New Guidelines on Italian Citizenship by Ancestry: Understanding “Minor Issue” Cases

Would-be applicants of Italy’s citizenship by ancestry process are facing new challenges due to a recent change in guidelines. On 3 October 2024, The Ministry of Interior distributed a circular which instructs authorities to reject applications affected by the so-called “minor issue.”  

Understanding the “minor issue” 

The minor issue refers to a particular situation when the last ancestor who was born in Italy voluntarily naturalized as a citizen of another country during the time that their child was still a minor. This situation is covered in Italian nationality law under two conflicting provisions:  

1. Article 12 stipulates that minor children of those parents who voluntarily naturalized as a citizen of another country are automatically considered to have also naturalized, thus severing the Italian lineage.
2. Article 7, however, sets forth that children of Italian citizens who were born abroad in a ‘jus soli’/by soil state (i.e., in countries where they automatically receive that citizenship upon birth), maintain Italian citizenship unless they relinquish it once they have become an adult.  

What has prompted this change? 

While minor issue cases are nothing new and have always been more complex, historically they carried a low risk of refusal, with many judges or consular officers applying the more favorable article (Article 7) and granting citizenship. In 2023 and 2024, however, there was a shift in this trend, and the application of restrictive Article 12 has become more common.  

This was due to two pivotal rulings in Italy’s Corte Suprema di Cassazione, the country’s highest court of appeal. In these two minor issues cases, the court decided that lineage was indeed severed, and citizenship could therefore not be passed on to the applicants in question. In Italy, rulings like this do not set legal precedent, and so authorities could still decide which article to apply.  

This all changed on 3 October with the issuance of the Ministry of Interiors circular, inviting public authorities to flatly reject minor issue cases. It is unclear what the exact motivation of this circular is, however, it is widely speculated that the significant backlog in applications may have played a role in ushering the directive through. 

Next steps for minor issue cases 

The circular is intended for consulates and town halls only. In Italian courts, judges still have the freedom to apply either article at their discretion. However, there are still two hurdles remaining: 1. Not everyone is permitted to file in the courts, and 2. Some judges are already rejecting cases as standard in line with the circular.  

To determine whether someone is eligible to apply at the courts they will need to prove one of two things; either that they are applying through maternal lineage prior to 1948, or their local consulate is unable to provide an appointment for their application in good time. If they can meet either of these criteria, they can avoid the consulate and apply instead in the Italian court local to where their ancestor was born.  

The second hurdle is more complex to overcome. Certain courts have made it clear that the circular has set an unofficial precedent, and judges are following the directive despite having discretion to rule favorably.  

Rome, for example, has been consistently rejecting minor issue cases for some time, and this circular is sure to compound this direction. Other judges are still ruling favorably. It is, in many senses, a lottery as to which court is relevant to your case, and which judge in that court your case is assigned to. This leaves a significant degree of uncertainty for applicants and their lawyers.  

For those needing support with a minor issue case, experienced immigration professionals, as a first step, will assess the lineage and determine whether there are grounds to file a court case, and, if so, with which relevant court in Italy – this will be the court local to where your ancestor was born. The team will then investigate whether the judges in that court have been ruling favorably or not to most accurately estimate the chance of an application being approved.  

Given the circumstances, it will not be possible for us to guarantee approval. Another possible alternative is to investigate a person's other ancestors to see if there is another link that could be used, either to Italy, or indeed another EU country.  

Need to know more? 

If you are interested in applying for citizenship in Italy, or you need support with a minor issue case, please contact [email protected].  

This blog was published on November 8, 2024, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.