Why Do So Many People Think You Can't Have Italian Dual Citizenship?

If you've ever mentioned having Italian dual citizenship to an Italian, you may have been met with surprise — or even disbelief. "But Italy doesn't allow that," they say. Except it does. And has for over 30 years.

The Law Is Clear

Since 1992, Italy has explicitly permitted dual and even multiple citizenship. Article 11 of Law 91/1992 states that Italian citizens who obtain foreign nationality keep their Italian citizenship, and foreigners who become Italian don't need to renounce their original nationality. There's no limit on the number of citizenships you can hold, as long as the other countries involved also permit this.

So Why the Confusion?

Between 1912 and 1992, Italy generally did NOT allow dual citizenship. Adult Italians who naturalized elsewhere typically lost their Italian nationality. This 80-year period — and the fact that many Italian emigrants lost citizenship when they became Americans, Canadians, or Australians — created lasting confusion that persists to this day.

Many older Italians remember the old system, or heard about it from relatives who emigrated. The misconception gets passed down through generations.

The 2025 Rule Change That Shocked Everyone

While dual citizenship itself hasn't changed, the rules for obtaining Italian citizenship through ancestry changed dramatically in March 2025. The Italian government introduced a two-generation limit: now only people with an Italian parent or grandparent can apply for citizenship by descent.

Previously, anyone who could prove an unbroken line back to an Italian ancestor born after 1861 could claim citizenship — with no generational limit and no language test. This allowed Italian-Americans whose great-great-grandparents emigrated in the 1880s to claim Italian passports.

• The change was intended to combat "abuse" of the citizenship system.
• It blindsided thousands of would-be applicants, particularly Italian-Americans.
• An estimated 20 million Italian-Americans were potentially affected.
• The reform faces legal challenges — Italy's Constitutional Court was set to rule on its constitutionality.

What This Means for You

If you have an Italian parent or grandparent, you may still be eligible to apply for Italian citizenship by descent. If your Italian ancestor is a great-grandparent or further back, the 2025 rules likely close that door — though legal challenges may change this.