March 12 Update: Italian Citizenship Law Confirmed—What It Means and What to Do Now
On March 12, the first step was taken in the legal dispute over the constitutionality of the new citizenship law. In a press release, the Constitutional Court stated that the new citizenship law, introduced by Decree-Law No. 36/2025, is constitutional and will also apply to those born before it came into force (March 2025).
The Constitutional Court ruled on the case at the request of the Court of Turin. However, this is only an initial ruling. Further rulings will be issued in the coming months, as other courts (specifically the Court of Mantua and the Court of Campobasso) have asked the Court to declare the new law unconstitutional based on different arguments.
The Court will rule again on the matter in upcoming hearings, the first of which is scheduled for June 9th. Therefore, the road ahead is still long, and there is still hope for the families affected by the new law.
The case decided by the Court
On March 11, the Italian Constitutional Court examined a request from the Court of Turin questioning whether the new citizenship law introduced in March 2025 is constitutional. The argument was that the law may be unconstitutional because it removes the right to Italian citizenship from people who, under the previous legal framework, were considered citizens from birth.
On March 12, however, the Constitutional Court rejected this challenge through a short press release. The Court has not yet published the full reasoning behind its decision. The detailed judgment explaining the legal arguments is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
The upcoming hearings
It's not all lost. In fact, there are three additional cases currently pending before the Constitutional Court: one from the Court of Mantua and two from the Court of Campobasso. In these cases, local judges have raised different concerns regarding the unconstitutionality of the new law. In particular, the next hearing is scheduled for June 9th, when the Constitutional Court will review the questions raised by the Court of Mantua. According to the judge in Mantua, the law is unconstitutional because the right to citizenship cannot be revoked for political reasons and because it was adopted through an expedited procedure, which is permitted only in cases of urgent necessity.
What are the next steps?
In the meantime, while we wait for the Court’s next decision, all local courts must continue to apply the new law. Below are the current requirements to obtain Italian citizenship by descent for a person born above:
- a parent or grandparent had only Italian citizenship (at least until the applicant’s birth)
- a parent lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years before the child was born.
Why should you prepare now?
If you meet the criteria of the new law, now is the ideal time to prepare your Italian citizenship application, because:
- Many applicants are awaiting the Constitutional Court's upcoming hearings.
- A favorable ruling could trigger an immediate wave of new applications.
- By starting now, you can be sure that your case will be ready before the system becomes overloaded.
- Timely preparation helps you avoid delays and get ahead of the backlog.
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Article written on March 17th 2026
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