Published: August 13, 2026  ·  Last updated: August 13, 2026  |  Author: Avv. Salvatore Aprigliano — Aprigliano International Law Firm

Was your Italian citizenship by descent application rejected by an Italian consulate or Comune because of the “Minor Issue” or “Minor Age Issue”?

Your case may now be reopened and re-examined.

Following Judgment No. 24045/2026 of the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di cassazione), Joint Sections (Sezioni Unite), the Italian Ministry of the Interior issued Circular Prot. No. 0065050 of August 10, 2026, commonly referred to as Circular 65050/2026, overturning the previous restrictive administrative interpretation of the Minor Age Issue and allowing certain applicants whose citizenship applications were rejected because of that issue to request reconsideration of their original application.

For many applicants, this means that a case that had already ended in rejection can now be reviewed again without filing a court case and, if there are no other legal or documentary obstacles, may result in recognition of Italian citizenship.

The process is relatively simple: you do not need to start a new citizenship application, you generally do not need to collect and submit your entire document file again, and you do not need to go to court. Instead, you ask the same consulate or Comune (Italian municipality) that issued the rejection to reconsider the original application.

In this guide, we explain who may qualify for reconsideration, how the Minor Age Issue changed, how to ask the consulate or Comune to reopen your file, what information to include, and when legal advice may still be appropriate.

We have also prepared a free Italian reconsideration request template, a completed sample, and an English reference translation to help applicants handle straightforward cases themselves.

 

Minor Issue reconsideration at a glance

 

 

Who this guide is for

This guide is primarily for people whose Italian citizenship by descent application was formally rejected by an Italian consulate or Comune because of the Minor Issue.

If your application is still pending, you never filed an application, you withdrew your application, or an Italian court denied your citizenship claim, different rules apply. Those situations are addressed in the Quick FAQs below.

Table of contents

1. Basic requirements before the 2025 reform
2. What was the “Minor Issue”?
3. What the Supreme Court decided in Judgment No. 24045/2026
4. What changed with Circular 65050/2026
5. Who can request reconsideration?
6. Why the date of your original application matters
7. Where to send the reconsideration request
8. How to request reconsideration
9. What documents to attach
10. Do you need a lawyer?
11. Is there a deadline?
12. How to complete the request
13. Download the free templates
14. Will every rejection now be approved?
15. Quick FAQs
16. Official sources
17. Update notice

What were the basic requirements for Italian citizenship by descent before the 2025 reform?

Before the 2025 citizenship reform, commonly known as the Tajani Decree, recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis or iure sanguinis) generally required you to prove two things: that you descended from an Italian citizen and that Italian citizenship had passed through each generation without the citizenship line being broken.

One of the events that could break the citizenship line was the naturalization of an Italian ancestor, or of a later Italian ancestor in the line, as a citizen of another country.

The timing of that naturalization was therefore critical. In particular, you had to determine whether the child through whom you claimed Italian citizenship had already been born when the Italian parent became a naturalized citizen of another country.

This is where the controversy known as the “Minor Issue” or “Minor Age Issue” arose.

What happened if that child had already been born abroad and had acquired citizenship of the country of birth under jus soli, citizenship based on being born in that country, but was still a minor when the Italian parent naturalized?

What was the “Minor Issue”?

Until 2024, when a child was born abroad in a country that granted citizenship by jus soli, the later naturalization of the Italian parent while the child was still a minor was generally not treated, by itself, as breaking the Italian citizenship line.

That changed with Ministry of the Interior Circular No. 43347 of October 3, 2024.

Relying on recent decisions from the Italian Supreme Court, the Ministry adopted a more restrictive interpretation. Under that approach, if the Italian parent naturalized as a foreign citizen while the child was still a minor and living with that parent, the child could also be treated as having lost Italian citizenship.

For descendants, the practical consequence was significant: the citizenship line could be considered broken at that generation, and later descendants could be denied recognition of Italian citizenship by descent.

From that point forward, many Italian consulates and Comuni began rejecting applications on this basis. This became widely known as the “Minor Issue” or “Minor Age Issue.”

