Mirandola Facilitates Recognition of Italian Citizenship

Comune of Mirandola Releases Information on Italian Citizenship Procedures — But Process Remains Restricted After Decreto Tajani

The Comune of Mirandola, in the province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region, has released information on its official website about the procedure for recognition of Italian citizenship for foreign citizens of Italian descent, known as iure sanguinis. The publication details how the administrative process works for those with family ties to the municipality, but it is important to note that this does not represent a simplification of the process — quite the opposite. The rules in effect in Italy since 2025 have made recognition more restricted for many descendants.

What Comune of Mirandola Disclosed

According to Italian media, the official page of Comune of Mirandola explains that recognition of citizenship by iure sanguinis — the right of blood, which allows descendants of Italians to request recognition of nationality — can, in certain cases, be handled directly with the Italian comune of reference, meaning the one where the ancestor who originated the line of descent was born or resided. It is worth noting that this direct administrative channel at the comune is now available only in specific situations, as the rules changed significantly in 2025 (see section below).

The municipal agency's publication clarifies that the procedure involves analyzing documentation proving the line of descent between the applicant and the citizen of Italian origin, including birth, marriage, and, where applicable, death certificates. The comune also provides guidance on the need to verify whether there were any interruptions in the chain of citizenship transmission, such as naturalizations occurring before the birth date of a descendant in the successive line.

It is important to highlight that the rules governing Italian citizenship recognition have undergone recent changes in the country — changes that restricted, rather than facilitated, access to recognition. Since the entry into force of Legislative Decree 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025 — known as Decreto Tajani — the direct administrative procedure at the comune for foreign residents abroad seeking recognition independently has become quite restricted, as has consular assistance, now limited to children and grandchildren of Italians. For other generations, the remaining available channel is judicial proceedings before Italian courts. Information published by comuni such as Mirandola thus serves as a reference regarding documentary requirements and local procedures, but does not substitute guidance on which channel — administrative or judicial — applies to each specific case.

Why This Matters for Brazilians of Italian Descent

Brazil is home to one of the largest communities of Italian descendants outside Italy, as a result of the large wave of migration that brought families from regions such as Veneto, Lombardy, Calabria, and also Emilia-Romagna, where Mirandola is located. For this reason, information released by Italian comuni about the citizenship recognition process typically resonates among Brazilian families researching their family trees in pursuit of the iure sanguinis right.

Understanding how each comune organizes and disseminates its guidance is useful because practical procedures — such as scheduling, forms, and required documents — may vary from one locality to another, even though the general principles of citizenship legislation are the same throughout Italian territory. Those descended from families originating in the Modena region, for example, may find on the Comune of Mirandola website specific information about how local administration handles requests related to that lineage — always considering whether their case still falls within the administrative channel or depends on the judicial channel following Decreto Tajani.

This type of municipal publication also helps reinforce, for the general public, the distinction between the search for historical documentation and the actual request for citizenship recognition — two stages that are often confused by those beginning research into their Italian ancestors.

How to Get Information About the Process

For those intending to seek recognition of Italian citizenship based on an ancestor who lived in Mirandola or any other locality in Italy, the recommended first step is to consult directly the official website of the comune of reference — that is, the one where the ancestor was born, married, or resided before emigrating. That is where specific requirements, service hours, and contact information for the civil registry office (ufficio di stato civile), responsible for this type of request, are usually published.

It is also essential to carefully verify:

• which certificates are required and in what format (original, apostilled, translated);
• the validity periods of the documents presented;
• whether prior appointment is necessary, in-person or through the comune's electronic systems;
• which channel applies to the case — administrative, consular, or judicial — considering the degree of kinship with the Italian ancestor and the restrictions introduced by Decreto Tajani.

For those facing difficulty locating old documents in Italy, services for searching for certificates in Italy can assist in the documentary research stage with archives of comuni and dioceses. To understand which legal path applies to your own case — especially after the changes brought about by Decreto Tajani — it is recommended to seek guidance from specialized Italian citizenship advisory services.

Those wishing to follow other developments on the topic can check the Italy News published by Raízes Italianas, as well as the section dedicated to Italian Citizenship, which brings together the history of legislative changes in recent years. For those already thinking about next steps after recognition, information about daily life in the country is also available in the Life in Italy section.

The disclosure made by Comune of Mirandola is an example of how Italian public administration, even at the local level, continues to guide foreign citizens of Italian descent about citizenship recognition procedures — without this representing, however, any relaxation of existing rules. Given the scenario of recent legislative changes in the country, the recommendation is always to confirm the rules in effect both with the comune of reference and with professionals who closely monitor changes in Italian citizenship legislation.

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

Source: Italian Media