Citizenship by descent: what the Italian Constitutional Court’s referral to the EU Court of Justice means
The Court asked Luxembourg to rule on the 2025 reform and suspended its own decision. What changes, and what does not, for applicants.
The citizenship reform passed in March 2025 (Decree-Law 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025) ended automatic recognition for descendants born abroad who hold another citizenship, with exceptions. These include people who applied or obtained an appointment before 23:59 on 27 March 2025, those with a parent or grandparent holding only Italian citizenship, and those whose parent lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years before their birth.
In April 2026, in ruling 63/2026, the Constitutional Court rejected the objections raised by the Turin court. On 23 July, however, in order 147/2026, it opened another front: in cases from the Mantua and Campobasso courts involving Argentine and Brazilian descendants, it asked the Court of Justice of the European Union whether EU citizenship rules allow people born before the reform to be excluded.
In the meantime the Court has suspended its decision, and other cases raising the same question may be put on hold. A referral of this kind usually takes more than a year. It is neither a repeal nor a rejection of the reform: ruling 63/2026 remains the current reference.
Every case is different. Before starting or resuming an application, review your family situation with a professional or with the consulate that covers your address.
Source: Gazzetta Ufficiale, ordinanza n. 147/2026 della Corte costituzionale