How 1992 Law No. 91 Affected Italian Citizenship by Descent

Italy’s 1992 Law No. 91 significantly altered the landscape for descendants of Italian immigrants, providing a clearer and more accessible path to citizenship. Here’s an in-depth look at how this legislative change impacts eligibility for Italian citizenship by descent.

Before 1992, the acquisition of a second citizenship by an Italian immigrant could sever the continuity of Italian citizenship within their lineage. Specifically, if an Italian ancestor naturalized in another country before the birth of their child, it resulted in the automatic loss of Italian citizenship for the ancestor, thereby breaking the chain of citizenship transmission to future generations. This stringent regulation created a substantial barrier for many descendants of Italian immigrants, as it precluded them from claiming Italian citizenship by descent.

The enactment of the 1992 law marked a pivotal shift in this paradigm. By allowing Italian citizens to retain their nationality despite acquiring citizenship of another country, the law ensured that the chain of Italian citizenship could remain intact through successive generations. This means that post-1992, an Italian ancestor’s naturalization in another country does not preclude their descendants from claiming Italian citizenship by descent, even if the descendant was born after the ancestor’s naturalization, as the fundamental link — the Italian citizenship of the ancestor — is preserved.

For people of Italian descent, this legislative evolution opens a new pathway to reclaiming your Italian heritage. The principle of jus sanguinis, or "right of blood," is now more robustly supported, enabling the transmission of Italian citizenship across generations without the disruption previously caused by naturalization in other countries.