Hearings have begun in the Chamber of Deputies on Bill No. 2369, a measure intended to revolutionize services for Italian citizens abroad. A technical reform only on the surface. Behind the promised simplification lies a shift that could reshape—and hinder—the relationship between Italy and its global community, particularly the U.S. community.
The most delicate point concerns the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (iure sanguinis), an issue that closely affects millions of Italians abroad and that, under the new rules, risks becoming an obstacle course.
What’s changing
Centralization in Rome
The management of citizenship applications will shift from consulates to a new central office within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consular offices will retain only the task of certifying the maintenance of citizenship and recognizing it for minors. For everyone else, the process will be centralized.
Goodbye digital, back to paper mail
Applications must be submitted exclusively by mail. No PEC, no digital uploads, no online portals. Documentation must be in original paper form, with shipping costs borne by the applicant. Private (paid) operators will be allowed to digitize and archive the documents, but without any guaranteed public infrastructure.
48-month wait time
The maximum processing time will increase from 24 to 48 months—that is, 4 years. This period starts from the date the application is sent, but in practice could be even longer, given the large backlog of pending requests.
Application cap
For two years, the new office will be allowed to accept only as many applications as the consulates processed the previous year. Meanwhile, consulates themselves will not be able to receive new applications beyond a preset threshold. This amounts to the introduction of an annual quota for recognized citizenships.
The consequences
A setback for the Italian community abroad
In the United States, where ties to Italy remain strong and intergenerational, thousands will see their chance of obtaining citizenship drift further out of reach. Families nurturing Italian roots, young people dreaming of a future between two countries, entrepreneurs and students—they’ll all face a slowed, centralized bureaucratic machine.
A denied digital future
In an era of interoperability and online public services, choosing to rely on paper mail feels outdated and punitive. It’s a step backward by decades, giving up traceability, speed, and accessibility.
A bond at risk
The deeper risk is symbolic: this law could turn citizenship into a privilege reserved for the few, rather than a right accessible to anyone with a recognized connection to Italy. In a world where identities are fluid and transnational ties are increasingly important, Italy is choosing to close itself off.
Risks to grandchildren of new immigrants
With the simultaneous revision of iure sanguinis criteria, the grandchildren of newer immigrants risk being entirely excluded:
The reform limits citizenship by descent to those with a parent born in Italy who resided there for at least two years, excluding descendants of great-grandparents who immigrated or of more recent arrivals in the 2000s.
A political choice, not just a technical one
Officially, the reform is intended to improve efficiency and reduce delays. But the numbers tell a different story. Potentially, millions of people around the world have the right to apply for Italian citizenship. The current consular system is already at its limit. This reform doesn’t simplify it—it replaces it with a filter.
The right to citizenship risks becoming a bureaucratic lottery, dependent on the capacity of a single office in Rome and the slow pace of postal delivery. A contradiction that casts doubt on Italy’s role as a country of culture, identity, and openness.
