On Saturday, March 28, 2025, the Italian government issued a decree-law (Decree-Law No. 36 of March 28, 2025) introducing significant changes to the acquisition of Italian citizenship by descent (ius sanguinis). The measure marks a turning point in the country’s approach to citizenship recognition, raising concern among many prospective applicants around the world.
This article aims to provide a clear explanation of the background and motivations that led the Italian government to take such urgent and exceptional action on citizenship by descent. Rather than focusing on the technical details of the decree or the new rules, the purpose here is to offer essential context and insight into why this emergency measure was introduced and what it signals for the future.
This news came out of the blue for everyone, including experts in Italian citizenship. So, what triggered such an urgent, and seemingly secretive, action? The answer lies in two key documents: Decree-Law No. 36 and the Draft Law for its Conversion.
It’s important to clarify that Decree-Law No. 36 is already in effect, as emergency decree-laws take immediate force upon publication. However, as explained later in the article, there is still the possibility that it may not be converted into ordinary law within the required timeframe, in which case it would retroactively lose its legal effect. The Draft Law, on the other hand, as the name suggests, is merely a proposal at this stage. It must undergo the full ordinary legislative process before it can be enacted. As such, the Draft Law currently has no legal effect.
According to the government’s own explanation, the decision to resort to an emergency decree was driven by a combination of urgency, legal inconsistency, and administrative pressure. Also, the government highlights the need to address a rapidly growing number of citizenship applications, particularly those based on ius sanguinis (citizenship by descent), many of which originate from individuals with little or no concrete connection to Italy. This phenomenon had reached a point where it threatened to overwhelm consulates, municipalities, and even judicial offices.
Moreover, the government feared a “race to the counters”, a sudden flood of applications aimed at securing citizenship under the current, more permissive rules before any changes could take effect. This scenario, described metaphorically as a potential “Black Friday of citizenship,” risked paralyzing the public administration system for months, if not years.
Finally, the decree was intended to prevent further legal and procedural disparities, especially those arising from differences in interpretation between courts and administrative authorities. Rather than waiting for a lengthy parliamentary process, which could invite a surge of last-minute claims, the government opted for swift action to preserve institutional functionality and ensure a more coherent, sustainable approach to Italian citizenship going forward.
Yes, the decree-law is already in force upon its publication. However, under Italian law, it represents an emergency legislative measure that must be converted into ordinary law within sixty days to maintain its legal validity. The process is time-bound and constitutionally regulated (article 77 of the Italian Constitution), and it leads to one of three possible outcomes:
For these reasons, it is currently not possible to provide a definitive explanation. At this point, we must await either the formal conversion of the decree-law into ordinary legislation or the expiration of the sixty-day period, after which the measure will cease to have effect unless confirmed by Parliament.
Considering the government’s firm rationale and the strategic urgency with which the decree was introduced, there is a strong likelihood that the decree-law will be converted into law within the required timeframe.
This article was written by Marco Mazzeschi and Yuu Shibata
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