As these rejections increased, applicants began challenging them in court, and different judges did not always reach the same conclusion. The issue eventually reached the Italian Supreme Court, Joint Sections, which was asked to provide a uniform interpretation of the law.

 

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What did the Italian Supreme Court, Joint Sections, decide in Judgment No. 24045/2026?

In Judgment No. 24045 of July 26, 2026, the Italian Supreme Court, Joint Sections, rejected the restrictive interpretation that had driven many Minor Issue denials.

The Court clarified that when a child was born abroad in a country with jus soli,  meaning the child automatically acquired that country’s citizenship at birth regardless of the parents’ nationality, the child could also acquire Italian citizenship by descent at birth.

In that situation, the child was already a dual citizen from birth.

The Court held that the Italian parent’s later naturalization while the child was still a minor did not automatically cause the child to lose Italian citizenship and did not, for that reason alone, break the citizenship line for future generations.

This applies, for example, to children born in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, or Brazil, where the law at the relevant time granted citizenship by birth on the territory.

The ruling does not apply in the same way to children born in Italy or in countries that did not grant citizenship automatically by jus soli, because those children were not already dual citizens at birth under the rule addressed by the Court.

By the time the Supreme Court issued its decision, however, many Italian consulates and Comuni had already rejected citizenship applications because of the Minor Issue. The new ruling therefore created an immediate practical question:

What happens to an application that was already rejected under an interpretation the Supreme Court has now rejected?

Without an administrative solution, many of those applicants could have been forced to challenge their consulate rejection in court.

That is the problem the Italian Ministry of the Interior addressed in Circular 65050/2026.

What changed with Ministry of the Interior Circular 65050/2026?

With Circular Prot. No. 0065050 of August 10, 2026, the Italian Ministry of the Interior formally adopted the new interpretation set out by the Italian Supreme Court, Joint Sections, and issued instructions to the authorities handling citizenship applications.

First, the Circular makes clear that the previous interpretation contained in Circular No. 43347 of October 3, 2024, the interpretation that led many citizenship applications to be rejected because of the Minor Issue,  is no longer to be followed in cases governed by Law No. 555/1912.

But the most important part is what the Circular says about applications that had already been rejected.

The new interpretation does not apply only to future cases. The Ministry expressly allows eligible applicants to ask for their previously rejected application to be re-examined.

In other words, if your Italian citizenship application was rejected because of the Minor Issue, you may be able to ask the same consulate or Comune to reopen and reconsider your original application.

You do not need to file a new citizenship application, and you do not need to start a court case just to obtain this administrative review.

If the original rejection was based only on the Minor Issue, and there are no other legal or documentary problems preventing recognition, the re-examination may lead to a new favorable decision and recognition of Italian citizenship.

The Circular also confirms that the reconsideration request must be handled by the same authority that issued the original rejection, even if you have since moved to another country or into a different consular district.

Who can request reconsideration?

The reconsideration procedure under Circular 65050/2026 applies to people who received an administrative rejection of an Italian citizenship by descent application because of the “Minor Issue” or “Minor Age Issue.”

The rejection must have been issued by an Italian consulate or Comune.

If your citizenship claim was denied by an Italian court, for example, in a 1948 case , this administrative reconsideration procedure cannot be used to reopen the court decision. A judicial rejection must be addressed through the remedies available in court.

The original consular or Comune rejection must also have been based only on the Minor Issue.

If your rejection letter listed additional reasons, such as missing documents, discrepancies, another break in the citizenship line, or another legal problem, overturning the Minor Issue may not be enough, by itself, to result in recognition.

For that reason, one of the first things you should do is read your rejection letter carefully and identify exactly why your application was denied.

The relevant naturalization must also fall within the period addressed by the new interpretation under Law No. 555/1912, beginning July 1, 1912.

The Circular refers to naturalizations through August 15, 1992, because after that date a different citizenship law, Law No. 91/1992, came into force. Under that later framework, Italian citizenship can generally be retained even when another citizenship is acquired, so the specific Minor Issue addressed by Judgment No. 24045/2026 does not arise in the same way.

Why does the date of your original application matter now?

