Venice Court Recognizes Italian Citizenship Through Grandfather

The Tribunale di Venezia recognized the right to Italian citizenship for six members of the same Brazilian family, descendants of a grandfather born in the province of Venice. The decision, sentence no. 16323/2026, was published on July 8, 2026, after approximately 30 months of judicial proceedings, according to the decision text published by Diritto Pratico.

What the Venice Court Decided

The sentence confirmed the right to Italian citizenship for all six applicants, all belonging to the same family line. The petition was based on descent from an Italian grandfather born in the province of Venice who emigrated to Brazil and died there without ever renouncing Italian citizenship or becoming a Brazilian citizen — an essential condition for the transmission of citizenship to descendants not to have been interrupted.

According to the text published by Diritto Pratico, the Italian Interior Ministry, defendant in the case, was declared contumacious, meaning it did not present a defense. The Public Ministry, also a party to the proceedings, issued an opinion favorable to the recognition of the right claimed by the plaintiffs. The combination of these two factors — absence of contestation by the public administration and a favorable position from the prosecutor's office — contributed to the positive outcome of the action.

Why the Case Was Heard in Venice

Until 2022, virtually all judicial recognition actions for Italian citizenship filed by descendants residing abroad were concentrated in the Tribunale di Roma. This scenario changed with Law no. 206/2021, in force since June 22, 2022, which redistributed territorial jurisdiction: those living outside Italy must file the action in the court corresponding to the birthplace of the Italian ancestor who serves as the link to the descent.

In the case tried in Venice, since the family's grandfather was born in that province, jurisdiction fell to the immigration-specialized section of the Tribunale di Venezia. This rule of territorial distribution applies specifically to judicial proceedings for judicial recognition of citizenship — it does not apply to administrative petitions submitted at consulates, which follow a different competence logic.

Which Law Was Applied: Before the 2025 Reform

A central point of the decision is the law applied to the case. The Tribunale di Venezia ruled on the petition based on Law no. 91/1992, in the version in force before the amendments introduced by Law 74/2025, which converted into law the Decreto Tajani and Law 74/2025 (Decree-Law 36/2025). This was possible because the appeal was filed in 2024, before the new legislation took effect, which significantly restricted the transmission of citizenship by descent from great-grandchildren and later generations onward.

According to the decision text, the court also recalled the historical foundation supporting the right to citizenship through bloodline: the Italian Civil Code of 1865 and Law no. 555 of 1912, norms that guaranteed the transmission of citizenship through the paternal line, without limitation regarding the number of generations or the birthplace of descendants. This historical foundation is recurrent in judicial recognition sentences based on more distant ancestry, such as great-grandparents or great-great-grandparents.

The decision reinforces that for cases filed under previous legislation, the line of descent without the ancestor's disruptive naturalization continues to be the determining criterion for citizenship recognition.

What This Means in Practice for Brazilian Families

The case tried in Venice illustrates a point that has generated doubts among Brazilian families interested in Italian citizenship: cases filed before the Decreto Tajani took effect continue to be judged by the old rules, more favorable and without a limit on generations in the line of descent. This means that anyone who had already initiated judicial action before the legislative change is not affected by the new restrictions brought by the reform.

The duration of approximately 30 months between the filing in 2024 and the publication of the sentence in 2026 provides a reference for the average processing time of such cases when there is no contestation by the defendant. The absence of a defense by the Interior Ministry and the favorable opinion of the Public Ministry, as noted in the decision, indicate that, with complete and consistent documentation of the line of descent, such actions tend to have a positive outcome.

Next Steps for Those with Similar Cases

Brazilian families considering pursuing the judicial route for citizenship recognition — or who already have cases pending — should observe some practical points in light of the case tried in Venice:

• Identify the competent court: territorial distribution follows the birthplace of the Italian ancestor, no longer concentrated in Rome.
• Gather complete certificates for the entire line of descent, including documents proving that the ancestor never naturalized as Brazilian before the birth of the next person in the line.
• Verify the filing date of your own case or intended case, as this determines whether the applicable rules will be those before Law 74/2025 or the new, more restrictive ones.
• Consult a specialized attorney to evaluate which legal scenario your case fits, considering the changes brought by the Decreto Tajani.

More information about the available paths for citizenship recognition can be found in the Italian Citizenship section of Raízes Italianas, as well as other decisions and legislative updates in the Italy News area.

The sentence from the Tribunale di Venezia reinforces that, despite the restrictions imposed by the 2025 reform, families with cases filed before the new law can still obtain judicial recognition of citizenship based on historical rules of transmission by descent, without the Decreto Tajani applying retroactively to these cases.

Want to know if you have the right to Italian citizenship? Speak with a specialized advisor.