases already decided negatively in the meantime, the circular states that interested parties — far from having to submit a new application, which would be assessed under today’s restrictive law — “may request exclusively a mere re-examination (riesame) of their original application.”

Read that again, because the legal consequences are enormous:

• It is not a new application. A new application filed today would run head-first into Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992 — the two-generation limit introduced by Decree-Law No. 36/2025, converted into Law No. 74/2025. The re-examination avoids that trap entirely.
• The old legal framework applies. The circular is explicit: if the denial was based solely on the superseded minor-issue interpretation (Ordinance No. 17161/2023), a new decision must be adopted following the Sezioni Unite, “applying the legal framework in force at the time the application for recognition of citizenship was filed.”
• The 27 March 2025 cutoff is honored. If your original application was submitted before 27 March 2025 — or was based on an appointment communicated to you by the competent office by that date — the limitations of Article 3-bis do not apply to your re-examined case. Your great-grandparent line, your third- and fourth-generation claim, is assessed under the rules that existed when you applied.
• The same authority that denied you must handle it. Competence for the re-examination lies with the authority that issued the original denial — consulate, municipality or Prefecture — even if you have since moved your residence, in Italy or abroad.

In our experience, this is one of the most applicant-friendly instructions the Central Directorate has issued in years. It converts a Supreme Court victory into a concrete administrative remedy — and it implicitly concedes that the 2024–2026 denials were built on an interpretation that the highest court of the Republic has now dismantled.

Denied in 2024, 2025 or 2026 over the minor issue? You may be entitled to a re-examination under the pre-reform rules — but the request must be framed correctly, cite the right legal basis, and go to the right authority. Contact Bersani Law today for a free evaluation of your denial letter.

Who Qualifies for Re-Examination Under Circular No. 65050/2026?

Ask yourself these questions:

Question	Why it matters
Was your application denied because an ancestor naturalized while his/her child (the next person in your line) was a minor?	This is the “minor issue” fact pattern the circular addresses
Was the child in question born in a jus soli country (USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Australia…)?	Dual citizenship from birth triggers the protection of Article 7 of Law No. 555/1912
Did the ancestor’s naturalization occur between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992?	The circular’s scope — earlier naturalizations remain governed, for now, by the 1865 Civil Code as read by Ordinance No. 454/2024
Was the denial based solely on the old minor-issue interpretation (Circular 43347/2024 / Ordinance 17161/2023)?	If yes, the circular directs a new decision per the Sezioni Unite; if other defects were also cited, those must still be addressed
Was your original application filed by 27 March 2025 (or your appointment communicated by then)?	If yes, Article 3-bis two-generation limits do not apply to your re-examined application

If you answered yes across the board, you are squarely within the circular. If your naturalization event predates 1 July 1912, or your denial cited additional grounds, the analysis is more delicate — but by no means hopeless, particularly in court, where the Sezioni Unite’s equality-driven reasoning offers arguments the administration cannot explore on its own.

A typical American example

Your great-great-grandfather arrived from Sicily in 1900. His son — your great-grandfather — was born in New Jersey in 1915, a U.S. citizen by birth and Italian by descent. The father naturalized in 1922, when the boy was seven. In 2023 you applied at your consulate; in early 2025 you were denied, the letter citing the interrupted line under Article 12. Under Circular No. 65050/2026, that denial rested on an interpretation now formally superseded: your great-grandfather, a dual citizen from birth, never lost Italian citizenship. You may request re-examination of your original application — and because you applied in 2023, the two-generation limit does not touch you, even though your qualifying ancestor is a great-grandparent.

Impact on Italian Citizenship Applicants: Who Can Benefit Now?

Several groups stand to benefit:

• Applicants denied at an Italian consulate between late 2024 and mid-2026 for the minor issue. If the only basis for denial was the ancestor’s minor status at the time of a parent’s naturalization, these cases can be reopened.
• Applicants whose municipal recognition in Italy was refused on the same grounds. Comuni are also covered by the circular.
• Applicants considering court action in Italy whose cases are pending before tribunals or the Supreme Court. The new ruling and circular strengthen their legal arguments.
• American citizens, Canadian citizens, Brazilian citizens, Argentine citizens, and Australian citizens whose ancestors naturalized while minor children born in those jus soli countries were still in the household.

