Italian Courts Are Granting Citizenship Despite Law 74/2025: What This Means for Your Case

If you’ve been following the Italian citizenship news in 2026, you’ve probably felt the weight of disappointment. On March 12, 2026, Italy’s Constitutional Court upheld Law 74/2025, the most sweeping restriction to Italian citizenship by descent in modern history. For millions of Italian-Americans hoping to reclaim their heritage, it felt like a door closing.

But here’s what the headlines didn’t tell you: the door is not closed.

In the weeks following the Constitutional Court ruling, Italian lower courts have continued granting Italian citizenship to descendants who, on paper, no longer qualify under Law 74/2025. A favorable judicial precedent is forming. The Court of Cassation is examining critical questions that could reshape the entire landscape. And THE CTZN has been preparing for exactly this moment.

This article explains what’s really happening in Italian courts right now, and why your italian citizenship after Law 74/2025 case may still have a path forward.

What the Constitutional Court Actually Decided in March 2026

Let’s start with facts. On March 12, 2026, the Italian Constitutional Court issued a press communiqué declaring the constitutional challenges to Law 74/2025 “partly unfounded and partly inadmissible.” The challenges had been raised by the Tribunal of Turin, which argued that the law’s retroactive application violated principles of equality, legal certainty, and EU law.

The Court rejected these arguments. It ruled that Parliament has the authority to set citizenship criteria, and that the Italian Constitution does not require the State to recognize citizenship for all descendants of Italian citizens without generational limits.

Law 74/2025 remains fully in force. The two-generation limit stands. Article 3-bis, which states that descendants born abroad who hold another citizenship are considered never to have acquired Italian citizenship, continues to govern new applications.

This was a setback. We won’t pretend otherwise.

But what happened next is the part most people are missing.

The Bologna Decision: A Watershed Moment for Italian Citizenship by Descent

On April 17, 2026, just five weeks after the Constitutional Court ruling, the Ordinary Court of Bologna issued judgment no. 3335/2026. The case involved a family of 11 applicants spanning second, third, and fourth-generation descendants. Their case had been filed on May 17, 2025, after the March 27 cutoff established by Law 74/2025.

Under a strict reading of the new law, this family should not have qualified.

The Bologna Court granted them Italian citizenship anyway.

The judges examined the case under the amended provisions of Article 3 of Law No. 91/1992, as modified by the Tajani Decree. They expressly referenced the Constitutional Court’s March 12 press release. And then they did something remarkable: they accepted the argument that recognition remained justified because the applicants had clearly manifested their intention to apply, but had been unable to secure a consular appointment for reasons beyond their control.

The Court formally declared their Italian citizenship and ordered the competent Civil Status Registrar to carry out the necessary formalities.

This wasn’t a fluke. It was the latest in a series of favorable Italian citizenship court rulings that began even before the Constitutional Court spoke.

The Palermo Precedent: Setting the Tone

In February 2026, weeks before the Constitutional Court ruling, the Tribunal of Palermo issued a similar decision. The judges ruled in favor of applicants who could prove they had attempted to apply before the March 27, 2025 cutoff but were blocked by consular delays.

If applicants had documented evidence such as emails, consular correspondence, or screenshots of Prenot@mi appointment systems showing zero availability, the Court found that they should not be penalized for bureaucratic obstacles outside their control.

This logic is now being adopted by other Italian tribunals. Each favorable ruling builds on the previous one. A body of jurisprudence is forming, case by case, judgment by judgment, that recognizes a fundamental principle: justice cannot punish people for delays the system itself created.

The Court of Cassation Hearing: Why April 14, 2026 Matters

While lower courts have been quietly issuing favorable judgments, Italy’s highest civil court has been preparing for an even larger battle.

On April 14, 2026, the Joint Sections (Sezioni Unite) of the Italian Court of Cassation held a public hearing on what’s known as the “minor issue”, a question that predates Law 74/2025 but could independently affect thousands of pending italian citizenship by descent cases.

The “minor issue” concerns whether a child automatically lost Italian citizenship when an Italian parent naturalized in another country before the child reached adulthood. The government has applied this rule to disqualify many descendants whose ancestors became naturalized U.S. citizens while their children were still minors.

At the April 14 hearing, the Procuratore Generale, the senior advisory officer to the Cassazione judges, gave her legal opinion. Her position: in favor of the plaintiffs, against the government’s restrictive interpretation. She emphasized a principle that could reshape Italian citizenship law: citizenship cannot be lost involuntarily.

Marco Mellone, attorney for the American plaintiffs in one of the cases, told CNN he was “absolutely confident” the Court would rule the minor issue illegal based on previous case law. He noted that the Cassazione has intervened in citizenship law just twice in the 21st century, and both times, it retroactively re-established citizenship for those who had lost it involuntarily.

