Milano Court Accepts Iure Sanguinis Citizenship Recognition (WITH LEGAL NOTICES)

Milano Court, Section XII, granted the request for recognition of Italian citizenship by iure sanguinis in a decision published on 03/11/2026, according to the text of the ruling released by Diritto Pratico.

IMPORTANT — LEGAL CONTEXT (UPDATED 2026)

• Since the Tajani Decree (DL 36/2025, converted into Law 74/2025), there have been significant changes to the administrative and consular pathways for recognizing citizenship by jus sanguinis:
  • The consular route is restricted to children and grandchildren (sons and grandsons). Great-grandchildren and further generations can no longer generally obtain consular recognition in most cases.
  • The administrative route at the comune has also, as a rule, ceased to be used for autonomous recognition of foreign residents (Decree 36/2025).
  • The Decree contains a retroactive provision stating that for those who are not a child or grandchild of an Italian citizen and who were born outside Italy, the right to citizenship may have been retroactively extinguished. This directly affects great-grandchildren and later generations.
• Proceedings filed BEFORE the Decree took effect enjoy protection provided in the Decree’s text itself, but the issue of material retroactivity and its consequences has been the subject of debate and higher court decisions. The Sezioni Unite of the Court of Cassation have binding authority for judges.

Given this framework, any news about judicial recognitions should specify the applicant’s generation (child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc.) and whether the process was filed before or after the Decree's effective date.

Summary of the ruling — Milano Court, decision 8421/2026

The decision issued by Milano Court, Section XII, sentenza n. 8421/2026, published on 03/11/2026, concerns a case filed in 2023 and lasting approximately 46 months, according to the text of the ruling published by Diritto Pratico. The ruling states that the court granted the applicants’ appeal (names anonymized ###) and recognized the right to Italian citizenship by iure sanguinis in favor of the appellants as direct descendants of the Italian grandfather ###.

Important note: the case was filed in 2023 (before the DL 36/2025 came into force) — according to the Decree itself, proceedings filed before its effective date are protected by the legislator. The Milano Court’s decision should be read in light of this protection and the jurisprudence on material retroactivity.

The court ordered executory measures against the Administration: to direct the competent Ministry and the Ufficio di Stato Civile to proceed with the inscrizioni, transcrizioni and annotations of citizenship in civil registries and to notify the competent consular authorities for document issuance. The ruling was published in full by Diritto Pratico: https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenze.html?c=https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenza/tribunale/milano/2026/8421.html#cd6b3

Essential legal grounds — Italian citizenship, by jus sanguinis

The court grounded its recognition on substantive and formal rules governing transmission of citizenship by descent, citing provisions such as the Art. 4 del Codice Civile 1865, arts. 1 and 7 della L. 555/1912 and Art. 1 della L. 91/1992, as well as the need to prove an unbroken line of descent.

In the documentary analysis, the judge found the probative elements satisfactory: birth and marriage certificates of the successive links, and especially the negative certificate of naturalization of the Italian ancestor. Translations and apostilles were regularized after court-directed completion. The Avvocatura dello Stato participated formally and, according to the public text, did not oppose recognition; the Ministry did not argue merits at the hearing.

For procedural framing, the sentence refers to understandings of higher courts and constitutional decisions (for example, 2025 decisions cited in the ruling) regarding deadlines and administrative controls, confirming that the evaluation of the right must follow the applicable legal and documentary parameters.

"La prova della discendenza e della mancata naturalizzazione dell'avo costituiscono il presupposto per il riconoscimento della cittadinanza iure sanguinis", a phrase aligned with the ruling published by Diritto Pratico.

What this means in practice for Brazilian families (IMPORTANT NOTES)

• If you are the child or grandchild of an Italian citizen: the consular and administrative landscape has changed, but protections and viable paths remain; consult a specialized attorney to assess your case under DL 36/2025.
• If you are a great-grandchild or of a later generation: utmost caution — DL 36/2025 introduces material retroactivity that could declare that those who are not a child or grandchild "never were" Italian. For later generations, judicial success is not automatic and depends on multiple factors (filing date, the Decree’s content, and interpretation by higher courts).
• In the specific case described (filed in 2023): the case was started before DL 36/2025, and this circumstance is central to understanding why the Court granted recognition. The news should be read with this information in mind; it is not appropriate to extrapolate the result to cases filed after the Decree took effect.
• The court order obliges the Administration to carry out the registration/transcription as per the decision; however, after DL 36/2025, the Administration and the Avvocatura dello Stato may raise issues based on the new rules in different cases or on appeals. Therefore, enforcing the judgment may require local legal representation and possible execution acts.

Practical steps and next moves for those pursuing this path (general guidance)

• Keep official, apostilled copies of ancestral certificates and the negative naturalization certificate, along with sworn translations and formal powers of attorney.
• Hire a Italian attorney specializing in promoting the execution of the sentence and monitoring registry updates if the ruling is favorable.
• Consider costs, timelines, and the need to act in Italy through a local attorney.
• Always assess the applicant’s generation (child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc.) and the filing date of the potential process: these factors are decisive after DL 36/2025.

Conclusion (editorial caution)

Sentence n. 8421/2026 of the Milano Court confirms that, in cases filed before the effective date of DL 36/2025 and with robust documentation, judicial recognition was achieved. However, given the 2025 legislative change (Tajani Decree) that restricts the consular route and introduces material retroactivity for generations beyond grandchildren, it is essential not to generalize this outcome. Each case requires analysis of the applicant’s generation, filing date, and the specific documentary and procedural situation.

The full decision can be consulted in Diritto Pratico: https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenze.html?c=https://apps.dirittopratico.it/sentenza/tribunale/milano/2026/8421.html#cd6b3

For general guidance on the citizenship recognition process, consult the Cidadania Italiana section of Raízes Italianas and seek specialized legal advice.