Article 3-bis and Children Born Abroad: Does Citizenship Remain?
Under the current version of Article 3-bis, a person is considered as never having acquired Italian citizenship if: • they were born abroad, This provision intervenes on the rules governing the original acquisition of citizenship by birth abroad, introducing a general criterion aimed at excluding automatic recognition of iure sanguinis in certain situations. However, the provision does not govern situations that have already been defined, nor does it regulate the effects of judicial decisions that have recognized citizenship. The central question many are asking is whether Article 3-bis also applies to: a) cases in which Italian citizenship has already been recognized, To answer, one must distinguish between original acquisition and judicial recognition of status. According to consistent case law of the Italian Supreme Court (including decisions 3564/2024, 5518/2024, 13663/2024, and 14194/2024): • citizenship iure sanguinis is acquired automatically at birth; Therefore, those who have already been recognized as Italian citizens by judgment do not fall within the scope of Article 3-bis. The provision cannot invalidate a status that has already been judicially confirmed as original. Article 12 of Law 91/1992 provides that minor children living with their parent acquire citizenship automatically when the parent becomes or is recognized as an Italian citizen. When a parent is recognized as Italian iure sanguinis by judicial decision: • the status is considered original from the parent’s birth; This is not a conditional acquisition of citizenship; it is an automatic legal effect of the parent’s status. Article 3-bis does not regulate this scenario. In the example: • the parent obtained recognition of Italian citizenship by court judgment; The question is whether, in light of Article 3-bis, the child must be considered as never having acquired Italian citizenship. The answer is no, for three reasons: Article 3-bis does not apply to statuses already recognized or perfected. The minor’s acquisition is the automatic effect of the parent’s status, which has been recognized as original. The two-year residence requirement applies only to cases of acquisition through the naturalization of a parent, not to declaratory recognitions iure sanguinis. The child therefore does not fall within the category of persons considered as never having acquired Italian citizenship. Article 3-bis of Law 91/1992 introduces a criterion intended to limit the original acquisition of citizenship by birth abroad in certain situations. However, the provision cannot be applied retroactively to statuses already recognized, nor to cases in which citizenship has been granted by a court judgment confirming a pre-existing right. Likewise, minor children of a citizen recognized iure sanguinis cannot be considered as never having acquired citizenship. Their status derives directly from the parent’s original citizenship and does not depend on the mechanisms applicable to naturalization. For more information, you can contact the law firm Mangata Avvocati.What Article 3-bis actually provides after the 2025 reform
• they hold another citizenship,
• and none of the situations listed under letters a), b), c), d) or e) applies.The interpretative issue: does the provision apply to people already recognized as Italian citizens?
b) court judgments granting citizenship iure sanguinis,
c) minor children who acquired citizenship automatically because of their parent’s status.The declaratory nature of court judgments: why they cannot be overridden
• judicial proceedings do not create citizenship, they verify a pre-existing status;
• citizenship status cannot be lost retroactively without a legitimate legal cause.Minor children of a citizen recognized iure sanguinis: what the law provides
• the minor child becomes the child of an Italian citizen for all legal purposes;
• the child’s citizenship derives directly from the parent’s original status.Practical case: a child born abroad, holding another citizenship, who became Italian in January 2025
• the minor child, living with the parent, acquired citizenship automatically in January 2025;
• both also hold foreign citizenship;
• the parent has not yet completed two years of continuous residence in Italy after the acquisition.Conclusion