Descendants tracing their line through both male and female ancestors can benefit. Where a female ancestor never lost Italian citizenship but was previously disregarded by consular practice, the circular and Sezioni Unite jurisprudence strengthen recognition claims.

You can apply for citizenship at the Italian consulate in your jurisdiction, or through a comune in Italy if you establish residence there. The circular applies to both pathways.

How to Check If Your Case Is Affected by the Minor Issue

Follow these steps:

1. Map your Italian ancestry line. Identify your Italian born ancestor who emigrated. Note each person’s date of birth, place of birth, date of marriage, and date and place of death.
2. Locate the naturalization event. Find the exact date your ancestor (or the ancestor’s parent) naturalized in the foreign country. For American citizens, this means obtaining the Certificate of Naturalization or Declaration of Intention from USCIS or NARA. For other countries, contact the relevant national archive.
3. Calculate the child’s age at naturalization. Was the child (the next person in your descent line) under 21 (before 1975) or under 18 (after 1975) at the time of the parent’s naturalization? If yes, the minor issue is present in your case.
4. Check household composition. US census records from 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 show whether the child was living in the same household as the naturalizing parent. City directories and marriage records can also confirm separate residence or emancipation.
5. Determine birth citizenship. Was the child born in a jus soli country? If yes, the child held foreign citizenship at birth and falls under Article 7’s protection per the 2026 ruling.

It’s important to distinguish between a minor inconvenience and a warning sign of bigger problems. If the potential break occurs when an ancestor was still a minor and in the household, the case falls squarely within the scope of the 2026 circular and the Sezioni Unite jurisprudence. If there are additional issues (missing documents, female line before 1948, or a naturalization outside the 1912-1992 window), those require separate analysis.

Consular Paralysis Is Still Real — Which Is Why the Court Route Matters

Now for the strategic reality the circular does not solve. A right to re-examination is only as fast as the office that must exercise it — and the consular network remains, in mid-2026, severely congested: appointment systems saturated for years ahead, thousands of pending files, and staffing that has not caught up with demand. A re-examination request lodged with an overwhelmed consulate may simply join a very long queue.

This is where the second half of the strategy comes in. The Court of Cassation — in Ordinance No. 13818/2026, filed on 12 May 2026 — confirmed that recognition of Italian citizenship is a permanent and imprescriptible right and that applicants blocked by consular inaction may bring their claim directly before the Italian courts: the delay is not attributable to them. Combine that with the Sezioni Unite’s resolution of the minor issue and with the circular’s own confirmation that pre-cutoff applications are governed by the old rules, and a clear picture emerges for people denied at the consulate:

• Administrative route: a formal re-examination request under Circular No. 65050/2026, addressed to the authority that issued the denial — low cost, powerful legal basis, but timing dependent on that office’s workload;
• Judicial route: a petition before the competent Italian tribunal — since 22 June 2022, the tribunal of your ancestor’s place of birth (Law No. 206/2021) — where the judge applies the Sezioni Unite’s principles directly, on a predictable procedural track, with the whole family typically joining one case;
• Sequenced approach: in many cases the two can be combined — a documented re-examination request that goes unanswered within a reasonable time becomes further evidence of administrative inertia supporting the court petition.

Which route is right depends on your consulate or Prefecture, the wording of your denial, your documentation, and how many relatives share your line. What is no longer in doubt — after Judgment No. 24045/2026, Ordinance No. 13818/2026 and now Circular No. 65050/2026 — is that a minor-issue denial is not the end of your Italian citizenship journey. It is a document you can now overturn.

Consulate silent? Queue endless? Ask Bersani Law whether your family should take the judicial route — we file citizenship cases before tribunals across Italy and can often join parents, siblings and children in a single proceeding.

What About Cases Still Pending — or Never Filed?

