The Italian Senate approved on Wednesday (14) a bill that changes the administrative model for recognizing Italian citizenship and transfers the analysis of applications to a central body in Rome. The proposal received 76 votes in favor and 55 against. The project had previously been approved by the Chamber of Deputies and had its processing completed in the Italian legislature with the approval of the Senate.
The approved text, called project AC 2369-A, determines that, from 2029, processes for Italian citizenship by descent will no longer be initiated in local consulates and will be evaluated by a new service linked to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI), based in the Italian capital.
According to Italian jurist David Manzini, CEO of Nostrali Cidadania Italiana, centralization could reduce the volume of applications accepted annually and make the Italian citizenship process take longer, even if consular queues cease to exist.
“A fundamental right such as citizenship cannot have a limit based on the Italian government’s ability to provide services,” said Manzini.
The project also extends the maximum period for analyzing applications, from 24 to 36 months, and requires applicants of legal age to send documentation in physical format directly to Rome. The consulates will remain responsible only for processes involving minors, children of already recognized Italian citizens, while all other cases will be concentrated in the new central service in Rome.
The approval in the Senate follows a series of recent changes to Italian citizenship legislation. Last year, the Italian Parliament made definitive a decree-law presented by the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that restricted access to Italian citizenship by descent through administrative means. The rule limited automatic recognition to children and grandchildren of Italians and blocked consular requests for more distant generations, pushing thousands of applicants to court.
