Updated August 2026. This article first appeared in December 2024. At that time the Court of Cassation and the Ministry of the Interior held that a parent’s foreign naturalization during a child’s minority broke the line of descent. That position no longer stands. On 26 July 2026 the Sezioni Unite reversed it, and on 10 August 2026 the Ministry told its offices to follow the new reading. The text below reflects the current rules.
There is very good news for people whose Italian citizenship application was refused because of the so-called “minor issue.”
On 10 August 2026, the Italian Ministry of the Interior issued Circular prot. no. 0065050, following the decision of the Italian Supreme Court, sitting as the Sezioni Unite, in Judgment no. 24045 of 26 July 2026. The restrictive interpretation that had caused many citizenship applications to be refused has now been abandoned.
There is another part of the Circular that may be even more relevant for applicants whose cases were already closed: in certain circumstances, the Comune or Consulate can now review a previous refusal.
Let’s get to it!
A Simple Example
Mario was born in Italy. In 1920 he emigrated to the United States.
His son Luigi was born in the United States in 1923. Luigi was Italian because his father Mario was Italian. At the same time, Luigi was already a US citizen by birth because he had been born on US land.
Then, in 1930, Mario became a US citizen. Luigi was only seven years old.
For decades, the accepted interpretation of Article 7 of Italian Law no. 555/1912 was relatively straightforward: Luigi remained Italian.
The reason is simple. Luigi already possessed both citizenships from the moment he was born. He had Italian citizenship through Mario and US citizenship by place of birth. Mario’s later naturalisation did not give Luigi a new foreign citizenship. Luigi already had it.
So, in our example, when Mario naturalised in 1930, Mario lost his Italian citizenship under the law then in force. Luigi did not. The Italian citizenship line could therefore continue through Luigi to the following generations.
In 2024 a new interpretation of the old rules suddenly treated the parent’s naturalisation as capable of breaking the citizenship line.
In 2023 and 2024, decisions of the Court of Cassation adopted a different interpretation. Under that approach, if the Italian parent naturalised while the child was still a minor and living with that parent, the child could also lose Italian citizenship. The fact that the child was already a US citizen by place of birth did not protect the Italian citizenship.
The Ministry of the Interior adopted this interpretation in Circular no. 43347 of 3 October 2024 and instructed Consulates and Comuni to apply this new restrictive rule, when examining citizenship by descent applications.
Go back to Mario and Luigi. Under the October 2024 interpretation enforced by the Government, Mario’s naturalisation in 1930 would also have caused Luigi to lose his Italian citizenship because Luigi was still a minor.
The citizenship line would therefore have stopped with Luigi. His children and later descendants could no longer rely on him to establish an uninterrupted line of Italian citizenship.
From October 2024 onwards, hundreds of applications before Italian Consulates and Comuni were refused for this reason. A family line that would previously have qualified could fail simply because the Italian ancestor naturalised while his or her US-born child was still under age.
The Sezioni Unite Have Resolved The Issue
The dispute and the conflicting interpretation that the judges were giving to this rules eventually reached the Sezioni Unite of the Court of Cassation, the Italian Supreme Court called upon to resolve conflicts concerning the interpretation of the law.
On 26 July 2026, in Judgment no. 24045, the Court gave a clear answer:
A child born abroad who acquired Italian citizenship by descent and another citizenship by birth kept Italian citizenship even if the Italian parent later naturalised while the child was still a minor.
The distinction between Article 7 and Article 12 of Law no. 555/1912 is central to the decision.
Article 7 dealt with someone like Luigi, a child who already possessed two citizenships from birth. Article 12 addressed a different situation, where a child had only Italian citizenship and could later acquire a foreign citizenship as a consequence of the parent’s change of citizenship.
Luigi was already American. Mario’s naturalisation did not give Luigi US citizenship, and therefore did not remove the Italian citizenship that Luigi had held since birth.
The Ministry Has Now Changed Its Instructions
Consulates and Comuni have been instructed to apply the interpretation adopted by the Sezioni Unite.
On 10 August 2026, the Ministry of the Interior issued Circular prot. no. 0065050 and adopted the principles stated by the Sezioni Unite.
The Ministry states that, where Article 7 applies, the naturalisation of the parent while the child was still a minor does not interrupt the line of transmission of Italian citizenship.
The restrictive interpretation contained in the October 2024 Circular has therefore been superseded for these cases.
For pending applications, the fact that a US-born child was still a minor when the Italian parent naturalised is no longer, by itself, a reason to break the citizenship line.
