Italian Citizenship Reform Drops Brazilian Records by 67%

Data released by Istat, Italy's statistics institute, show a 66.6% decline in birth registrations of descendants recognized as Italian in Brazil in 2025, compared to the previous year. The decline is attributed to the Italian citizenship reform promoted by Decreto-Legge 36/2025, converted into Lei 74/2025, which restricted automatic transmission of citizenship by descent to those born abroad. The information comes from Italianismo.

What Changed in Italian Citizenship

The reform began with the Decreto-Legge 36, issued on March 28, 2025 by the Italian government, taking effect immediately after publication. The text was converted into law by Parliament in May of the same year, resulting in Lei 74/2025, which maintained the restrictive effects from the issuance of the original decree. The new rules restricted automatic recognition of Italian citizenship by iure sanguinis to children and grandchildren of Italians born abroad, excluding great-grandchildren and subsequent generations from automatic recognition — which now depend on more restrictive routes, especially judicial ones.

In practice, the reform limited the scope of iure sanguinis recognition — the right to citizenship by blood line, historically one of the pillars of Italian legislation and responsible for millions of recognitions among descendants of Italians worldwide, especially in Latin America. Furthermore, since the reform, direct administrative recognition in the comune for resident descendants seeking citizenship autonomously, and the consular route for generations beyond children and grandchildren ceased to be available in most cases. More details on how the law works and its practical effects can be found in the Italian Citizenship section of Raízes Italianas.

Impact on Brazil and Argentina Numbers

According to Istat data cited by Italianismo, Brazil recorded a 66.6% decline in the number of births recognized as Italian in 2025 compared to 2024. Argentina, the second-largest hub of Italian descendants outside Europe, experienced a 55.8% contraction in the same period.

The decline was not limited to these two countries. According to Istat, the global decline in the Americas reached 55%, with emphasis on Central and South America, where the contraction totaled 59.7%. The figures indicate that the reform had an immediate and comprehensive effect on the flow of new citizenship recognitions by descent across the region.

Why Brazil and Argentina Were More Affected

The size of Italian-descendant communities helps explain why the two countries concentrated the most significant declines. By the end of 2024, Brazil had 671,000 registered Italian residents, while Argentina totaled 987,000, according to Istat.

Of these totals, the overwhelming majority were born outside Italy: 96.2% of Italians registered in Brazil were born abroad, and in Argentina that percentage is 91.7%. These are precisely the people — descendants born outside Italian territory, many of them beyond the second generation — most impacted by the new restrictions of Lei 74/2025.

Brazil, in fact, had led in 2024 the absolute growth in the number of Italians residing abroad, according to Istat data for the period before the reform. This expansion pace, sustained by years of recognitions through consulates and Italian municipalities, was directly affected by the new legislation.

What This Means for Descendants in Brazil

The reform makes automatic citizenship recognition by descent more difficult for those born abroad beyond the second generation (great-grandchildren and subsequent generations), a scenario that covers a significant portion of Italian descendants in Brazil. The validity and retroactivity of Decreto Tajani are still being debated within Italian Justice, with the matter pending review by the Sezioni Unite della Corte di Cassazione, which may alter the current landscape depending on the outcome of the judgment.

Lawyers consulted by Italianismo point out that even in a more restrictive scenario, it may still make sense to initiate citizenship processes, depending on each family's specific situation — such as the degree of kinship with the Italian ancestor and the birth dates of those involved in the descent line. For those who already have documentation or intend to evaluate their own case, it is possible to turn to specialized Italian citizenship advice or conduct a certificate search in Italy necessary to support the process.

Raízes Italianas continues to monitor the developments of the reform and its effects on the community of descendants in Brazil in the Italy News section, as well as content about Life in Italy for those who have already initiated or completed the citizenship recognition process.

Istat figures confirm that the 2025 reform has already triggered a concrete statistical effect on the flow of new citizenship recognitions in Brazil and Argentina, countries that concentrate the largest communities of Italian descendants outside Europe. The outcome of the judgment on the retroactivity of Lei 74/2025 by the Sezioni Unite della Corte di Cassazione will be decisive in determining whether this more restrictive scenario consolidates or undergoes further changes in the coming months.

Want to know if you're entitled to Italian citizenship? Talk to a specialized advisor.

Source: Italianismo