Tribunale di Venezia confirms citizenship iure sanguinis

ATENÇÃO: this article has been updated to include essential information about the Decreto Tajani (DL 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025) and its practical and retroactive effects on iure sanguinis citizenship requests.

Category: cidadania

Tribunale Ordinario di Venezia recognized Italian citizenship by descent for a Brazilian family in a judgment published on 15/10/2026. The decision (sent. n. 18970/2026) accepted the petition of the appellants and ordered the necessary annotations and transcriptions in the civil registers, after a process that began in 2025 and lasted approximately 21 months, according to the decision text published by Diritto Pratico (link below).

Decision summary — Italian citizenship, Tribunale di Venezia, iure sanguinis

• Court: Tribunale Ordinario di Venezia, Sezione Specializzata in Immigration.
• Judgment: n. 18970/2026, published on 15/10/2026.
• Case filed: 2025; approximate duration: 21 months.
• Result: petition granted — recognition of the Italian citizenship iure sanguinis and determination of annotations/transcriptions in the Italian civil registers.
• Parties: the demanded Ministry did not appear (default). The Public Prosecutor did not oppose the grant, according to the judgment text.
  Source: text of the decision published by Diritto Pratico — https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenze.html?c=https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenza/tribunale/venezia/2026/18970.html#20adc

What the court decided and why — judicial recognition

The Tribunale di Venezia found that the applicants demonstrated the line of descent (iure sanguinis) from the Italian ancestor to the current appellants, presenting birth, marriage, death certificates and evidence of no renunciation of citizenship by the ancestor. The court deemed the litigious route appropriate to recognize the permanent citizenship status, in light of the documentation produced and the absence of opposition by the Public Prosecutor.

“The judgment was issued based on the documentation submitted by the appellants and the absence of opposition by the Public Prosecutor,” according to the decision text published by Diritto Pratico.

The court declared the rights of the appellants to Italian citizenship and ordered the necessary registry actions to formalize this recognition in the Italian atti di stato civile.

Practical implications for Brazilian families — judicial recognition

• Practical effect: the favorable decision allows the registration/transcription of citizenship in Italian civil records (atto di stato civile/anagrafe), a required step for formal recognition of status and for the applicant to subsequently request Italian documents. Important note: the codice fiscale is issued by Agenzia delle Entrate and the identity card is issued by the comune after registration in the anagrafe; these steps are distinct and follow specific procedures.
• Judicial route as an alternative: this case shows that the judicial route remains a path to obtain recognition when there is sufficient documentary evidence or when the administrative route failed. However, it is essential to ALERT about recent legal changes (see the section below) restricting administrative and consular pathways and having retroactive material effects — this affects many jure sanguinis requests and should be considered before choosing a procedural strategy.
• Deadlines and enforcement: enforceability of the judgment and annotations may require contact with the Ufficiale dello Stato Civile of the competent comune and possible communication to the consulate; the time needed varies by local procedures and administrative load. The judgment itself does not guarantee immediate timelines for document issuance; there are registry steps to complete.

What changed (and what is crucial to know) — current legal context (Decreto Tajani DL 36/2025 / Lei 74/2025)

• Decreto Tajani (DL 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025): this decree introduced significant restrictions on administrative and consular avenues for recognizing iure sanguinis citizenship. In particular, the consular path practically limited to children and grandchildren of Italians — requests by great-grandchildren and further generations are no longer accepted through the consular route under the new regulatory framework.
• Comune (via amministrativa): after Decreto 36/2025, in most cases comuni stopped being able to recognize citizenship administratively for foreigners resident by iure sanguinis without a judicial process. This means the direct administrative route at the comune is no longer practically available for many applicants.
• Retroactive material: the decree’s text declared retroactive material effects impacting the birthright citizenship granted to certain people born outside Italy (the normative statement can practically declare that certain people “were never” Italian). This retroactive materiality is the central point of judicial controversy: the new law seeks to extinguish a right that existed since the person’s birth.
• Protection of cases filed before the decree: cases filed BEFORE the effective date of Decree 36/2025 are protected by the decree’s own text — this is distinct from retroactive material issues, which affect the right itself.
• Practical consequence for this and other judicial cases: while the judicial path remains, requests filed after the decree’s entry into force or cases invoking retroactive material may face defenses based on the new norm. Higher courts, including the Corte di Cassazione and the Sezioni Unite (binding), and possibly the Corte Costituzionale, will be asked to assess constitutionality and limits of retroactivity. Therefore, favorable lower court decisions do not eliminate legal uncertainty in all scenarios, especially where the matter concerns applying DL 36/2025.

Important: the Sezioni Unite of the Corte di Cassazione have binding authority for Italian judges, and constitutional questions related to retroactivity can be submitted to the Corte Costituzionale. The distinction between Corte di Cassazione and Corte Costituzionale must be maintained: they are different bodies with distinct competencies.

How to proceed if you are in the same situation — practical steps and cautions

1. Gather documentation: birth, marriage and death certificates of the Italian ancestor and successive generations; naturalization documents or negative naturalization certificates; translations and apostilles as required by Italian authorities. Documentary evidence is central in judicial actions.
2. Assess the judicial path with attention to DL 36/2025: consult a lawyer before opting for a procedural strategy. The judicial route remains viable, but the impact of Decreto 36/2025 (especially retroactive materiality and consular/municipal limitations) must be carefully analyzed case by case.
3. Hire a lawyer: seek a lawyer specialized in Italian citizenship to evaluate documents, prepare the petition and monitor the execution phase of the judgment and transcriptions in civil registers. Technical expertise is essential, especially now that recent legislative changes may affect outcomes in higher courts.
4. Prepare for variable timelines: even after a favorable judgment, issuing Italian documents may take weeks to months, depending on the comune and the consulate. The codice fiscale is issued by Agenzia delle Entrate; the identity card is issued by the comune after registration in the anagrafe.

References and main source

• Judgment: Tribunale di Venezia, sent. n. 18970/2026, published on 15/10/2026 — decision text published by Diritto Pratico: https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenze.html?c=https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenza/tribunale/venezia/2026/18970.html#20adc
• Legal context note: Decreto DL 36/2025 (Decreto Tajani), converted into Law 74/2025 — changes to consular route, effects on administrative recognition at the comune and declaration of retroactivity (see official texts and specialized legal commentary).

Conclusion: the Tribunale di Venezia decision (sent. 18970/2026) confirms that the judicial route can lead to recognition of Italian citizenship iure sanguinis when documentary proof is sufficient and there is no opposition in the specific case. However, it is essential to consider the current legislative framework (DL 36/2025 / Lei 74/2025), which restricts the consular and administrative path in practice and introduces a retroactive materiality question whose validity will be debated in higher courts. Prospective applicants should gather complete documentation and seek specialized legal assistance to assess risks and strategies, including in light of the new rules.