Italy Moves Citizenship Applications From Consulates to Rome: What Changes

On October 13, 2025, Italy's Chamber of Deputies approved a sweeping consular reform bill (A.C. 2369-A) that would fundamentally change how descendants apply for Italian citizenship by blood. The legislation still needs Senate approval, but if it stands, it represents the biggest administrative shift in this process in decades for the large community of Italian-Americans pursuing recognition.

Consulates step back, Rome steps in

The headline change pulls adult citizenship recognition out of local consulates entirely. Instead, adult applicants would mail their documents to a new centralized office within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome dedicated to reconstructing Italian citizenship. Consulates would keep only narrow roles, such as confirming citizenship for those already recognized and handling cases for minor children of recognized citizens. The planned start date for the new system is January 1, 2028.

Paper only, with a long clock

• Applications must be submitted by postal mail with original paper documents; no digital filing would be accepted
• Once a file is received, correspondence would move to email, including ordinary non-certified addresses
• The law sets a processing window of 24 to 36 months from receipt of the completed application
• Applicants may have to pay third-party operators for mail handling and digitization on top of the existing consular fee

A tight transition in 2026 and 2027

Until the Rome office takes over, consulates would keep accepting applications but under hard caps. Each consulate could accept only as many new cases as it completed the prior year, with a floor of 100. High-demand posts in places like the United States, Brazil, and Argentina, where backlogs already run for years, would feel the squeeze immediately.

Other moving parts

The reform also tightens the registry of Italians abroad (AIRE), reinforcing annual fines for failure to register, and it restores dual legalization so foreign documents must be validated locally and then authenticated by the Italian consulate. Both add friction for applicants assembling records overseas.

This is a proposal in motion, not settled law, so timelines may shift in the Senate. The practical takeaway is the same either way: get your documents in order early. Run the free eligibility check to see your path.