Everything You Need to Know About Getting Italian Citizenship Through Your Grandparents

"Citizenship by descent is granted by "jus sanguinis," which is Latin for "right of blood." Until May 2025, people could get Italian citizenship if they had a great-grandparent who was born in Italy. However, the updated law dictates that the furthest you can go back now is to a grandparent. To be eligible, at least one of your grandparents had to have been born in Italy and not renounce their Italian citizenship or obtain citizenship in another country before their child (your parent) was a legal adult. If your parent was born prior to 1975, they were deemed an adult at age 21. If your parent was born in 1975 or later, they were deemed an adult at age 18."

""We believe, because of the Italian constitution, several current legal challenges already underway and recent rulings by the Italian constitutional court on other cases, that we will see the process return back to what it was in the past," Gerard Renny, co-founder of Portale Italy, a company that helps foreigners apply for Italian citizenship, tells Travel + Leisure."

"With citizenship, you're eligible for an Italian passport, which gives you the right to live, work, study, and travel anywhere in the European Union."

Eligibility for Italian citizenship by descent follows jus sanguinis and now extends only to one’s grandparent. At least one grandparent must have been born in Italy and must not have renounced Italian citizenship or acquired another nationality before their child (the applicant’s parent) reached the legal age of adulthood. Parents born before 1975 were legally adults at 21; parents born in 1975 or later were adults at 18. The law previously allowed claims through a great-grandparent until May 2025, but the current rule limits claims to two generations. Applicants should prepare to gather substantial documentation.

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