Circular 65050/2026 does more than allow certain Minor Issue rejections to be reopened. It also explains which citizenship rules apply when the original application is re-examined.

This matters because the 2025 Italian citizenship reform and generational limits , commonly called the Tajani Decree, introduced new restrictions on Italian citizenship by descent, including new generational limits.

If your original citizenship application was filed on or before March 27, 2025, and the rejection was based only on the Minor Issue, the Circular says that the application should be reconsidered under the rules that applied when you originally filed.

In those cases, the new restrictions introduced by Article 3-bis of Law No. 91/1992 do not apply to the reconsidered application.

The same protection applies if you submitted your application after March 27, 2025 because you had already received a consular appointment that was communicated to you on or before March 27, 2025.

This is why some applicants who were previously rejected for the Minor Issue may now find themselves “back in the game”: reopening the original application can preserve the pre-Tajani rules that applied to their case before the 2025 reform.

By contrast, if both your appointment and your application came after March 27, 2025, the Minor Issue may no longer block your line, but the 2025 generational limits and other Tajani restrictions may still apply.

In that situation, the case should be reviewed separately before filing a reconsideration request.

Where should you send the reconsideration request?

The reconsideration request must be sent to the same authority that issued the original rejection.

If your Italian citizenship application was rejected by an Italian consulate, you should send the request back to that consulate. If the rejection was issued by a Comune in Italy, the request should be sent to that Comune.

This remains true even if you have since moved, changed countries, or now live in a different consular district.

The reason is simple: you are not filing a new citizenship application. You are asking the authority that already reviewed your file to reopen and re-examine the original application in light of the new interpretation.

For example, if your application was rejected by the Italian Consulate in Boston and you now live in Florida, the reconsideration request still goes to the Boston Consulate, not to the consulate that currently covers your new address.

How do you request reconsideration after an Italian consulate rejection?

Circular 65050/2026 does not require a specific form and does not set out one mandatory way to submit a reconsideration request.

Your first step should therefore be to check whether the consulate or Comune that issued your rejection has published its own instructions, form, or filing procedure.

If the authority has published an official form or specific submission instructions, follow those instructions.

If no official form has been published, you may submit a written request containing the essential details of your original application and rejection.

To make this easier, we have prepared a free Italian reconsideration request template that can be used when the consulate or Comune has not issued its own form.

You will find it in the download section below, together with a completed sample and an English reference translation.

The same rule applies to the method of delivery: first check whether the consulate or Comune has specified how reconsideration requests should be sent.

If no specific method has been published, use a method that allows you to keep proof that the request was sent and, where possible, delivered. Depending on what the authority accepts, this may include:

• email;
• trackable mail or courier service.

Always keep a copy of the signed request, all attachments, and proof of submission.

If you already have access to an Italian certified email account (PEC) and the authority accepts PEC submissions, you may use it. However, you do not need to obtain a PEC account just to file a reconsideration request.

 

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What documents should you attach to the reconsideration request?

Because this is a re-examination of your original application, not a new citizenship filing, you generally do not need to rebuild and resubmit your entire genealogy file.

For the standard template we prepared, the main attachment is:

• a copy of the original rejection letter or denial decision.

If your case depends on the fact that your consular appointment had already been communicated to you on or before March 27, 2025, it may also be helpful to attach a copy of the appointment confirmation or email, if you still have it.

The consulate or Comune may still ask for additional or updated documents during the review, so you should follow any instructions you receive.

Before sending anything, also check whether the authority handling your case has published specific instructions about what documents must be included with a reconsideration request.

Do you need a lawyer to request reconsideration?

No. You do not need a lawyer simply to ask a consulate or Comune to reconsider a Minor Issue rejection.

For a straightforward case, for example, where the rejection was issued by a consulate or Comune, was based only on the Minor Issue, and the original application clearly falls under the pre-Tajani rules, you can generally submit the reconsideration request yourself.

That is why we prepared a free Italian template, a completed sample, and an English reference translation for applicants who want to handle the request on their own.

