Update, July 2026: The Court of Cassation Has Ended the “Minor Issue”
On July 27, 2026, the Italian Court of Cassation, sitting as the United Sections (Sezioni Unite, its highest and most authoritative formation), issued a landmark ruling that brings the so-called “minor issue” to an end. The Court restored the reading of Articles 7 and 12 of the 1912 Italian Citizenship Law (No. 555) that had been followed consistently for more than a century, and it rejected the isolated interpretation introduced by Circular No. 43347 of 2024 that had, in effect, stripped countless descendants of a recognition they were entitled to.
In plain terms: a minor child who was born an Italian citizen by blood (jure sanguinis) and, at the same moment, a foreign citizen by birth on foreign soil (jure soli) was protected by Article 7. That child did not lose Italian citizenship simply because a parent later naturalized in another country. The Court has now confirmed that this was always the correct reading of the law.
What this means for you. If your line was previously flagged as broken solely because of the “minor issue,” that break has been resolved in your favor before the courts. For most affected families, the path to recognition by descent is open once again.
Important Points to Understand
The courts are settled, and the administration is still catching up. Consulates and Italian municipalities (comuni) act on instructions from the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry is expected to issue a new circolare directing them to follow this ruling. That step typically takes on the order of a couple of months, and it is not always quick. Until it arrives, an individual consulate or comune may still apply the old, now overturned interpretation.
If you are refused administratively while the new circolare is pending, the ruling can be attached to your file and the matter resubmitted. Our team can help you package it correctly.
An individual court case can still, occasionally, be decided the wrong way. Judges retain discretion in how they interpret the law, and it may take some time for every court to fall fully in line. A decision like that would be expected to succeed on appeal, so an isolated loss is not the final word.
This ruling settles the minor issue, and only the minor issue. It does not change the March 2025 reform’s other requirements (such as the rule that your parent or grandparent must have been born in Italy), the questions around retroactivity, or the “exclusively Italian” requirement. Those separate matters remain the subject of ongoing legal challenges, including a referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The sections below preserve the history of the minor issue and the alternative routes we developed while it was in force. Several of those routes are now unnecessary for a line whose only obstacle was the minor issue. They remain useful in two situations: if a consulate or comune refuses you before the new circolare lands, or if your line has a different break that this ruling does not address. If you are unsure where your case now stands, schedule a free consultation and we will map it out with you.
Background: What the “Minor Issue” Was
For most of the past century, Italian citizenship recognition operated on a straightforward assumption. If an Italian had children in a jus soli country after 1912, those children were born with foreign citizenship automatically, and so they were not affected by a parent’s later decision to naturalize in that country.
Beginning in 2024, the administrative interpretation shifted. Under the new reading, if an Italian naturalized while their children were still considered minors, the line would be treated as severed from Italian citizenship, with limited exceptions. A minor was defined as under 21 until 1975, and under 18 from 1975 onward. That distinction mattered, because many families have distant Italian ancestors who naturalized when their children were over 18 but still counted as minors under the older threshold.
One recognized exception was emancipation: if the next person in the line had married while still a minor, they could be treated as emancipated and therefore unaffected by the parent’s naturalization.
How the Interpretation Had Shifted
Article 7 of the 1912 law allowed a child born to an Italian parent (initially only fathers, expanded to either parent from January 1, 1948 onward) on foreign soil to retain Italian citizenship, even if the parent naturalized while the child was a minor, provided the naturalization took place after July 1, 1912 and the child did not renounce Italian citizenship on reaching the age of majority (21 years old until March 9, 1975, then 18).
The reasoning was that jus soli countries such as the United States grant citizenship simply on the basis of being born within the country’s territory. The children were already born citizens of that country, so they should never have been affected by a parent’s naturalization.
A 2023 Court of Cassation decision unsettled that understanding by favoring Article 12, under which a minor child was said to lose Italian citizenship automatically when their father acquired another citizenship, regardless of the child’s birthplace. Circular No. 43347 of 2024 then instructed consulates and comuni to apply that stricter reading. The July 2026 United Sections ruling has now reversed this and returned to the original, and only, interpretation of Articles 7 and 12.
If You Still Need an Alternative Route
For a line whose only obstacle was the minor issue, the routes below are generally no longer required. We are keeping them here because they still matter if a consulate refuses you before the Ministry’s new circolare is published, or if your line contains a separate break.
Check your female Italian ancestors. If your Italian ancestor had a child before January 1, 1948 and did not voluntarily naturalize before that child turned 21, you may be eligible to pursue a 1948 case through the Italian courts. This applies in particular to women who married an American citizen before September 22, 1922, or whose husbands naturalized before that date. This route can be cost effective for applicants with family members spread across different consular jurisdictions.
Assess emancipation status. If a child affected by a parent’s naturalization was married before age 21 and before the parent’s naturalization, the application may be able to proceed as normal, because the child could be treated as emancipated from their parents at the time.
Implications for Applicants Already Recognized
Nothing here changes the status of anyone already recognized as a citizen. If you were recognized while the minor issue was in force, or before it, your citizenship stands. The July 2026 ruling reinforces the principle that those recognized through jure sanguinis are Italian by birth.
The Bright Side
Even while the minor issue was in force, we found that a large majority of our clients had an alternative route to Italian citizenship. With the July 2026 ruling, families whose only obstacle was the minor issue no longer need those alternatives at all, at least once the administration falls in line. For everyone else, an alternative is still far better than no route, and if we can find one for your line, document collection and, where needed, options for attorneys can begin.
Unlike consulate appointments, which are difficult to secure and can take years of waiting, an Italian court case allows full representation by our legal partners, which means you would not need to appear in person.
What About Cost?
If your situation still requires an attorney (for example, a separate break in your line, or an administrative refusal while the new circolare is pending), there can be meaningful fees involved. As a reminder, Now Citizens is a team of genealogists, not a law firm. We can assist with much of the process, and we refer clients to third party attorneys when legal representation is needed. We typically see attorneys charge around €5,000 to €8,000 for one person, then €350 to €850 per added family member. Many families gather a group and divide the cost equally, which lowers the individual burden significantly.
Where This Leaves You
The end of the minor issue is genuinely good news, and for many families it reopens a path that had been closed. The sensible next step is to confirm exactly how the ruling applies to your line, and whether to proceed administratively now, wait for the Ministry’s new circolare, or pursue a court case. If you have questions or would like us to review your situation, schedule a free citizenship consultation with our team. We also offer Italian Citizenship Eligibility Assistance to locate viable Italian lines.