Dreaming of la dolce vita with dual Italian citizenship? Think again

A law passed in 2025 making it tougher to claim Italian citizenship was upheld by the country's Constitutional Court.

If you have an Italian ancestor and thought you might apply for citizenship some day, your task may be getting tougher.

Italy's Constitutional Court on March 12 upheld a 2025 law restricting citizenship to persons with an Italian parent or grandparent. Previously, proof of citizenship could go back additional generations to great-grandparents and beyond under the legal provision known as jus sanguinis.

Under that "right of blood" rule, those who could prove they had an Italian ancestor who was alive after March 17, 1861 – the year Italy became a nation – could seek citizenship and apply for an Italian passport. An Italian passport is much sought after because it provides visa-free entry to more countries than almost any other nationality.

That ability to travel across the European Union and to relocate to Italy or other EU countries makes Italian dual citizenship appealing, according to Italian Citizenship Assistance, a California firm that helps Americans attain dual citizenship. Nearly 17 million Americans may have Italian ancestry, according to the U.S. Census.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani – for whom the law, the "Tajani decree," is named after – had criticized abuse of the system, with it being inundated with a surge in people abroad being granted citizenship. "Being an Italian citizen is a serious thing. It's not a game to get a passport that allows you to go shopping in Miami," Tajani said in March 2025, when the new rule was proposed, Reuters reported.