Legal advice may still be useful if:

• the rejection letter lists other reasons in addition to the Minor Issue;
• it is unclear whether the rejection was based only on the Minor Issue;
• the relevant naturalization occurred before July 1, 1912;
• your original application or consular appointment came after March 27, 2025;
• there are other possible problems in the citizenship line or supporting documents.

In those situations, removing the Minor Issue may not be enough by itself to result in recognition of Italian citizenship.

Is there a deadline to request reconsideration?

Circular 65050/2026 does not set a specific deadline for filing a reconsideration request.

In other words, the Circular does not currently identify a cut-off date after which a request for re-examination can no longer be submitted.

That said, if you believe your rejection falls within the new guidance, it is generally sensible not to delay unnecessarily.

When you submit the request, keep a copy of everything you send and proof that the consulate or Comune received it, whenever possible.

How do you complete the reconsideration request?

The template is designed to be completed directly by the applicant and only asks for a few basic details:

• full name;
• place and date of birth;
• current address;
• email address and phone number;
• date of the original citizenship application;
• protocol number of the rejection letter;
• date of the rejection.

Where can you find the protocol number?

The protocol number is usually located near the top of the rejection letter, often in the upper-right corner.

Look for the wording “Prot. n.” followed by a number or an alphanumeric reference.

That is the number you should enter in the protocol number field of the reconsideration request.

To make the process easier, we have also prepared a completed sample using fictional information, so you can see exactly where each detail should go before filling out your own request.

Download the free Minor Issue reconsideration templates

To make the process easier, we prepared three free resources you can use if your consulate or Comune has not issued its own official form.

No lawyer is required to use these resources.

Will every Minor Issue rejection now be approved?

No.

The Italian Supreme Court, Joint Sections, ruling and Circular 65050/2026 remove one specific ground for rejection: the rule that treated the Italian parent’s naturalization during the child’s minority as breaking the citizenship line in the Minor Issue cases covered by the new interpretation.

That does not mean every previously rejected application must now be approved automatically.

If your rejection was based only on the Minor Issue, and there are no other legal or documentary problems in the file, reconsideration may lead to a new favorable decision and recognition of Italian citizenship.

If the rejection letter listed other reasons as well, for example, missing documents, discrepancies, another break in the citizenship line, or a separate legal problem, those issues may still prevent recognition.

So the practical rule is simple:

Quick FAQs about Minor Issue reconsideration

A. Can I use this reconsideration procedure?

1. My old application was rejected because of the Minor Issue. Can it now be reconsidered under the old rules?

Potentially, yes.

If your original application was filed on or before March 27, 2025, or was submitted later based on a consular appointment communicated to you by that date, and the rejection was based on the Minor Issue, Circular 65050/2026 provides that the application may be re-examined under the legal framework that applied before the 2025 reform. In those circumstances, the Tajani generational limits do not apply to the reconsidered application.

2. Do I need to file a new Italian citizenship application?

No, if your case qualifies for reconsideration.

Circular 65050/2026 allows certain applicants whose citizenship applications were already rejected because of the Minor Issue to ask for reconsideration or re-examination of the original application, rather than filing a new citizenship application.

3. I want to apply now, but my family line had a Minor Issue. Does the new Circular fix that?

Not by itself.

The new Circular resolves the specific Minor Issue addressed by the Supreme Court, but it does not repeal or suspend the 2025 Tajani reform for new applicants. If you are applying today and the Tajani generational limits prevent you from using the consular route, the Circular does not restore eligibility through the consulate. Any possible judicial route would need to be evaluated separately.

4. Does this remove the 2025 generational limit?

It depends on whether you are reopening an old rejected application or trying to apply today.

If your rejected application was filed on or before March 27, 2025, or was filed later based on a consular appointment communicated to you by that date, the application can be re-examined under the rules that applied before the Tajani reform. In that situation, the new generational limits do not apply to the reconsidered application. If you are trying to file a new citizenship application today, Circular 65050/2026 does not remove the 2025 generational limits.

5. What if I never applied, or I withdrew my application because of the Minor Issue?

The reconsideration procedure under Circular 65050/2026 applies to applications that were actually rejected.