Pending administrative applications

If your application is still sitting at a consulate or comune and contains a minor-issue fact pattern, the circular works in your favor prospectively: offices must now apply the Sezioni Unite’s principles to all pending recognition procedures. A well-drafted supplemental submission citing Circular No. 65050/2026 can pre-empt a wrongful denial and reposition your file.

Pending court cases

Judicial proceedings filed by 27 March 2025 are decided under the old rules, with Judgment No. 24045/2026 as the controlling interpretation. If the Avvocatura dello Stato raised minor-issue defenses in your case, expect them to lose their force — your counsel should ensure the court’s attention is drawn to both the judgment and the ministerial about-face.

Never applied before the cutoff?

Then the re-examination mechanism is not available to you, and a new application today falls under the two-generation limit of Article 3-bis. But that provision itself is now before the Court of Justice of the European Union, following Constitutional Court Order No. 147/2026 of 23 July 2026 — a referral that could reshape eligibility in 2027–2028. Families in this position should use this window to assemble their documentary file, so they can move immediately if Luxembourg opens the door. See our companion guide on residency routes to Italy in 2027 for bridge strategies in the meantime.

A Special Word for Maternal Lines and “1948 Cases”

Buried in the circular’s operative principles is a point of enormous practical value for maternal-line families. Principle (iv) states that the full equality of mother and father — established by Constitutional Court Judgments No. 87/1975 and No. 30/1983 — operates “not only for the transmission of citizenship at birth, but also for the consequences on the child of the parent’s loss of citizenship.”

Translation: if it was your Italian great-grandmother who naturalized abroad while her dual-citizen child was a minor, the analysis is now identical to the paternal scenario — the child kept Italian citizenship, and the line continued. For years, maternal lines carried a double burden: the pre-1948 discrimination that already forces many families into court (the “1948 cases” founded on Sezioni Unite Judgment No. 4466/2009 — see our complete 1948 case guide), compounded by minor-issue objections whenever a naturalization appeared in the chain. Circular No. 65050/2026 and the judgment behind it strip away the second burden entirely for the 1912–1992 window. If your 1948 case was weakened, suspended or advised against because of a minor-issue complication, that assessment is now obsolete — and because 1948 cases proceed in court anyway, the tribunal will apply Judgment No. 24045/2026 directly, circular or no circular.

Italian citizenship rights transmitted through a female ancestor historically required a 1948 court case because Italian women could not pass citizenship to children born before 1 January 1948. This limitation was struck down by Italy’s Constitutional Court, but recognition still requires a judicial petition rather than administrative processing.

The minor issue can overlap with female ancestor lines. Consider this scenario: an Italian woman emigrated to Argentina in 1905. Her father naturalized as an Argentine citizen in 1912, when she was 14. Under the strict interpretation, she lost Italian citizenship at 14, and her descendants have no claim. Under the 2026 ruling, if she was born in Argentina (jus soli) and held both citizenships from birth, Article 7 protects her Italian citizenship.

The 2026 circular and recent Cassation developments do not remove the need for 1948 cases. A descendant tracing through a woman who had children before 1 January 1948 still needs to go to court. But the minor issue resolution can improve the legal arguments available to preserve the mother’s or grandmother’s Italian citizenship within that judicial proceeding.

For applicants with both a 1948 issue and a minor issue in their line, the best path forward is often a combined judicial strategy that addresses both obstacles before an Italian court.

Administrative Riesame vs. Court Petition: Choosing Your Route

	Re-examination (riesame)	Judicial petition (tribunal)
Legal basis	Circular Prot. No. 65050 of 10 August 2026 + SU Judgment No. 24045/2026	SU Judgment No. 24045/2026 directly; Ordinance No. 13818/2026 for consular-inertia standing
Where	The exact authority that issued your denial (consulate, comune, Prefecture)	Tribunal of your Italian ancestor’s place of birth (Law No. 206/2021, in force since 22 June 2022)
Applicable rules	Framework in force at your original filing (pre-reform if filed by 27 March 2025)	Same principle for pre-cutoff positions; judge decides comprehensively
Cost	Low: legal memorandum and supporting file	Court fees plus counsel; often shared across family members joined in one case
Timing	Unpredictable — depends on the office’s backlog; consular paralysis remains the wild card	Procedurally predictable; typically one to three years to first-instance decision depending on the tribunal
Best when	Denial cites only the minor issue; office is responsive; documents already on file	Consulate unresponsive or appointment system blocked; mixed grounds of denial; multiple relatives; 1948 maternal lines

These are not mutually exclusive: a documented riesame request that meets silence strengthens the later court petition, proving the administration was given its chance to self-correct.

