Italian Citizenship by Descent Emergency Decree Amendments Under Discussion in Parliament

Summary

In this episode of the Italian Citizenship Podcast, Marco Permonian and Rafael Deurya discuss potential amendments to the emergency decree concerning Italian citizenship by descent, currently under parliamentary discussion. The proposed changes primarily focus on two key groups: those seeking citizenship by descent and their minor children. With a fluid legislative environment, the podcast outlines differing starting dates for new rules, possible grandfathering provisions, and revisions affecting minors’ rights to citizenship. These discussions highlight the evolving nature of citizenship law in Italy and the complexities involved in the legislative process.

Highlights

• Proposed changes may bring hope to future citizenship seekers by 2026! 🌟
• Two major groups affected: applicants by descent and their minor children! 👶👪
• Legislation may allow previous applicants to continue using old rules! 📜
• B1 language proficiency might be required for claiming through a great-grandparent! 🏛️
• Potential amendments could simplify registering children for citizenship! 🍼
• The legislative process is still in flux; outcomes remain uncertain! 💼

Key Takeaways

• Recent proposals could change how descendants gain Italian citizenship by 2026! 🇮🇹
• Proposed amendments focus on citizenship by descent and minors' rights! 🗝️
• It's a fluid situation with possible multiple outcomes! 🔄
• Grandfathering provisions might offer a surprising route to citizenship! 👶✨
• Language tests could be in the mix for great-grandchildren applicants! 📚
• Minors' citizenship rules might become more flexible soon! 👨‍👩‍👧

Overview

In this episode, Marco and Rafael delve into ongoing discussions in the Italian parliament about potential amendments to the emergency decree impacting citizenship by descent. This has sparked interest among many seeking to get Italian citizenship, especially those relying on ancestral connections. The changes, if enacted, may significantly alter the pathways for future applicants.

The podcast sheds light on how these legislative changes could affect two particular groups: individuals looking to gain Italian citizenship through lineage and their minor offspring. The hosts explore proposed amendments, such as the potential adjustments to when new rules might take effect and how previously submitted applications may still proceed under older regulations.

Listeners are taken through a complex narrative of the proposed amendments, including the need for language tests for great-grandchildren seeking citizenship, and potential changes benefiting minors. The episode underscores how fluid and unpredictable the situation is, urging those interested to stay tuned for further developments.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Episode Introduction and Context This episode of the Italian Citizenship Podcast, hosted by Marco Permonian and Rafael Deurya, provides an overview of proposals made by the Italian left concerning citizenship policies. The hosts remind listeners that the recording took place on April 28th, 2025, indicating that laws and procedures may have changed since then.
• 00:30 - 01:30: Overview of Proposed Amendments This chapter discusses the proposed amendments to the emergency decree. The conversation begins with a request for an explanation of the proposal, highlighting that it seems to target two distinct categories of individuals. The discussion is part of ongoing parliamentary debates regarding amendments to the decree.
• 01:30 - 03:00: Details on Proposed Amendments The chapter titled 'Details on Proposed Amendments' discusses the usual procedure of converting an emergency decree from March 28 into law. It highlights that this can be done without amendments, but it is more likely that the decree will be converted with certain amendments. The focus of this chapter is to explore the specific proposed amendments related to this change.
• 03:00 - 05:30: Discussion on Amendment Scenarios The chapter titled 'Discussion on Amendment Scenarios' revolves around members of the parliament considering various amendments to a decree issued on March 28th. There is a possibility that the decree may not be converted into law, which would result in the decree losing its effects retroactively. The discussion aims to explore potential changes and the implications of the decree not becoming legally binding.
• 05:30 - 09:00: Specific Proposals for Applicants Before March 28 The decree's effects since March 28th will be retroactively nullified. It applies to two categories of people: those seeking Italian citizenship by descent and minor children of individuals who have obtained or are eligible for citizenship by descent.
• 09:00 - 11:30: Proposals for Minors Seeking Citizenship The chapter discusses proposals affecting minors seeking citizenship by descent. There are two main amendments suggested by members of parliament: one proposes that new citizenship rules take effect on January 1st, 2026; the other suggests retaining existing rules for an additional two years before implementing changes.
• 11:30 - 13:00: Episode Closing and Contact Information The chapter discusses proposed amendments to a decree, explaining that these amendments will not necessarily be approved or implemented. It emphasizes that the conversation is based on the current state of proposals and acknowledges the possibility of further amendments.

