Brescia Denies Citizenship Over Decreto Tajani Deadline

The Tribunale di Brescia rejected, in July 2026, the petition for Italian citizenship recognition of two Brazilian siblings who had appealed to Italian courts after the deadline established by the Decreto Tajani. Sentence No. 6232/2026 is another precedent confirming how Italian courts are strictly applying the deadline cuts created by the reform of Italian Citizenship by descent.

What the Brescia Court Decided

The decision was published on July 20, 2026 by the 7th Civil Section of the Tribunale di Brescia, specialized in immigration and free movement of European Union citizens. The case, registered under n.r.g. 11452/2025, had been filed on October 8, 2025 by two Brazilian siblings who claimed to descend from a great-grandmother or grandmother born in Italy who, according to their petition, had never naturalized as Brazilian.

The main request was judicial recognition of citizenship by iure sanguinis. Alternatively, the plaintiffs asked the judge to set aside the application of article 3-bis of Law 91/1992 — a provision introduced by Decreto Tajani and Law 74/2025 — or, in the alternative, to refer the matter to the Corte Costituzionale for examination of constitutionality.

According to the text of the decision published by Diritto Pratico, since the action was filed after the deadline set on March 27, 2025, and the plaintiffs demonstrated none of the exceptions provided in article 3-bis itself — such as exclusively Italian ancestry of the first or second degree, or two years of residence of one of the parents in Italy after naturalization — the court applied the new rule and ruled against the citizenship recognition petition.

Why the Case Fell Under the New Decreto Tajani

Article 3-bis, created by Decree-Law 36/2025 (the so-called Decreto Tajani) and later converted into Law 74/2025, establishes that whoever was born abroad and possesses another citizenship is considered, for all purposes, as if they had never acquired Italian citizenship — except for specific exceptions provided in the legal text itself.

One of these exceptions is precisely having filed the judicial action for recognition by 11:59 p.m. (Rome time) on March 27, 2025. Since the Brazilian siblings' case was only filed in October of that year, it fell outside the protection deadline.

"Il ricorso è stato depositato in data successiva al termine previsto dall'art. 3-bis della legge n. 91/1992" — excerpt from the reasoning, as reproduced by Diritto Pratico.

Without proof of direct kinship with an ancestor who was exclusively an Italian citizen, nor qualified residence of the parents in Italian territory, none of the other exceptions provided in the subsections of article 3-bis (a, a-bis, c, and d) could be applied to the specific case. Understanding exactly what these deadlines for citizenship by descent are has become essential for any family still seeking recognition through judicial channels.

Rejected Arguments: Unconstitutionality and EU Law Conflict

Faced with the direct application of article 3-bis, the plaintiffs' lawyers argued, alternatively, that the rule should be set aside due to alleged incompatibility with European Union law. Articles 18, 20, and 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) were invoked, as well as case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union in cases such as Rottmann, Wiener, and Tjebbes, which address the loss of citizenship of Member States and their effects on European citizenship.

The defense also alleged violations of various provisions of the Italian Constitution — articles 2, 3, 9, 22, 25, 30, 72, 77, and 97 — and article 117, combined with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a last resort, they asked that the matter be submitted to the Corte Costituzionale.

According to the text of the decision, the court did not grant the referral to the Corte Costituzionale in this merit judgment, directly applying the current rule to the specific case. It is important not to confuse the Corte Costituzionale — the body that judges the constitutionality of Italian laws — with the Corte di Cassazione, which is the highest instance of ordinary justice and whose Sezioni Unite decisions have binding effect on all judges in the country.

What This Means in Practice for Brazilian Families

The Brescia decision reinforces a scenario already emerging in other Italian courts: whoever filed — or intends to file — a citizenship court action after March 27, 2025 runs a real risk of having the petition rejected based on article 3-bis, unless they can prove one of the exceptions expressly provided in the law.

Some points continue to be possible paths to escape the application of the general rule:

• Existence of an ancestor who possessed exclusively Italian citizenship, in the first or second degree;
• Proof of qualified residence of one of the parents in Italian territory for a minimum of two years after naturalization.

It is worth noting that administrative or judicial proceedings filed before the March 2025 deadline remain in a different situation, protected by the law itself, and are not automatically affected by this Brescia precedent — the decision deals specifically with a case filed after the deadline.

The discussion about the constitutionality of article 3-bis and its compatibility with European Union law, however, remains open. Other Italian courts may still decide differently, and the issue may eventually reach the Corte Costituzionale or the Court of Justice of the European Union, which would make the question definitive for the entire country.

Next Steps and Where to Follow

From the Brescia decision, an appeal is possible to higher instances of Italian justice, including the possibility of re-examination of the constitutional question on appeal. As of the closing of this article, there is no public information about any appeal filed by the plaintiffs.

Families with ongoing citizenship processes should verify, with their lawyers, the exact date of filing of the action and whether any of the exceptions of article 3-bis can apply to their specific case. Individual analysis of each process remains decisive in light of the new legal scenario.

Sentence No. 6232/2026 of the Tribunale di Brescia was consulted through the Diritto Pratico portal, which makes available the complete text of the decision. More updates on court decisions involving the Decreto Tajani can be followed in the Italy News section of Raízes Italianas.

This case illustrates how the reform brought by the Decreto Tajani continues to generate legal disputes throughout Italy, with results varying according to the filing date and the specific circumstances of each family. For those planning to move or already living in the country awaiting the outcome of similar cases, it's also worth following the content about life in Italy produced by the portal.

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