On July 26th, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling stating that children born outside Italy who held dual nationality from birth did not lose their Italian citizenship if their Italian parent later naturalised as a foreign citizen while they were a minor.

The judgement resolves what’s become known known as the ‘minor issue’ or ‘minor rule’, clearing a new path for many hopeful Italian citizens whose application was rejected on this basis.`

The ruling comes on the heels of the Constitutional Court’s July 23rd referral to the European Court of Justice of a review of the government’s 2025 citizenship clampdown, offering fresh hope to a different group of barred applicants.

READ ALSO: Descendants of Italian emigrants get new chance to claim citizenship after EU court referral

What’s the background?

The ‘minor issue’ stems from two seemingly contradictory articles in Italy’s 1912 citizenship law. The authorities have gone back and forth over the years on which should take precedence: Article 7, which said Italians born abroad and granted jus soli foreign citizenship from birth retained their Italian citizenship, or Article 12, which said they lost it if their parent naturalised as a foreign citizen while they were a minor.

An October 2024 circular issued by Italy’s interior ministry came down on the side of the more restrictive Article 12, ordering the consulates and local municipalities responsible for reviewing applications to assume that the foreign-born child of an Italian citizen lost their citizenship if their parent naturalised as a foreigner while the child was still a minor.

The Supreme Court’s recent judgement overruled that interpretation, saying that Article 12 can’t be used to strip Italian citizenship from people who held dual citizenship from birth.

The ruling only applies to people born in countries that apply jus soli citizenship that grants anyone born on their territory citizenship from birth, such as the US, Brazil or Argentina.

It doesn’t affect those born abroad with only Italian citizenship, who later acquired a second citizenship as a result of their parent naturalising as a foreign citizen while they were still a minor. People in this situation are still covered by Article 12.

It’s worth noting that the minor issue only affected people whose Italian ancestor naturalised before August 16th, 1992, when Italy first recognised dual citizenship. From this date on, acquiring a foreign citizenship didn’t mean forfeiting your Italian citizenship.

What does this mean for applicants?

People whose application was previously rejected on minor rule grounds should be able to have their case reviewed without having to reapply scratch.

The interior ministry’s new guidance, dated August 10th, says that those in this situation can ask for their original application to be re-examined based on the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Applicants should direct their request to the same consulate or comune where they submitted their original application even if they have since relocated to a different jurisdiction, it says, without providing details on the process.

The Local will provide further information and updates as they become available.