Italian Citizenship by Descent Emergency Decree Amendments Under Discussion in Parliament Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 The following was recorded on April 28th, 2025. Please keep in mind laws, guidelines, and processes may change over time. This is the Italian Citizenship Podcast hosted by Marco Permonian and Rafael Deurya. Hello there and welcome to another episode of the Italian Citizenship Podcast presented by Italian Citizenship Assistance.com. Of course, we are back at it again with Italian attorney Marco Permon and I am Rafael Deurya. And in this episode, we wanted to talk about some of the proposals that have been made from the Italian left in regards to
• 00:30 - 01:00 the emergency decree that was recently put out. So, Marco, just to jump straight into things, I think it might be worthwhile to talk a little bit about what this proposal is and then also that it seems as though there are kind of two categories of individuals that it refers to. So, could you tell us a little bit more about that first? First of all, we are going to be talking about the proposed amendments. So, this is part of the ongoing discussion in the parliament regarding the proposed amendments to the emergency decree from
• 01:00 - 01:30 March the 28th. Uh we have said this in other episodes that the normal course of action is now to either convert the decree the emergency decree from March the 28 into law without amending it in any way or more likely to convert the decree with amendments. So in this episode, we're going to be discussing about the proposed amendments that have been made regarding change that some
• 01:30 - 02:00 members of the parliament want to make to the text of the decree which was issued on March the 28th. And of course, before we talk about these amendments in detail, let me say that it's it's also possible that the decree will not be converted into law. So that this decree will actually uh lose any effects that it had uh retroactively. So in the case in which the decree will not be converted into a law, all of the legal
• 02:00 - 02:30 effects that the decree had since March the 28 will vanish retroactively. But regarding what you just mentioned, so the two categories of people that the amendments uh refer to, the first category is of course people who are seeking Italian citizenship by descent and the second category is the minor children of uh people who either got citizenship by descent or who qualify for citizenship by descent. regarding
• 02:30 - 03:00 individuals who are seeking citizenship by descent. Uh, one of the changes that has been proposed by some members of the parliament is that the new rules go into effect from January 1st of 2026. So that is one of the alternatives that has been proposed as in the form of an amendment to the text of the decree. And the second alternative is that the old rules still apply for the next two years. So only uh starting from 2 years from when
• 03:00 - 03:30 the decree came into effect uh the new rules will basically go into effect. Like we said, we just need to remember that these are proposed amendments to the tax of the decrease. So uh it doesn't mean that they will be uh approved. It doesn't mean that they will be uh taken into consideration. Uh there could be other amendments. So, we're just here talking about what we saw for now and what are the proposed amendments that have been made so far, but there
• 03:30 - 04:00 could be even more alternatives to these amendments that we're describing. So, so far we have seen these two alternatives uh regarding when the rules will go into effect. Meaning uh one of the alternatives that has been proposed is that the rules will go into effect two years from now. the new rules or that uh the new rules will go into effect on January the 1st of 2026. But it doesn't mean there could be another scenario that we are not taking into consideration because those proposed
• 04:00 - 04:30 amendments have not yet been made public. Yeah, it's very interesting with how this is all going because even within these proposals that we're seeing being made now is that it's a very fluid situation and uh that there are a lot of things that are moving as time goes on. And then even also just as a a another clarification that within this episode we're not going to be going into every single one of these proposals that have been made because there's a lot of complications there and then even within how they're written. I mean, I think
• 04:30 - 05:00 Marco, would it be fair to say that they're not necessarily written in the best or most clear way? Of course. And sometimes I've seen in these documents that the same uh proposed amendments are uh made twice with a slight variation. So, of course, you know, it could be that one of those is taken into consideration or none of those. So, again, it's all speculations right now as to which amendments will be taken into consideration. So I think it's important to uh describe the most
• 05:00 - 05:30 important amendments that will affect the eligibility rules for people going forward. But again like you said we cannot focus on every single proposed amendment because there are so many variations of these uh different amendments that are being proposed uh that basically describe slightly different scenarios that maybe won't even be taken into consideration. So again, we need to focus on the most important major amendments that the parliament is trying to make to this uh decree that was um created on March the
• 05:30 - 06:00 28th. with how complicated all of this is, I I think it's definitely the right way to maybe not deep dive into everything, but Marco, um maybe just on the topic that you've already discussed so far about potentially the date getting moved up to kind of allow for a window of time for people to be able to make applications or even the potential of that not happening at all. Regardless, has there been any discussion of maybe grandfathering people in for those people who've already made some type of uh action of
• 06:00 - 06:30 interest or made an application already uh to be able to move forward with getting Italian citizenship in any way? Has that been discussed at all? Yes. One of the first proposals was regarding people who applied, so made an application prior to March the 28th. And the text of the decree is very specific. It says that only those people who have presented their applications with all of the necessary documentation uh prior to March 28 can use the old rules. But now
