The Minor Case: the approach of Local Courts of Italy

In Italian dual citizenship, a case is a Minor Case if an Italian parent naturalized after his/her child was born. Though the child was a minor, they lost their Italian citizenship.

This kind of ruling began in 2019, when the Judges of the Court of Rome stated that in cases where the ancestors naturalized while the child was a minor, the minor lost Italian citizenship aswell. Since then, all Judges of Rome rejected every case of this type.

Italian Dual Citizenship: new legislation and the Courts of Italy

From June 22, 2022, all proceedings regarding dual citizenship by descent no longer pass through the Court of Rome. They must instead be submitted to the District Court of the Italian town where the ancestors were born.

This new legislation could drastically change Judges’ approaches towards Minor Cases. At the Court of Rome the rejection in the event of a Minor Case was certain. On appeal, cases had a 50% success rate.

Now, the Local Courts of Italy must establish their own approach towards Minor Cases. Will they follow Court of Rome Judges’ decision-making or will they rule positively with regard to Minor Cases, in the same way as the Consulates?

We expect it will take a couple of years to know the approach of most of the 26 courts dealing with dual citizenship cases.

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