A favorable ruling on the minor issue would do more than resolve this specific question. It could open the door for lower courts to disregard portions of Law 74/2025 by establishing that citizenship, once acquired at birth, is a permanent right that cannot be revoked retroactively.

A second Constitutional Court hearing is scheduled for June 9, 2026, examining Law 74/2025 on broader procedural grounds raised by the Tribunal of Mantua. The legal battle is far from over.

Why Italian Courts Are Different

To understand why these favorable rulings matter, you need to understand how the Italian judicial system works.

In Italy, lower courts have significant interpretive latitude. When applying a law, judges examine not only the text but the constitutional principles, EU law obligations, and principles of equity that govern Italian jurisprudence. Each judgment becomes a reference point for future cases.

When the Bologna Court granted citizenship to a fourth-generation family in April 2026, it sent a signal to every other Italian tribunal: there are circumstances under which the restrictions of Law 74/2025 must yield to fundamental principles of justice.

This is how legal landscapes shift. Not through dramatic constitutional reversals, but through the steady accumulation of favorable case law. One judgment at a time.

What This Means for Your Italian Citizenship Case

If you’ve been told you no longer qualify for italian citizenship for americans under Law 74/2025, the administrative pathway through your local consulate may indeed be closed. But the judicial pathway is a different question entirely.

Your case may have a path forward through Italian courts if any of the following apply:

You Attempted to Apply Before March 27, 2025, But Were Blocked

If you have documented evidence such as emails to the consulate, screenshots of unavailable Prenot@mi slots, or written correspondence, the Palermo and Bologna precedents may apply to your situation.

Your Line Passes Through a Maternal Ancestor Who Gave Birth Before January 1, 1948

The 1948 Rule remains entirely unaffected by Law 74/2025. These cases proceed through Italian courts and are not governed by the Tajani Decree.

Your Case Involves the “Minor Issue”

If your line of descent passes through an ancestor who naturalized while their children were still minors, the upcoming Cassazione ruling could fundamentally change your eligibility.

Your Circumstances Reflect a Genuine Connection to Italy

Italian courts increasingly examine whether applicants demonstrate authentic ties to Italy: visits to ancestral hometowns, family relationships, cultural engagement, language efforts. These factors can strengthen judicial petitions.

Each case is different. Each requires careful legal evaluation. And each must be assessed by professionals who understand both the new legal landscape and the evolving jurisprudence shaping it.

Why THE CTZN Is Built for This Moment

For eight years, THE CTZN has specialized in exactly the kind of cases that now require judicial intervention. Our 1948 Rule cases, which have always required Italian court proceedings, have a 100% success rate. We know Italian judges. We know what wins.

Our team includes US-based experts who guide you in plain English and Italy-based legal partners who actually appear in Italian courtrooms. We’ve built relationships with Italian comuni, navigated the document retrieval process across every region of Italy, and successfully argued cases before Italian tribunals for nearly a decade.

When the Constitutional Court issued its ruling on March 12, we didn’t tell our clients to give up. We told them to prepare. Because we understood what was already happening in lower courts, and we understood that the legal landscape was shifting beneath the headlines.

If you’ve been told your case is hopeless, get a second opinion from a team that actually litigates in Italian courts. The administrative door may have narrowed, but the judicial door remains open, and Italian judges are walking through it every week.

What to Do Now

Don’t wait for the next legal development to make your move. The favorable jurisprudence forming today is being built case by case, by applicants who chose to act rather than wait.

If you have documented evidence of pre-March 2025 application attempts, gather it now.

If your line involves a maternal ancestor who gave birth before 1948, your case is ready to move forward today.

If the “minor issue” affects your family history, prepare your documents while the Cassazione decision is pending. A favorable ruling will trigger a wave of new petitions, and being ready will matter.

And if you simply want to understand whether the judicial pathway is viable for your specific situation, the only way to know is a careful legal evaluation of your case.

The Constitutional Court closed one door on March 12. Italian tribunals are showing us, judgment by judgment, that other doors remain open. Your heritage isn’t lost, but it does require the right strategy and the right team.

Don’t Let the Headlines Decide Your Future

Italian courts are still recognizing citizenship rights every week. The question isn’t whether the judicial pathway is open. It’s whether your specific case fits the precedents being established right now.

Find out where your case stands in the post-Law 74/2025 landscape.

THE CTZN has spent eight years winning Italian citizenship cases in tribunals across Italy. Let our team evaluate your situation, identify the strongest pathway forward, and tell you honestly whether your case has merit at no cost to you.

👉 Start Your Free Eligibility Check Today

Your heritage is waiting. Don’t let one ruling stop you from claiming what’s rightfully yours.