In the last few weeks of 2024 a controversial amendment was introduced to the Budget law which will increase the fee to 600 Euro per person for all applications being made for the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent (ius sanguinis). This amount would be payable whether the application is made at an Italian Consolate abroad, to the Comune, or directly to the Italian court. Whereas the court fee (“contributo unificato“) at present is payable only once per application where there are many family members applying for recognition throught the court as descendants of the same Italian ancestor, now each individual applicant will be obliged to pay their own fee.
The Budget including the amendment (at Article 1, paragraph 814) was passed by the Senate on 28th December.
The proposal was deemed to be unjust and discriminatory towards those who are eligible to claim Italian citizenship by descent, penalising in particular applicants from countries with a lower average income.
In 2023 there were approximately 190.000 applications made for Italian citizenship by descent, exceeding applications made on the grounds of residence in Italy (77.000) or marriage to an Italian citizen (22.000).
