Italy has passed a new law that changes how people with Italian heritage can apply for citizenship.
The law now requires applicants to have at least one parent or grandparent who was born as an Italian citizen, tightening rules that once made it easier for descendants around the world to claim an Italian passport.
For many years, Italy granted citizenship under a principle known as jus sanguinis — a rule based on bloodline — to anyone who could trace their ancestry back to someone who lived in Italy after 17 March 1861, the date Italy officially became a unified nation. This made millions of people, especially in countries with large Italian communities like the United States, Brazil, and Argentina, eligible to apply.
The new changes, approved by parliament on Tuesday, aim to slow what the government says is a growing misuse of the system. Officials argue that the old rules were being exploited by people with weak ties to Italy, turning citizenship into a convenience rather than a reflection of genuine connection. The foreign ministry said the reform will help reduce the massive backlog of citizenship applications and improve consular services by focusing resources on those with stronger family roots in the country.
Italy’s population abroad has grown rapidly over the past decade. From the end of 2014 to the end of 2024, the number of Italian citizens living in other countries jumped from about 4.6 million to 6.4 million. This surge, according to the government, put pressure on Italian embassies and consulates, where tens of thousands of citizenship requests have piled up.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration introduced the new rules earlier this year as part of a broader push to manage the country’s citizenship and immigration systems more strictly. By the end of March, over 60,000 legal proceedings related to citizenship verification were still unresolved.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the decision to raise the standard for eligibility does not eliminate the right of Italian descendants to apply for citizenship, but it does introduce clearer boundaries. According to him, the goal is to prevent people from obtaining Italian passports purely for travel or economic benefits, especially in cases where applicants have little or no cultural or personal connection to the country.
The government insists that citizenship should be based on real bonds, not distant ancestry alone. Though people with Italian roots will still be able to apply, they now need a closer family link than before. This move is expected to reshape how Italian identity is claimed by millions of descendants worldwide, particularly in countries where obtaining EU citizenship has become increasingly attractive.