Introduction:
On May 13, 2026, the Tribunale di Bologna issued judgment no. 4038/2026, recognizing Italian citizenship by descent for a third-generation adult and his fourth-generation minor daughter. The applicants sought judicial recognition of their citizenship on the basis of translated and apostilled civil records. The proceeding was filed in September 2025 and therefore fell entirely within the scope of Law 74/2025, the Tajani Decree, which excludes third- and fourth-generation descendants unless they had secured a consular appointment or filed a judicial claim before 27 March 2025. The applicants had no such appointment: despite documented and repeated attempts, the competent Consulate had never made one available, a circumstance entirely beyond their control. The case turned on demonstrating that their will to obtain recognition had nonetheless been formally and verifiably activated well before the cut-off date.
Outcome:
The Court upheld the claim in full, declaring both applicants, a third-generation adult and his fourth-generation minor daughter, Italian citizens by descent, and ordered the competent Civil Status Registrar to carry out all consequent formalities.
View the Judgment:
Bologna 13.05.2026
Challenge:
Under Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992 as amended by Law 74/2025, applicants must prove that a formal application was submitted to the competent consular authority before 27 March 2025. The applicants had no confirmed appointment. The challenge was to demonstrate that they had already activated the procedure to obtain recognition of Italian citizenship before 27 March 2025.
Action:
The legal strategy focused on proving that the applicants’ will to obtain recognition of Italian citizenship had been clearly expressed before 27 March 2025, and that the missing consular appointment was due to the malfunctioning of the Prenot@mi system, not to any inaction on their part.
This case was brought by Aprigliano Law Firm, based on the legal strategy developed by Avv. Salvatore Aprigliano.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.