There are numbers that tell much more than statistics. They are the numbers of those who, on the other side of the ocean, search for an Italian name in their family tree and discover they have always been Italian.
According to ISTAT data, In 2024, 140.735 Italian citizenships by descent were recognized, jure sanguinis. Of these, 113.221 involved people residing abroadAnd here the numbers speak clearly: the 60,8% of the awards went to Brazilian citizens and 22,3% to ArgentinaTwo countries alone account for over 80% of the entire phenomenon.
An avalanche of questions
The consulates in São Paulo and Buenos Aires alone handled 28,4% of all Italian citizenships recognized worldwide in 2023. The courts also boomed: recognition proceedings increased from 23.654 in 2022 to 61.628 in 2024, almost tripled.
Behind these numbers lie simple and powerful stories. Brazilians with grandparents from Veneto discovering they can obtain an Italian passport. Argentines whose great-grandparents left Genoa and are reconnecting with a lost bond. Venezuelans rediscovering their roots in Calabria or Campania as a potential path to salvation. For many, an Italian passport is also a European one, but for many more, it is above all a symbol of identity: a way to return home, even if they remain on the other side of the world.
The Tajani decree changes everything
In March 2025, the so-called Tajani Decree (DL 36/2025) was introduced, later converted into Law 74/2025. The new development: citizenship. jure sanguinis can now only be recognized to those who have at least a parent or grandparent Italian. Translated: the great-grandson of an emigrant, previously almost automatically Italian, is no longer Italian. The government justified the restriction by the need for a "true bond" with Italy—a decision that provoked fierce protests from South American communities.
With the Judgment No. 63 of April 30, 2026The Constitutional Court has confirmed the reform. However, one key issue remains open: those who initiated the process before March 27, 2025, will be reinstated under the old regime. This includes hundreds of thousands of people. The case now moves to the ordinary courts and, perhaps, to the European Court of Justice.
Italy outside Italy
Today, there are over 6,4 million Italians abroad: almost a "twenty-first region." The reform will close some doors in the future, but the stories of those who discover they are Italian will continue to exist. Because certain roots, in the end, don't need a decree to be true.
