Italy Caps Ancestry Citizenship at Two Generations, Sparking Diaspora Response

Coming as an unannounced shock to thousands of people of Italian ancestry, Italian government enacted on 28 March 2025 a major reform of its citizenship law, sharply limiting the popular jure sanguinis route (citizenship by descent) to only two generations. The move comes in response to a surge of applications from Italian descendants abroad – especially in South America – and aims to curb what officials describe as “passport shopping” while alleviating an administrative backlog at consulates and town halls. The changes, introduced via an emergency decree-law in late March, have provoked controversy both within Italy and among the global Italian diaspora.

Background: A Boom in Ancestry-Based Applications

For decades, Italy’s law allowed virtually all descendants of Italian emigrants to claim citizenship. Under the old rules, anyone with an Italian ancestor who was alive when the country unified in 1861 could seek recognition of Italian nationality. This generous ius sanguinis policy led to a swelling number of “new” Italians across the world. Between 2014 and 2024, the number of Italian citizens officially residing abroad jumped by 40% – from about 4.6 million to 6.4 million. In Argentina alone (where around half of the population can claim Italian roots), annual citizenship recognitions soared to 30,000 in 2024, up from 20,000 in 2023, while Brazil saw cases rise to 20,000 from 14,000 over the same period. Italian consulates, especially in the Americas, faced years-long backlogs as hundreds of thousands of applicants delved into genealogy archives to prove their Italian bloodline. What likely precipitated government backlash is the case of tiny mountain towns like Forno di Zoldo, where Brazilian citizenship applicants nearly outnumber the hamlet’s inhabitants.

Italian passports are highly coveted travel documents, offering visa-free entry to most countries. Officials grew concerned that some were pursuing citizenship with Italy primarily as a gateway to Europe or for other benefits, rather than out of genuine cultural ties. “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,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani remarked, defending the need for tighter rules. The Foreign Ministry noted that aggressive marketing by firms and genealogists promised distant descendants an easy path to an EU passport – fueling a booming “passport by ancestry” industry. These practices, authorities said, not only blurred the original intent of jure sanguinis, but also overwhelmed Italian institutions: consular offices were swamped with requests, and municipal offices in Italy struggled to handle the flood of record inquiries needed for supporting documents. The government described the situation as unsustainable, arguing that measures were needed to ensure citizenship “remains a genuine connection, not just a bureaucratic prize”.

Key Changes: Two-Generation Limit and ‘Genuine Link’ Requirement

With the March 28, 2025 decree-law, Italy has imposed new limits on citizenship by descent for the first time in decades. The main changes include:

• Two-generation cap: Only individuals with at least one parent or grandparent born in Italy will henceforth automatically qualify for Italian citizenship by descent. In practice, this means great-grandchildren (and further removed descendants) are no longer eligible unless they pursue an alternative path to citizenship. The longstanding rule of perpetual lineage claims – which had no generational limit – has been curtailed to stop what the government sees as tenuous claims based on “long-forgotten ancestors”.
• Ongoing ties to Italy: A companion draft law (approved in principle alongside the decree) will in the future require citizens born and residing abroad to maintain a “real link” with Italy over time. Such citizens would need to exercise their rights and duties of Italian citizenship at least once every 25 years – for example, by voting in Italian elections from abroad or residing in Italy for a period – to demonstrate a continuing connection. This measure, which still needs parliamentary approval, is aimed at ensuring that those who inherit Italian citizenship remain engaged with the country and don’t simply hold a passport on paper.
• Centralized processing office: In a bid to relieve consulates, the government plans to open a special central office in Rome (within the Foreign Ministry) to handle all jure sanguinis applications. After a transition period of about one year, citizenship by descent requests will no longer be processed at local consulates or town halls. Instead, applicants will submit to this central authority in Italy, which is expected to streamline the workflow with “clear economies of scale”. By freeing up overburdened consulates, the government hopes its diplomats abroad can focus on services for existing Italian nationals rather than, as one official put it, “creating new ones”.

Italian authorities emphasize that the core principle of ius sanguinis isn’t being abolished but “rebalanced.” “Many descendants of emigrants will still be able to obtain Italian citizenship, but there will be precise limits, mainly to prevent abuses or the ‘commercialisation’ of Italian passports. Citizenship must be a serious matter,” Minister Tajani said in a statement. The government also points out that under the old regime, an estimated 60–80 million people worldwide theoretically have claims to Italian citizenship – a number equivalent to Italy’s entire current population. Limiting eligibility, officials argue, is a way to ensure the system remains manageable and meaningful.