Practical Steps to Reopen or Strengthen Your Citizenship Application

The application process can be complex and time-consuming. Here is a high-level sequence:

1. Obtain your previous denial letter. Request the formal written denial from the consulate or comune that rejected your case. The letter should identify the legal basis for the rejection.
2. Analyze whether the denial rests on the minor issue. Compare the stated reasons with the principles in Circular No. 65050/2026 and Judgment No. 24045/2026. If the sole reason was the ancestor being a minor during the parent’s naturalization, the case is a candidate for re-examination.
3. Submit a reasoned request for reconsideration. Address the request to the consulate or comune, referencing the circular by protocol number and date, and citing the Sezioni Unite judgment. Attach any additional documentation that supports your case (proof of dual citizenship at birth, census records showing separate residence, etc.).
4. Consider filing in Italian courts. When consular delays or resistance make administrative remedies impractical, a judicial petition before an Italian court (Tribunale) may be more efficient. This is also the required route for 1948 cases and for many applicants whose consulates have multi-year backlogs.

Bersani Law Firm prepares formal legal opinions and appeals tailored to specific consulates and tribunals, using up-to-date jurisprudence from the Sezioni Unite and Constitutional Court.

Documentation Checklist Under the 2026 Framework

Core records needed for a reopened or new citizenship application:

Document	Purpose
Italian birth and marriage certificates for each ancestor in the line	Proves the jure sanguinis chain
Foreign birth, marriage, and death certificates	Establishes dates and locations for each generation
Complete naturalization records (or “negative” letters confirming no naturalization)	Determines if and when an ancestor became a foreign citizen
US Census records (1910, 1920, 1930, 1940) or equivalent population registers	Shows household composition and age at key dates
Proof of foreign citizenship at birth (e.g., birth certificate from a jus soli country)	Establishes dual citizenship ab origine, triggering Article 7 protection

You must provide authentic documents translated into Italian, legalized with an apostille or consular legalization, and formatted according to the receiving office’s standards.

A visual family chart showing where in the lineage the minor issue arises, and which records clarify it, can be a useful tool when presenting your case to officials or a qualified attorney.

How to Request a Re-Examination: Step by Step

1. Retrieve your denial. The exact wording matters: the circular’s fast lane applies where the denial rested exclusively on the superseded interpretation. Locate the decision, its date, protocol number and issuing authority.
2. Reconstruct the timeline. Original application date (or the date an appointment was communicated to you by the office) — before or after 27 March 2025? Ancestor’s naturalization date — between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992? Child’s birth in a jus soli country? These three dates decide everything.
3. Prepare the legal memorandum. The request should cite Circular Prot. No. 65050 of 10 August 2026, Sezioni Unite Judgment No. 24045/2026, and the principle that the framework in force at the original filing governs — and should demonstrate, documents in hand, that the sole ground of denial was the minor issue.
4. File with the authority that denied you — consulate, municipality or Prefecture — regardless of where you live now. Keep dated proof of submission.
5. Set a strategy clock. Decide in advance how long you will wait before escalating to the tribunal, and have the judicial file — full chain of certified records, apostilles, sworn translations, naturalization evidence — ready to go.

One caution against do-it-yourself enthusiasm: a re-examination request that mischaracterizes the denial, targets the wrong office, or accidentally frames itself as a new application can do real damage — including dragging a pre-cutoff position into the post-reform regime. This is a moment for precision, not templates downloaded from forums.

How Bersani Law Firm Assists with Minor Issue and Reopened Citizenship Cases

Bersani Law Firm is a Verona-based boutique practice led by attorney Marco Bersani, licensed in both Italy and Spain. The firm specializes in Italian citizenship law, investor visas (Golden Visa), elective residence, digital nomad visas, and high-net-worth relocation to Italy.