If you never filed an application, or withdrew it before a final rejection was issued, there is no rejected application for the consulate or Comune to reopen. Your current eligibility must be assessed separately, especially in light of the 2025 citizenship reform.

6. What if my application is still pending and was never rejected?

If your application is still pending, you do not need to request reconsideration of a rejection because there is no rejection to reopen.

It is reasonable to expect consulates and Comuni to apply Circular 65050/2026 to pending cases. If the Minor Issue was the only obstacle to recognition and there are no other legal or documentary problems, the application should now be assessed under the new interpretation. Applicants should still follow any new instructions issued by the authority handling the case.

7. What if my citizenship was denied by an Italian court rather than by a consulate or Comune?

The administrative reconsideration procedure under Circular 65050/2026 does not reopen a court judgment.

If an Italian court denied your citizenship claim,  for example, in a 1948 case involving the Minor Issue, the decision must be assessed under the rules governing judicial appeals and other court remedies. A consulate or Comune cannot reconsider or reverse a judgment issued by an Italian court.

B. Does my family history qualify?

8. What if my consular appointment was communicated after March 27, 2025?

The Minor Issue may no longer be a valid reason to reject the application, but the 2025 Tajani restrictions may still apply.

If both your appointment and your application came after March 27, 2025, you may not benefit from the special protection preserving the pre-reform rules. In that situation, it is advisable to have the case reviewed before submitting a reconsideration request.

9. What if the relevant naturalization occurred before July 1, 1912?

Circular 65050/2026 does not extend the new Minor Issue interpretation to naturalizations that occurred on or before June 30, 1912.

Those cases fall under the earlier legal framework and require a separate legal analysis.

10. What if the child was born after the Italian ancestor naturalized?

Circular 65050/2026 does not solve that problem.

For Italian citizenship to pass by descent, the child through whom the citizenship line continues generally must have been born while the parent was still an Italian citizen. Judgment No. 24045/2026 concerns a different situation: a child who had already been born before the parent naturalized, was still a minor at the time, and had acquired another citizenship at birth under jus soli. If the Italian ancestor had already voluntarily naturalized and lost Italian citizenship before that child was born, the Minor Issue ruling does not restore the citizenship line.

11. Does reconsideration guarantee recognition of Italian citizenship?

No.

If the original rejection was based only on the Minor Issue, and there are no other legal or documentary obstacles, reconsideration may result in recognition of Italian citizenship. If the rejection involved additional problems, those issues may still prevent recognition.

C. Practical questions about filing

12. Can I request reconsideration if I now live in another country or consular district?

Yes.

The reconsideration request must be sent to the same Italian consulate or Comune that issued the original rejection, even if you have since moved to another country or into a different consular district.

13. Do I need to resubmit all of my citizenship documents?

Generally, no.

You are asking the authority to reopen and re-examine the original application, not filing a new one. The consulate or Comune should already have the original file. The authority may, however, request additional or updated documents during the review.

14. Do I need a lawyer to submit the reconsideration request?

No.

For a straightforward Minor Issue rejection, the applicant can generally submit the reconsideration request directly. Legal advice may be useful if the rejection letter lists other problems, if the dates are unclear, if the naturalization occurred before July 1, 1912, or if the case may still be affected by the 2025 Tajani reform.

15. Is there a deadline to request reconsideration?

Circular 65050/2026 does not currently set a specific filing deadline for a reconsideration request.

Applicants who believe they qualify should nevertheless consider filing without unnecessary delay and should keep proof of submission and delivery.

16. How long will the consulate take to re-examine my rejected application?

At this stage, there is no reliable way to estimate the processing time.

Circular 65050/2026 does not establish a special expedited timetable for previously rejected Minor Issue applications. It is not yet clear whether consulates will review these cases on a priority basis or place them into their ordinary citizenship-processing workflow. This should become clearer as consulates and Comuni begin implementing the new procedure. Once the authority confirms that it has received the reconsideration request and formally opened the review, the proceeding should remain subject to the applicable maximum administrative processing period, currently 36 months for citizenship recognition procedures. If the authority remains inactive beyond the applicable period, or for an unreasonable time, it may be appropriate to evaluate the legal remedies available for administrative inaction.