EU Court of Justice dockets the Italian art. 3-bis descent challenge as Case C-816/26 Picuso

What changed

The Court of Justice of the European Union has formally docketed the Italian Constitutional Court's referral on citizenship by descent as Case C-816/26 Picuso. The court record shows the request for a preliminary ruling was lodged on 23 July 2026, the referring court is the Corte costituzionale, the subject matter is recorded as non-discrimination and citizenship of the Union, and the case is pending.

The step that is new is publication of the summary of the request under Article 98(1) of the Court's Rules of Procedure. That publication opens the written phase, in which the Member States and the European Commission may file observations.

What the case is about

The question is whether EU law permits article 3-bis of Law 91/1992, the provision introduced by the 2025 reform that bars automatic acquisition for people born abroad who hold another citizenship, unless an exception applies.

The underlying facts are narrow. Proceedings were brought at the District Court of Mantua by the parents of a Brazilian child, born and resident in Brazil, against a municipal registrar's refusal to transcribe the child's birth certificate. The mother had herself been recognised as an Italian citizen by a 2025 judgment of the District Court of Brescia. As the court record puts it, under the earlier rules the application would have been well-founded.

What this is not

A referral is not a reversal, and coverage describing it as one is wrong. In making the reference the Italian Constitutional Court restated that it considers article 3-bis compatible with Union law, and reaffirmed its own sentenza 63/2026, which upheld the two-generation limit. Article 3-bis remains in force and consulates and courts continue to apply it.

No eligibility rule changes because of this step. There is no hearing date and no judgment, and a ruling is the event that could change the position.

General guidance, not legal advice.