For minor issue cases, the firm provides:

• Eligibility reviews: analysis of your family tree against the 2026 ruling and circular
• Naturalization research: locating and verifying foreign naturalization records and “negative” letters
• Appeals of consular denials: drafting formal re-examination requests citing Circular 65050/2026 and Judgment No. 24045/2026
• Judicial petitions: representing clients before Italian tribunals, including 1948 cases and Sezioni Unite-related litigation
• Document coordination: managing apostilles, translations, and filings with Italian authorities

The firm represents clients from the USA, UK, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and other countries where the minor issue commonly arises.

One denial letter. Three dates. One well-aimed request. That is what stands between many families and the Italian passport they were wrongly refused. Send Bersani Law your denial for a free assessment — we answer with a concrete route, timeline and cost estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Circular No. 65050/2026 in one sentence?

It is the Interior Ministry’s instruction of 10 August 2026 directing Italian authorities to apply the Supreme Court’s resolution of the “minor issue” (Judgment No. 24045/2026) and allowing people denied on minor-issue grounds to request a re-examination of their original application under the law in force when they filed it.

My application was rejected by the consulate in 2025. Can I reapply?

Better: you can request a re-examination of your original application — not a new one — decided under the pre-reform rules if you filed (or your appointment was communicated) by 27 March 2025. And if the consulate cannot process it within a reasonable time, the judicial route before the Italian courts is available, with Cassation Ordinance No. 13818/2026 confirming that consular paralysis justifies direct court access.

Does the circular apply to naturalizations before 1912?

No. Its scope is naturalizations of the cohabiting parent occurring between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992. Earlier events remain governed by the 1865 Civil Code as interpreted by Ordinance No. 454/2024 — unless and until the Supreme Court says otherwise. Pre-1912 lines deserve individual legal analysis, particularly for the judicial route.

Do I lose the old rules if I ask for re-examination after the 2025 reform?

No — that is precisely the circular’s point. The re-examination is decided by applying the legal framework in force at the time of your original application. A pre-cutoff filing keeps the pre-reform rules, including for great-grandparent lines outside today’s two-generation limit.

Which office handles my re-examination if I have moved?

The authority that issued the original denial remains competent, even if you have since transferred your residence to Italy or elsewhere.

My denial cited the minor issue plus other problems. Am I out?

Not necessarily. The circular’s streamlined path presupposes a denial based exclusively on the superseded interpretation; mixed denials require the other grounds to be resolved too. In many such cases the tribunal, which reviews the claim comprehensively, is the more effective venue.

Is there a deadline to request re-examination?

The circular does not set one. But strategic windows do not stay open forever — administrative practice evolves, and the broader reform is before the EU Court of Justice. Families who move promptly, with complete files, will be decided first and under the clearest legal landscape.

Conclusion: The Denials Were Wrong — and Now There Is a Procedure to Say So

For two years, families watched applications fail over a rule the Supreme Court has now declared inapplicable to them. Circular Prot. No. 65050 of 10 August 2026 is the administration’s acknowledgment, in writing, that those denials must be revisited — under the rules in force when the applications were filed, shielded from the two-generation limit. Layer on the persisting consular paralysis and the court access confirmed by Ordinance No. 13818/2026, and the picture for late 2026 and 2027 is clear: every minor-issue rejection issued since October 2024 deserves a fresh professional review, and most deserve action — administrative, judicial, or both.

Rights on paper become passports only through procedure. The procedure now exists. Use it.

Your denial is not final anymore.Request your free case evaluation from Bersani Law today — we assist clients from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and beyond with re-examination requests and citizenship proceedings before Italian courts.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney–client relationship. It is based on the text of Ministry of the Interior Circular Prot. No. 0065050 of 10 August 2026 and the case law cited, as verified on 14 August 2026; administrative practice under the circular is still developing. For advice on your specific situation, please contact a qualified attorney. — Bersani Law, 14 August 2026.