Italy's highest court has issued a ruling that is expected to strengthen citizenship-by-descent claims for descendants of Italian emigrants worldwide. The decision by the Court of Cassation resolves a long-standing legal dispute known as the “Minor Issue,” which has impacted thousands of ancestry-based citizenship cases involving families who emigrated from Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The ruling, dated Sunday and published Wednesday, came from the highest-level panel of the Court of Cassation, responsible for resolving conflicting legal interpretations. The central point of contention was whether children who were born with Italian citizenship automatically lost it if an Italian parent later became a citizen of another country while the children were still minors.
Recent court decisions, starting in 2023, had adopted a restrictive interpretation that led to the rejection of many applications by later generations, as authorities viewed the transmission of citizenship as interrupted. However, the new ruling clarifies that under historical Italian citizenship laws, children born as Italian citizens through the principle of “iure sanguinis,” or citizenship by bloodline, did not automatically forfeit their Italian citizenship upon a parent’s naturalization abroad.
The court specified that children born in countries granting automatic citizenship at birth, such as the United States, retained their Italian citizenship even if their parents later naturalized in those countries. Because they remained Italian citizens, they retained the ability to pass that citizenship on to subsequent generations.
Lawyer Marco Mellone, who represented applicants in the case, stated that the ruling reverses the restrictive interpretation that had hindered many citizenship claims in recent years, particularly those from U.S. citizens. Mellone told The Associated Press that the Supreme Court of Cassation has completely altered its stance, confirming that Italian-American families and others in similar situations globally now regain their right to Italian citizenship by descent.
This decision could have significant implications for descendants of Italian emigrants, especially in North and South America, regions with large diaspora communities maintaining ancestral ties to Italy. Mellone estimates that several hundred thousand families may have been affected by the restrictive interpretation.
Legal experts suggest the judgment will bolster the standing of applicants whose claims were previously denied solely due to the “Minor Issue” and will provide definitive guidance for judges handling pending cases. The ruling may also influence how Italian administrative bodies and consulates evaluate future citizenship applications. While it remains unclear if the Interior Ministry and Italian consulates will formally adjust their procedures, decisions from the court's “Sezioni Unite,” or United Sections, panel carry substantial weight due to their function in settling legal interpretation conflicts. Mellone emphasized that this panel's decisions are final, with very rare instances of reversals.
The ruling arrives amid increasing demand for citizenship by descent from Italy and ongoing legal debates concerning the parameters of ancestry-based citizenship rights. Separately, a proposed law by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, which aims to limit citizenship transmission through more distant generations, is currently awaiting proceedings at the European Union’s Court of Justice, expected next year.