Italian Citizenship by Descent in 2026: Your Great-Grandfather Is No Longer Enough

Peter Tumbas · Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties
October 2026

Italy no longer treats a great-grandparent as a route to citizenship, and its courts have so far let that stand. For American buyers drawn to an ancestral village, this breaks an assumption many never examined: that a house in the family comune (municipality) and an Italian passport would eventually arrive together. They never did, and this article separates what the 2025 reform changed from what a property purchase has ever done.

What Changed in March 2025

Decree-Law 36/2025 took effect on March 29, 2025 and was converted into Law 74/2025, in force from May 24, 2025. It added Article 3-bis to Law 91/1992, the Italian citizenship law. A person born abroad who holds another citizenship, such as US citizenship, is now treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship automatically, unless an exception applies.

Before the change, jure sanguinis (citizenship by blood descent) could pass down through any number of generations to an ancestor who was Italian at the 1861 unification, provided the chain had no break. The new rule works as a two-generation limit for new claims. A parent or grandparent can anchor a claim. A great-grandparent cannot, unless the claim falls under a transitional exception.

Data as of October 9, 2026. Secondary sources differ by a few hours on whether the cutoff is the end of March 27 or the start of March 28, 2025 in Rome. Anyone relying on the cutoff should document the filing date and time.

Who Still Qualifies for Citizenship by Descent

A person born abroad with another citizenship is treated as Italian by descent in 2026 only if one of the following applies:

• Pre-cutoff claim: the application was filed, or a consular appointment was confirmed, by March 27, 2025. Court cases filed before that date also stay under the older rules, a point the Court of Cassation Joint Sections confirmed in July 2026.
• Parent or grandparent with Italian-only citizenship: a parent or grandparent held exclusively Italian citizenship, with no other nationality. Sources differ on which moment counts, so the timing of an ancestor's US naturalization needs lawyer review.
• Parent with two years in Italy: an Italian citizen parent lived legally and continuously in Italy for at least two years before the applicant's birth or adoption.

The Italian-only condition is the hurdle for most American families. An ancestor who naturalized in the United States before the next generation was born can break the chain, a problem that predates the 2025 law and still decides many cases. The consular recognition fee is reported at 600 EUR per adult applicant, plus apostilled documents and certified translations.

What the Courts Have Decided So Far

The Constitutional Court upheld the reform in Judgment No. 63/2026, a case referred by the Tribunal of Turin. The Court described the earlier regime as one of "virtual" citizenship, held by many people whose status had never been verified and who could activate it without any time limit. It found the generational limit a legitimate way to restore a "genuine link" between citizens and the country, and it found the transitional rules within Parliament's discretion.

That did not end the litigation. In Order 147/2026, the Court stayed new challenges from Mantova and Campobasso and sent the question of EU-law compatibility to the EU Court of Justice. Article 3-bis stays in force while that referral is pending, and individual judges decide whether to pause similar cases. Commentators expect the EU court to need a year or more.

One ruling helped applicants. In Judgment No. 24045/2026, the Joint Sections of the Court of Cassation held that a child who was already Italian by birth and a dual citizen from birth does not lose Italian citizenship automatically when a parent later naturalizes abroad during the child's minority. This resolved much of the "minor issue" that had stalled families.

Citizenship Was Never Part of the Property Deal

Property ownership in Italy confers no citizenship and no residency right. Italy has no property-based residency programme. The distinction matters, because heritage buyers often bundle a purchase and a passport into one plan.

The practical benefit of a passport for a second-home owner is the removal of the 90-day limit, not a tax or purchase advantage. A buyer without citizenship can still own the house. The question is how much time that buyer can legally spend in it, which is a residency question covered in the elective residency visa guide.

If You No Longer Qualify: The Routes That Remain

Losing the descent route does not close Italy to a heritage buyer. It changes which route fits. Each option below lets a person live in Italy, and none is a passport on the same terms.

• Out-of-quota work visa for descendants. Article 27, paragraph 1-octies of the immigration law, added through Law 74/2025, lets citizens of seven countries, including the United States, enter outside the annual quotas for salaried work if an Italian employer offers a job. Commentators report that holders can apply for citizenship after two years of continuous residence. The route suits people who will work in Italy, not retirees, and the proof-of-roots requirements were still being defined at last report.
• Elective residency visa, investor visa, or digital nomad visa. These cover retirees, investors, and remote workers. See elective residency, the investor visa, and the digital nomad visa.
• The 7% regime for foreign pensioners. Reported changes under Law 34/2026 raised the town-size ceiling from 20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants from April 7, 2026. Confirm the status of any target comune before buying. The 7% guide covers the programme.
• The 300,000 EUR flat tax. A fit only for very high foreign income, as the break-even analysis shows.
• Standard naturalization. Non-EU citizens generally need ten years of legal residence.

