Bologna Court Rules on Citizenship Recognition

CATEGORIA: citizenship

CONTEÚDO (Markdown):

The Tribunale di Bologna issued a ruling on a request for recognition of the Italian citizenship iure sanguinis, deciding that judicial actions filed before 27/03/2025 are not covered by the new framework of the Tajani Decree (D.L. 36/2025). According to the decision text published by Diritto Pratico (sentence no. 5766/2026, Tribunale di Bologna, published 21/09/2026), the Ministry was declared in default and the plaintiffs’ request should follow the rules that existed before the introduction of art. 3‑bis in Law 91/1992.

Summary of the decision — Tribunale di Bologna, sentence no. 5766/2026

• Sentence no. 5766/2026, published on 21/09/2026, as described in Diritto Pratico: https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenze.html?c=https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenza/tribunale/bologna/2026/5766.html#03246.
• The Court declared the contumacy of the Ministry — i.e., it acknowledged that the defendant (Ministry) was properly served and did not present a defense.
• It held that the plaintiffs’ judicial request is not subject to the new art. 3‑bis inserted into Law 91/1992 by D.L. 36/2025 (Tajani Decree), because the action was filed before 23:59 on 27/03/2025.
• The decision also addresses the requirement of the interesse ad agire (standing to sue), noting that, as a rule, the judiciary acts when there is silence or negation by the administration.

What changed in practice for Brazilian families — Italian citizenship and D.L. 36/2025

• The ruling confirms that people who filed a lawsuit for recognition of Italian citizenship before 27/03/2025 may proceed under the prevailing rules up to that date, in line with the procedural protections provided in D.L. 36/2025 itself.
• Note: the protection provided by the decree refers to procedural protection for actions filed before its entry into force, but there is a pending legal question about the material retroactivity of the decree (i.e., the normative declaration that could affect rights acquired at birth). This matter is under discussion in higher courts.
• Important: D.L. 36/2025 (Tajani Decree), converted into Law 74/2025, restricted administrative access to recognition in two key areas affecting practice:
  • the consulate no longer can process recognition requests for great-grandchildren and later generations — the consular route is limited to children and grandchildren;
  • recognition directly at the comune has, in practice, become unavailable for many foreign residents (post-2025 rules imposed limitations that reduced this possibility).
• The judicial route remains and is the remaining path for many applicants (especially great-grandchildren and beyond), though the new framework introduced restrictive rules impacting the material right and administrative practice.

Deadlines, evidence, and administrative procedure

• The Court reiterated that recognition by iure sanguinis is, in principle, a right arising from blood ties, but administrative avenues have undergone regulatory changes after 2025. Therefore, the generic guidance to exhaust the administrative path before going to court does not uniformly apply to all cases currently:
  • for children and grandchildren of Italians, the consular route still exists, but subject to new rules;
  • for great-grandchildren and later generations, the consular route is no longer available in practice; many cases rely on the judicial route;
  • the comune is no longer, in practice, an effective path for administrative recognition of foreigners in many post-2025 scenarios.
• The required proofs remain documentary establishing the lineage — birth, marriage, and death certificates, along with any relevant Italian record transcriptions — but the procedural strategy must take current administrative limitations into account.
• The ruling has a meaningful impact especially for those who had already filed a case before 27/03/2025: this situation does not lose procedural effectiveness due to the new law, according to the Tribunal, but questions regarding material retroactivity of the Decree remain legally sensitive.

Effects of the Tajani Decree (D.L. 36/2025) and its relation to Law 74/2025

• The ruling clarifies that the new art. 3‑bis (D.L. 36/2025) is of a restrictive nature and, in the Bologna Court’s interpretation, affects processes started after 27/03/2025. The conversion of the decree into Law 74/2025 kept the framework introduced by the Decree.
• However, it is crucial to distinguish two legal planes:
  • procedural protection: the decree text provides protection for processes filed before its effective date — these processes, as a rule, are not retroactively affected by the new rules;
  • material retroactivity: the decree declares changes affecting the material rights of those born outside Italy; there is debate about whether a new norm can retroactively extinguish a right that a person acquired at birth (a question raised in higher courts).
• Interested families should follow the evolution of jurisprudence (including decisions of the Sezioni Unite and the Corte Costituzionale) and any subsequent legislative or judicial measures, as interpretations may vary across courts or constitutional interventions can modify the landscape.

What to do now — practical steps

• If you already filed a case before 27/03/2025: inform your attorney of the ruling and assess next procedural steps (executions, transcription of judgments, actions to ensure compliance). Cases filed before the effective date are protected procedurally by the decree’s text, but one should consider potential risks related to the discussion of material retroactivity.
• If you have not yet started the process: assess your concrete situation before pursuing a standard path. Consider:
  • if you are a child or grandchild of an Italian national, the consular route may still be accessible (subject to applicable legal restrictions);
  • if you are a great-grandchild or later generation, the consular route is not available in practice and the judicial route is usually the appropriate path;
  • direct recognition at the comune has been limited in practice since 2025.
• In all cases, it is recommended to consult a lawyer specialized in Italian citizenship to verify documents, dates, and the best strategy (judicial vs. administrative) according to the concrete situation.

"Art. 3‑bis inserted into Law 91/1992 by D.L. 36/2025" — the provision introducing restrictions to administrative and consular routes, known as Tajani Decree and converted into Law 74/2025.

Conclusion The Bologna Court’s ruling (no. 5766/2026) provides procedural certainty for those who had already filed actions before 27/03/2025, allowing them to proceed under the pre‑Tajani framework in procedural terms. For applicants who have not yet started a case, the recommendation is to carefully assess the most appropriate route: the consular administrative route today is limited to children and grandchildren; for great-grandchildren and later generations, the judicial path is usually necessary. Monitor jurisprudence and any constitutional decisions, as the question of material retroactivity remains legally sensitive.

For related content, also see the Raízes Italianas sections on Cidadania Italiana and news on the topic in Notícias da Itália and Vida na Itália.