Italy Supreme Court Overturns Restrictive Citizenship Rule

The Court of Cassation, Italy's supreme court, overturned a restrictive citizenship rule known as the "minor issue" following a lawsuit brought by Gustavo Monasterios. The abolished restriction had previously denied Italian citizenship to hundreds of thousands of descendants, particularly in the Americas, by ruling that children born to Italian citizens lost their citizenship if their parents naturalized in a country practicing 'ius soli'.

Legal arguments presented by attorney Monica Restanio led the Sezioni Unite to overturn previous rulings. Monasterios, a Venezuelan citizen, initiated the legal challenge to restore rights for the diaspora. While the ruling removes a significant barrier, other legislative hurdles persist. Reforms introduced by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in 2025 established a two-generation limit and required that Italian ancestors die as exclusively Italian citizens, which restricts dual citizenship for descendants.