• 06:30 - 07:00 one of the proposals is to change that to allow people to qualify by using the old rules even if they didn't have all the necessary documents but they had presented their applications prior to March the 28th. Another proposal is to allow people who have requested an appointment with a consular office or a municipal office prior to March the 28th to be able to use the old qualification
• 07:00 - 07:30 rules. So again, it seems like what they're proposing is that if you have requested an appointment, so if you booked an appointment which is scheduled for uh the future for after March the 28th, but you scheduled the appointment prior to March the 28th with a consular office or with a an Italian commune or if for example you were in a list, a waiting list um that the consulate um allowed you to register for you know for
• 07:30 - 08:00 you to wait to be called by the consulate for an appointment. So in those situations it seems like one of the proposals is to allow both of these categories of people to be able to use the old uh qualification rules. Another proposal is to allow individuals who had presented their applications prior to March the 28th with all of the necessary documents. So only those applications that were presented with all of the necessary documentation. So not uh incomplete documentation to allow the
• 08:00 - 08:30 eligibility rules that were in effect prior to October the 3rd of 2024. So prior to the issuance of the uh cholare or memo from the ministry of interior regarding the minor age issue. And also there is one more proposal that is worth talking about which is regarding uh individuals who are seeking Italian citizenship by descent through a great grandparent. According to this proposal it would be allowed for these
• 08:30 - 09:00 people to use a great grandparent to claim Italian citizenship by descent but it would be necessary to pass a language test and the level required would be B1. So lower intermediate. Well, Marco, thank you so much for talking to us about what it would be for those who are applying for Italian citizenship as an adult, but you also mentioned at the beginning of the episode that there's another category for those who would be minors applying for those who've gotten their Italian citizenship by descent. Within the current proposals, what are
• 09:00 - 09:30 the current discussions that are going on for those who might be getting citizenship through their parents as a minor? The March 28 decree was very much limiting the rights of the minor children of people who gained Italian citizenship u by descent by using the second generation already because those minor children according to the decree from March the 28 would have been able to get Italian citizenship only if their
• 09:30 - 10:00 parentant uh was residing in Italy for 2 years prior to uh their birth or if the child itself was born in Italy. Now, several proposals have been made to change that specific aspect of the decree and to you know allow more uh flexible rules regarding minors uh who uh can get Italian citizenship um based on an application or registration request made by the penant. And I think
• 10:00 - 10:30 the most important amendment that is being proposed is that it would be simply necessary going forward for somebody to be an Italian citizen. So if even if not born in Italy but just you know the fact that the person is an Italian citizen for this person to be able to register the birth of their minor child. So it would be simply necessary to be an Italian citizen uh residing abroad to be able to register the birth of your own child in Italy and for the child to become an Italian citizen. And finally, two other
• 10:30 - 11:00 proposals were made uh regarding the ability of an Italian parent um to register their child in Italy. And according to the first proposal, the registration is only possible if the child is under 2 years old. So if the registration is made within 24 months from the birth of the child and finally there is a again a variation of uh this ability to register the birth of the child which according to this last variation needs to happen uh prior to
• 11:00 - 11:30 the child turning 18. So it's possible for an Italian parent to register the birth of their child but the child needs to be under the age of 18. Well Marco, thank you so much for taking the time to get into this episode and to discuss with us what some of these proposals are looking like. Of course, we haven't been able to get into all of the proposals in this episode and just wanted to cover some of the most important ones and some of the ones that may have uh the the most discussion around them. But also again, please do keep in mind that some of these proposals may go through or maybe none of these proposals might end
• 11:30 - 12:00 up going through. And there is also the possibility that the decree may not be turned into law at this time as I mentioned earlier in the episode as I have over the last few weeks that there is a fluid situation and that things can be changing a lot at this moment in time. But Monaco of course if anybody is needing help to get their Italian citizenship or needing assistance during this time how can they get in contact with you and your team? People can contact us through our website Italiancitizenshipass assistance.com or send us an email at
• 12:00 - 12:30 info@italaliancitizenship assistance.com. Well, thank you so much Marco for taking the time again to make yourself available for this episode. Of course, if any of you who are watching and or listening to this episode are interested in more, be sure that you're subscribed to this YouTube channel as well as the audio only podcast. But of course, if you're subscribed to this YouTube channel, that does mean that you're also automatically subscribed to episodes of Ask the Italian Lawyer where we have been going into more around this topic as well as others as well as the Italian real estate podcast. But of course, we have been here again with
• 12:30 - 13:00 Italian attorney Marco Permon. I'm Rafael Duria. Stay safe and healthy out there and we'll see you all next time. Thank you. Thank you. [Music]