Introduction:
The case concerns applicants seeking recognition of Italian citizenship by descent from an Italian ancestor who emigrated abroad without ever acquiring foreign citizenship. The genealogical line was fully reconstructed through official documentation, duly apostilled and translated in accordance with the Hague Convention, thereby ensuring full evidentiary validity of the records submitted. The proceedings were brought before the Court of Ancona, which examined both the procedural objections raised by the Ministry of the Interior and the substantive merits of the claim.
Outcome:
The Court upheld the application and declared the applicants Italian citizens jure sanguinis, ordering the Ministry of the Interior to proceed with all necessary registrations and transcriptions in the civil status registers and to notify the competent consular authorities. Legal costs were fully offset between the parties.
Challenge:
The Ministry of the Interior contested the claim by raising procedural objections relating to the alleged late production of documents and the burden of proof, also referring to the high volume of citizenship applications handled by consular authorities. The Court rejected these arguments, clarifying that the simplified procedure does not impose automatic evidentiary preclusions where documents are produced before the hearing. It further reaffirmed that judicial proceedings may be brought independently of prior administrative applications and that any interruption in the transmission of citizenship must be proven by the State.
Action:
The applicants successfully demonstrated uninterrupted descent from the Italian ancestor, who never renounced Italian citizenship. The Court reaffirmed that citizenship constitutes a fundamental, permanent and imprescriptible right, which may be lost only through voluntary and explicit renunciation and never through implicit conduct.It also confirmed the full applicability of the principles governing transmission through the maternal line, including for descendants born before 1948, in line with consolidated constitutional and Supreme Court case law. Finally, the Court clarified that the provisions introduced by Decree-Law no. 36/2025 cannot apply retroactively and therefore do not affect proceedings initiated before 27 March 2025.
For the privacy of our clients, all names are fictional, and any identifying details in the judgements have been obscured.