Three Questions Before You Buy an Ancestral Property

1. Would you still buy it if no passport ever followed? If the answer is no, the property is a bet on a citizenship claim that the purchase cannot influence.
2. Which residency route covers the time you plan to spend there? A second home used for 60 days a year needs no permit. A home used for six months does.
3. Has a lawyer reviewed your lineage first? A lineage review costs far less than a renovation commitment. This matters most for low-priced purchases, where a buyer may owe binding renovation work, as the 1 euro house guide explains. Review the lineage before closing, not after.

What Nobody Knows Yet

Three questions remain open as of October 9, 2026. The EU Court of Justice has not ruled on whether Article 3-bis complies with EU law, and no timeline is official. Courts have not settled how to treat people who acted before the cutoff but never secured an appointment. Administrative guidance for consulates continues to change. Planning around a favorable EU ruling is a gamble. A buyer should be able to defend the purchase under the rules as they stand today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Americans still get Italian citizenship by descent in 2026?

Yes, in narrower cases. For new claims, Law 74/2025 requires either a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, or an Italian parent who lived in Italy for two continuous years before the applicant's birth. Claims filed, or consular appointments confirmed, by March 27, 2025 are still assessed under the older rules, as are court cases filed before that date. Descent from a great-grandparent or more distant ancestor no longer qualifies on its own for new claims. Which exception applies depends on each ancestor's dates of birth, emigration, and naturalization, so lineage needs review by an Italian citizenship lawyer.

Does buying property in Italy help me get Italian citizenship?

No. Owning Italian property gives no right to citizenship and no right to a residence permit. Italy has no property-based residency programme. Citizenship by descent depends only on lineage and the dates of your ancestors' citizenship events, and citizenship by naturalization depends on legal residence. A purchase can support a residency application, for example as proof of accommodation, but it does not move a citizenship claim forward. Treat any listing or agent that implies otherwise as unreliable, and confirm your lineage with a lawyer before you buy in an ancestral village.

Did Italy's Constitutional Court uphold the 2025 citizenship by descent law?

Largely, yes. In Judgment No. 63/2026, deposited April 30, 2026 and published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale on May 6, 2026, the Court rejected the challenge referred by the Tribunal of Turin, finding the generational limit and its transitional rules within the legislature's discretion. A separate challenge from the courts of Mantova and Campobasso was sent to the EU Court of Justice in Order 147/2026, made public July 23, 2026. Article 3-bis stays in force while that referral is pending, and commentators expect the EU court to take a year or more.

What can I do if I no longer qualify for Italian citizenship by descent?

Several residency routes remain, though none is a passport. Americans with Italian roots can use a new out-of-quota work visa under Article 27, paragraph 1-octies, if an Italian employer offers salaried work, and commentators report a two-year residence period before a citizenship application. Others use the elective residency visa, the investor visa, the digital nomad visa, the 7% pensioner regime, or the 300,000 EUR flat tax regime. Standard naturalization for non-EU citizens requires ten years of legal residence. Each route has income, employment, or tax conditions that should be checked before buying property.

Does Italian citizenship change my taxes on an Italian property?

No. Italian tax residence follows where you live, meaning registration with the comune's anagrafe and more than 183 days a year in Italy, not your citizenship or whether you own a home there. Property owners pay IMU on certain properties and Italian tax on Italian rental income whatever their passport. US citizens also keep filing US returns on worldwide income, including FBAR and FATCA reporting, with or without Italian citizenship. Dual citizenship adds no tax benefit and removes no US obligation. See FBAR and FATCA for Americans owning property in Italy.

How long can Americans stay in Italy at a second home without citizenship?

Americans without a visa or residence permit can stay in Italy, as part of the Schengen Area, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Owning a second home does not extend that limit. Time spent in other Schengen countries counts toward the same 90 days. Italian citizenship removes the limit entirely, which is the main practical benefit of a passport for a second-home owner. Without it, longer stays require a residence permit such as the elective residency visa or a work-based permit.