Italian Citizenship by Descent (Jure Sanguinis): 2025 Rules

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If your great-grandparents came from Italy, you have more than a family story. You have records, places and names worth finding.

Many Americans, Brazilians, Argentinians, Australians, and Canadians have Italian roots. Citizenship by descent is known in Italy as jure sanguinis, which means “by right of blood.” The rules on it changed in 2025.

This guide shows where to read the law as it now stands, which records families usually gather, and where to research them.

What Is Jure Sanguinis?

Jure sanguinis is the Latin name Italy uses for citizenship by descent. Decree-Law No. 36 of 28 March 2025 (in force from 29 March 2025) was made law, with changes, by Law No. 74 of 23 May 2025. It added a new Article 3-bis to Italy’s citizenship law (Law No. 91 of 1992).

The rules on citizenship by descent changed in 2025 (Law No. 74/2025). Read the official page on the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (Consulate General in Miami shown; use your own consulate’s page). Our free PDF, Italian Citizenship by Descent: the 2025 Rules, sets out what the law now says. Checked October 2026.

Think of it this way. Your great-grandfather left the comune of Sant’Elia a Pianisi in Molise in 1908. He carried more than his clothes on that ship. His birth, his baptism and his parents’ names stayed behind in the registers of his town, and those records are still there for you to find.

Where Family Research Starts

Most family research starts with three questions:

1. Who was your Italian-born ancestor?
2. Which town (comune) did they come from?
3. Which records link each generation from them to you?

Your Italian ancestor did not need to be wealthy or well-known. Between 1880 and 1930, more than four million Italians left for the United States alone. They came from small farming towns, coastal villages, and mountain settlements. They were labourers, craftsmen, and smallholders — ordinary people from specific places. Those places, and their records, still exist.

Naturalisation Records

Naturalisation papers are among the most useful records for Italian-American family research. They often record when your ancestor arrived, where they lived and the town they came from.

Our guide to Italian immigration records and naturalisation documents explains where to find them.

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Which Records to Gather

Each consulate’s page sets out the documents it asks for, so check your own consulate’s list first. For family research, look for these records for each person in the line from your Italian ancestor to you:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Death certificate (if applicable)
• Naturalisation records (if they became a citizen of another country)

Italian civil records from 1866 onwards are held at the relevant comune (town hall) or Archivio di Stato. Records before 1866 are in church registers held by parishes or regional archives. Many of these are now accessible through Antenati, Italy’s free online genealogy archive.

For relatives who lived outside Italy, you collect documents from the relevant country. In the United States, these come from vital records offices, county clerks, state archives, and the National Archives (NARA).

Your consulate’s page sets out whether documents need a certified Italian translation and an apostille (an official certification that makes a document valid for use abroad).

How to Research Your Italian Ancestry

Start by mapping your family tree from yourself back to your Italian ancestor. Write down the full name, approximate birth year, and birth town of every person in the chain. Even rough details help you know where to look.

Your key research sources:

• Family papers: old letters, photographs, passports, baptism cards, newspaper clippings
• Antenati: over 120 million scanned Italian records available free online
• Your Italian comune: the town hall holds civil records from 1866
• NARA: US National Archives holds ship manifests, naturalisation files, and census records
• Ancestry.com and FamilySearch: useful for US-side documents and some Italian collections

If you are not sure which town your family came from, start with the surname. Many Italian family names carry strong regional ties. Our guide to finding your Italian ancestral village covers how to work backwards from an Americanised name to a specific comune.

For a complete walkthrough of every record source, read our guide to tracing your Italian ancestry step by step.

Where Applications Go

Applications go to the Italian consulate for the place where you live, and each consulate’s page sets out its own documents and booking. The rules changed in 2025 (Law No. 74/2025); read the official page linked above before you start.

Many Italian-Americans combine their research with a visit to their ancestral town. Planning an Italian heritage trip can run alongside the paperwork.

What You Gain with an Italian Passport

An Italian passport grants you European Union citizenship. This means:

• The right to live and work in any of the 27 EU member states
• Visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 190 countries
• EU tuition rates at European universities
• The right to own property across the EU without restrictions
• Italian consular assistance and protection worldwide

For many Italian-Americans, the passport is also something personal. It is official recognition that the journey their ancestors made — from a southern Italian village to an American city — did not cut the thread. It stretched it.

Many families keep a photograph of the house or the church their ancestors left behind. Finding that place in the records, and then standing in front of it, is often the part people remember most.

Should You Use a Genealogist?

Many families do their research themselves. Others hire a genealogist, especially when documents are hard to find or the handwriting in old records is difficult to read.

A qualified genealogist can locate records in regional Italian archives, translate old Italian handwriting, and prepare a complete, organised file for your consulate appointment.

Ask any professional about their experience with Italian archives and specifically with the region your family came from. A specialist in Sicilian or Calabrian records knows those archives far better than a generalist.

FAQ: Italian Citizenship by Descent

Can I claim Italian citizenship if my family emigrated to Australia, Canada, or Brazil?

The rules changed in 2025 (Law No. 74/2025); see the citizenship section above for the official page and our free guide.

What if my ancestor changed their name when they arrived?

Many Italian names were anglicised or misspelled at entry. Check the original ship manifest for the spelling used at departure. Cross-reference with Italian records using the original spelling. Italian surnames changed at Ellis Island covers this issue in detail.

How many generations back can I go?

The rules changed in 2025 (Law No. 74/2025); see the citizenship section above for the official page and our free guide.

What if I cannot find my ancestor’s Italian birth record?

Contact the comune (town hall) of the town where they were born. Civil records from after 1866 are held locally. Earlier records may be at the Archivio di Stato in the regional capital. Italian parish records cover births before civil registration began in 1866 and are often the only source for records before that date.

Do I need to speak Italian to apply?

Your consulate’s page sets out which documents must be translated into Italian. Some Italian helps a great deal when you write to a comune for records, and a genealogist can handle Italian-language letters for you.

You Might Also Enjoy

• How to Trace Your Italian Ancestry – Step-by-Step Guide for Americans
• How to Find Your Italian Ancestral Village: A Step-by-Step Guide
• How to Plan an Italian Heritage Trip to Your Ancestral Town

Plan Your Italy Trip
Ready to walk the streets your ancestors walked? Start with our Ultimate Italy Travel Guide to plan your heritage journey.

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