Political Fallout: Coalition Splits and Criticism

The reform has triggered a heated political debate in Italy, including rare discord within the ruling centre-right coalition. Parties traditionally allied on most issues are split over the citizenship clampdown. Notably, members of the Northern League (Lega), a key partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, have openly criticized the two-generation cap.

Lega lawmakers Dimitri Coin (from Veneto) and Graziano Pizzimenti (from Friuli Venezia Giulia) denounced what they call “the clampdown on the descendants of those who emigrated abroad”, pointing out that a large portion of Italian emigrants came from northern regions like Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont, and Friuli. In their view, the decree unfairly shuts out the nipoti and bisnipoti (grandchildren and great-grandchildren) of Italian pioneers who left these regions generations ago. “We’re talking about our grandparents and great-grandparents from Friuli, Veneto, Lombardy – proud Italians. Limiting their descendants’ ability to be Italian is wrong,” one Lega representative argued.

The issue has exposed ideological tensions: the same Lega politicians blasted the fact that some in government simultaneously support proposals like ius scholae – a path to citizenship for children of recent immigrants who attend Italian schools – while tightening rules for “oriundi” (people of Italian origin abroad). “It’s absurd to prefer giving citizenship to young immigrants (often Islamic) through ius scholae, yet limit it for our own people abroad,” said a regional councillor from Veneto, echoing a sentiment prevalent in Lega’s base. Such remarks intertwine the citizenship reform with broader debates on national identity and migration, themes never far from Italian politics.

Forza Italia, Tajani’s party which spearheaded the reform, pushed back. Forza Italia officials have noted with some irritation that Lega’s ministers approved the decree in the cabinet meeting, only for their MPs to later distance themselves. Nonetheless, the dissent is not isolated. Even within Prime Minister Meloni’s own ranks, there are rumblings of concern: one of her party’s MEPs, Elena Donazzan, labelled the restriction on Italian-descendant citizenship a “cultural mistake,” arguing that “they have Italian blood; meanwhile others [migrants] are invading us”, according to local media reports. And another minor coalition partner, Maurizio Lupi of Noi Moderati, openly stated, “The text must be improved, it must be changed. We must not hold prejudice against our communities abroad,” aligning himself with Lega’s call for revisions.

This unusual rift within the centre-right suggests the citizenship decree may face amendments as it goes through parliamentary debate. Legislators from these parties are preparing “doverosi correttivi” (necessary corrections) to adjust the decree’s provisions. Some have even hinted at seeking judicial review, raising questions about the reform’s constitutionality. For now, the decree is in force – jure sanguinis applications beyond two generations have effectively been halted – but the political contest over Italy’s diaspora policy is far from settled.

Diaspora Descendants Mobilize a Grassroots Initiative

Overseas, the news of the abrupt reform spread shock and dismay among Italian-descended communities. The change took effect immediately, catching many by surprise. (Italian consulates, for instance, announced the temporary suspension of all new citizenship-by-descent appointments as of March 28 pending new guidelines.) Thousands who were in the midst of preparing their applications – some after years of effort and often with year-long waiting times for consulate appointments – suddenly found their path to citizenship cut off if they did not meet the new two-generation rule.

In response, a spontaneous grassroots initiative has emerged, driven by affected descendants determined to make their voices heard. This international group, organized informally on Facebook, is composed largely of people from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries of the Italian diaspora. What unites them is a strong ancestral and emotional tie to Italy. Many had concrete plans to move, invest, or retire in Italy in the near future, plans now thrown into uncertainty by the reform. Rather than a commercial enterprise, it’s a volunteer-led advocacy effort – in stark contrast to the paid services that the government criticized. Their goal is to engage constructively with Italian authorities and propose solutions that address abuses without alienating genuine Italian descendants.

The group has launched an online survey to collect personal stories and data from those impacted around the world. The idea is to gather evidence of how many people have sincere intentions to contribute to Italy, and then present a dossier to regional and national leaders. “We want to show that we’re not just numbers in a consulate backlog,” one organizer explains, “but real people with Italian hearts and something to offer Italy.” The survey asks participants about their family origins, their investments or time spent in Italy, and their future plans. Do they speak the language? Have they visited regularly? Would they be willing to live in Italy for a few years if that meant keeping their eligibility? For many, the answer is yes – and the group hopes such commitments could persuade lawmakers to consider exemptions or alternate paths for those descendants who demonstrate a genuine link and commitment to Italy, even if they are beyond the second generation.

Voices From The Survey: “Italy is part of who we are.”