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What If Your Application Was Already Rejected By The Italian Consulate (or Municipality)?
This is where the new Circular becomes particularly relevant for applications filed before the 2025 reform.
The Ministry did not limit the new interpretation to future applications. If your application was refused exclusively because of the former interpretation of the minor issue, the Ministry provided clear instructions to the Municipalities and Consulates to review the cases they already rejected.
YES! They can review your original application that they rejected because of the MINOR ISSUE
Finally, and this is even bigger news, the Ministry states that the authority must apply the legal framework that was in force when the original application was filed.
This can be particularly important where the original application was submitted before 27 March 2025, or where an appointment had already been communicated to the applicant by the competent office by that date.
A person refused because of the minor issue may therefore be able to be recognized Italian citizenship by using their original documents, and most importantly using the old rules that applied until March 27, 2025 and therefore WITHOUT the additional conditions set by today’s citizenship rules.
There is an important historical limit. The new instructions concern naturalisations of the cohabiting parent that occurred between 1 July 1912 and 15 August 1992, the period governed by Law no. 555/1912. Naturalisation events occurring on or before 30 June 1912 remain subject to the earlier rules.
And this is why you need to get in touch with us for reviewing your case!
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Here is a small recap:
| Date | What Happened | Practical Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 3 October 2024 | Ministry Circular no. 43347 adopted the restrictive interpretation of the minor issue. | Consulates and Comuni began refusing cases where the Italian ancestor naturalised while the next person in the line was still a minor. |
| 27 March 2025 | Relevant cut-off date used by the 2025 citizenship reform and the transitional rules referred to in the new Circular. | Applications and qualifying appointments falling within the earlier regime may still need to be examined under the law applicable when the original case was filed. |
| 26 July 2026 | Sezioni Unite Judgment no. 24045 resolved the interpretation of Articles 7 and 12 of Law no. 555/1912. | A child who was already Italian by descent and a foreign citizen by birth does not lose Italian citizenship merely because the parent later naturalises while the child is a minor. |
| 10 August 2026 | Ministry Circular prot. no. 0065050 adopted the Sezioni Unite interpretation. | Consulates and Comuni can apply the restored interpretation and, in certain cases, review earlier refusals under the rules existing prior to March 27, 2025. |
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Which Comune Or Consulate Reviews The Case?
The request goes back to the authority that issued the original refusal.
If a Consulate refused the original application, the request for review should be addressed to that Consulate.
If an Italian Comune issued the refusal, the request goes back to that Comune.
The new Circular also clarifies that this remains the competent authority even if the applicant has since moved to another jurisdiction.
The idea is to reconsider the original administrative file, not to start the citizenship process again from zero.
A Review Does Not Mean Automatic Approval
Please note that the Circular does not say that every citizenship application refused between October 2024 and July 2026 “must now be (automatically) approved”.
The possibility of review applies where the refusal was based exclusively on the former interpretation of Articles 7 and 12 and the minor issue.
If the original file contained other problems with the citizenship line, the documentation, another naturalisation event or a separate legal reason for refusal, those issues remain relevant.
But where the minor issue was the reason the file was closed, the legal obstacle created by the October 2024 interpretation has now disappeared.
For someone in that position, the first practical step is simple: take out the original refusal letter and identify exactly why the Comune or Consulate rejected the case.
AND THEN GET IN TOUCH WITH US WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY, FOR A FULL REVIEW OF YOUR CASE
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The restored interpretation keeps the citizenship line intact where the child already held US citizenship from birth.
Back To Mario And Luigi example: under the interpretation now confirmed by the Sezioni Unite and adopted by the Ministry, Luigi did not lose his Italian citizenship merely because Mario became a US citizen while Luigi was still a minor.
The citizenship line through Luigi therefore remains intact, subject of course to checking the rest of the family history and any other events that may affect transmission.
Sources
Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, Sezioni Unite, Judgment no. 24045 of 26 July 2026: Corte Suprema di Cassazione.
Italian Ministry of the Interior, Circular no. 43347 of 3 October 2024: Ministero dell’Interno.
Italian Ministry of the Interior, Circular prot. no. 0065050 of 10 August 2026, Riconoscimento della cittadinanza italiana iure sanguinis. Rapporto tra l’art. 7 e l’art. 12 della legge n. 555/1912. Nuove linee interpretative dettate dalle Sezioni Unite della Corte di Cassazione: copy of the Circular.
Know someone whose Italian citizenship application was refused because of the minor issue? Share this article with them. A file that appeared closed may now deserve another look.
This briefing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact us for advice specific to your situation.
