MINOR ISSUE NOW LAW

We delayed making this announcement pending independent verification of the information, as well as to assess its implications for applicants currently in the process. We are now able to confirm both the accuracy of the information and its potential impact.

In Summary: The previous interpretation of Article 7 of Law 555/1912 allowed minors born in jus soli countries (where citizenship is granted by place of birth, such as the U.S., Canada, or Australia) to retain their Italian citizenship even if their parent—the head of household—naturalized in another country. These minors could hold both their Italian citizenship and the citizenship of their birth country.

However, a new circolare (official directive) has altered this interpretation. The Italian Ministry of the Interior has aligned with recent rulings from the Court of Cassation, which now state that minors could only retain dual citizenship if they formally elected to retain their Italian citizenship within one year of reaching adulthood (age 21).

This shift primarily impacts administrative applications—those made through Italian consulates and municipalities (comuni). Judicial cases, such as 1948 cases handled in court, are not affected by this change. However, it’s worth noting that many 1948 cases involving minors have already been rejected under earlier court rulings. For further details, you can review the full text of the circolare, translated into English, or access the original Italian version here.

Key Update for U.S. Applicants:
Nearly all U.S. Italian consulates have announced that they will implement the new law concerning the "minor issue" with immediate effect. If you have an upcoming appointment at a consulate and your case involves a "minor issue," it is likely you will be rejected. We recommend contacting your consulate to check your case status. If it appears that you no longer qualify, please consider canceling your appointment to allow others a chance to move forward.

If you have already submitted your documents and are awaiting a response (which can take up to 24 months), the outcome will depend on your specific consulate. Some, like the Philadelphia consulate, have already announced they will reject applicants with minor issues, even if their applications were submitted before the law changed. Other consulates have not yet provided clarification. If you are still waiting for an appointment and have a minor issue, your chances are slim, and you may want to explore using a maternal line and filing a 1948 case instead.

For those who have applied in Italy, the outcome depends on the specific comune. Some locations, especially in southern Italy, have already begun rejecting applications based on this new law, while others have not yet announced their stance.

Key Points of the Circolare:

• Historical Context: Law 555/1912, which governed Italian citizenship from July 1, 1912, to August 14, 1992, allowed for the transmission of citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis), even if the ancestor naturalized in a foreign country. The law protected minors' citizenship under these circumstances.
• New Interpretation: Recent Court of Cassation rulings now dictate that minors who gained foreign citizenship alongside their Italian citizenship may only retain both if they formally elected to do so within one year of reaching adulthood (age 21). Failure to do so interrupts the transmission of Italian citizenship to future generations.
• Impact on Administrative Applications: This new interpretation affects citizenship applications filed at consulates and comuni. Applicants must now provide proof that their ancestor either did not naturalize or, if they did, that the ancestor reacquired Italian citizenship after their child had already reached adulthood (21 years old).
• Judicial Cases Remain Unaffected: This new interpretation does not apply to judicial cases. If you are pursuing a court case, such as a 1948 case, this circolare will not impact your claim. However, an earlier Supreme Court ruling has been used to reject many 1948 cases involving minor issues.

What’s Next?

If you are filing an administrative application, it’s crucial to carefully review your documentation. This change could mean that an ancestor’s naturalization, previously considered a minor issue, may now block your path unless specific steps were taken during their lifetime.

Explanation in Plain English:

This circolare only affects administrative cases—those filed through consulates or municipalities in Italy. It does not impact judicial cases filed in court.

The term "minor issue" refers to ancestors who naturalized between July 1, 1912, and August 14, 1992. If your ancestor naturalized during this period and was born in a jus soli country (such as the U.S., Canada, or Australia), this circolare likely applies to your case.

Before this change, minors born in a jus soli country could retain their Italian citizenship even if their parent naturalized in a foreign country. Now, those minors must have formally elected to retain their Italian citizenship when they reached adulthood (age 21), which could create challenges for many applicants.

Similarly, minors born in a jus sanguinis country (where citizenship is based on descent) were also considered to have lost their Italian citizenship in similar cases.

What this circolare does is treat both groups the same. Specifically, if a parent of a minor naturalized, the minor would lose their Italian citizenship unless they took action to retain it within one year after reaching adulthood (or emancipation).

Summary:

• This new interpretation primarily affects administrative cases, not judicial cases.
• The circolare applies to ancestors who naturalized between July 1, 1912, and August 14, 1992, and were born in jus soli countries.
• Minors who did not formally elect to retain their Italian citizenship within one year of reaching adulthood (age 21) may no longer pass Italian citizenship to future generations.
• Similar rules apply to minors born in jus sanguinis countries.

If you believe your case may be affected, it is critical to review your documentation and consider alternative options, such as pursuing a maternal line and filing a 1948 case.

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