Early responses to the survey paint a poignant picture of a diaspora deeply connected to its roots. Dozens of respondents from North America, Europe, and beyond have shared stories that belie the notion of casual “passport shopping.” Many recount lifelong efforts to stay connected to Italian culture:

• Cultural immersion: A number of participants highlighted that they have studied the Italian language for years, cook Italian recipes passed down in the family, and even celebrate Italian holidays and traditions in their homes abroad. One American respondent described spending “countless hours” learning Italian and teaching it to her children as a way to honor their heritage. For her, obtaining citizenship was about “carrying on the Italian identity in my family”, not just a bureaucratic exercise.
• Regular visits and plans to relocate: A recurring theme is frequent travel to Italy. “Every time I see a photo or video from Sicily, my heart swells, and I feel called to be there,” wrote one woman of Sicilian descent, who has visited relatives in Italy multiple times and is actively planning extended stays. Several respondents said they had trips booked to Italy specifically to work on their citizenship applications or to reconnect with hometowns of their ancestors. In one case, a man tracing his great-grandparents’ roots in Calabria was literally in his ancestral village obtaining documents when the news of the reform reached him – “I was completely heartbroken,” he reported, upon learning that all his effort might be in vain. Others have already made preliminary moves: one respondent noted she had been “Schengen shuffling” (spending short stints in Italy on tourist status) with the intent to settle permanently once her citizenship came through.
• Investing in Italy’s future: Far from seeking to exploit Italy, many respondents expressed a desire to give back. A few have purchased property in Italy or are in the process of doing so, aiming to restore family homes or start businesses in Italian communities. “Upon receipt of Italian citizenship, we plan to invest in property and businesses to support the Italian community and economy,” one couple wrote, saying they had already set aside funds for this purpose. Another respondent, a chef, said he dreams of opening an Italian restaurant in the town his great-grandparents left, bringing jobs and culinary tourism to the area. These plans are now uncertain – as one individual lamented, without Italian citizenship, long-term visas become complicated and “we are hesitant to invest because visas are less certain than citizenship.”
• Willingness to resettle: Perhaps most strikingly, many survey participants stated they are ready to relocate to Italy or live there part-time. A significant number indicated they would commit to a multi-year residency in Italy if that were required to retain their right to citizenship. One respondent explained that while personal circumstances (like elder care for parents) currently tie her to the U.S., she absolutely intends to retire in Italy and would “jump on it” sooner if the opportunity arose – saying she would gladly fulfill a residency condition once able. Others, in their comments, explicitly supported the idea of a residency requirement as a fair compromise: they argued that those truly serious about their Italian heritage would prove it by spending time in Italy, and that this could filter out the merely opportunistic cases. “I’ve effectively been living in Italy on and off already,” wrote a young professional, “so committing to a few years there isn’t a burden – it’s exactly what I want.”

Together, these testimonials underscore that for many, Italian citizenship is not just a convenience or a piece of paper – it’s a matter of identity and belonging. Respondents spoke of a deep emotional pull toward the land of their forebears: the phrase “return to my roots” appears repeatedly. Several mentioned their grandparents or great-grandparents had never renounced being Italian in their hearts, and that being recognized as Italian today would be “an honor to carry on their legacy.” It is exactly this kind of heartfelt connection that the reform’s critics say is being overlooked.

Looking Ahead: Calls for Dialogue and a Path Forward

The grassroots group plans to compile these survey findings into a report and formally send a letter or petition to the relevant authorities in Italy once enough responses have been gathered. Their target recipients include the Italian Parliament committees handling the citizenship law conversion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and even regional governments in areas with high emigration heritage (who, they note, “understand the value of keeping ties with our paesani abroad”). The initiative’s organizers hope that by presenting hard data and real stories, they can persuade decision-makers to reconsider aspects of the reform. Rather than simply criticizing, the group is advocating for what it calls a “more constructive approach” – for example, grandfathering existing applications or granting exemptions to the two-generation rule for those willing to establish a genuine residence and life in Italy. They argue this would address the government’s concerns about phantom citizens, while still honoring Italy’s diaspora and the contributions it can bring.

Whether such advocacy will influence policy remains to be seen. The coming weeks will involve parliamentary debate in Rome, where the decree-law could be amended. In the meantime, the new rules stand, leaving thousands of would-be Italians in limbo. As the debate continues, what’s clear is that Italy’s move has reverberated across continents – igniting discussion about what it really means to be Italian, and how to balance a proud nation’s heritage with its administrative and social realities.

For those affected by the March 2025 reform who wish to add their perspective, the diaspora group’s survey remains open. Interested individuals can participate via the online form (click here to contribute) and make their voices heard. The group welcomes more responses as it builds its case for a solution that keeps Italy’s doors open to the descendants who cherish it.