The judgment that will assess the constitutionality of the Tajani Decree is scheduled for March 2026. Until then, Italian descendants will face a long path of uncertainty, marked by initiatives such as the centralization of citizenship applications into a single body through a Bill that is already under review in the Italian Parliament.

At first glance, the concentration of services related to the recognition of Italian citizenship in Rome may not appear to be a major obstacle for descendants seeking to reconnect with their ancestors. However, a more careful assessment of the current scenario is necessary to understand the scale of the potential future collapse of the Italian system.

The publication of the Tajani Decree did not produce the effect expected by Italian lawmakers. Applications for Italian citizenship continued to increase, further overloading the judicial system. In just seven months (from March to October), more than 10,000 iure sanguinis citizenship cases were filed in Venice alone. This indicates that Italian descendants remained confident in the potential downfall of the legislation. Moreover, the trend continues to point toward an increase in applications.

From this perspective, another scenario emerges: in March, all those awaiting the outcome of the decree, depending on the decision of the Constitutional Court, will initiate their citizenship applications, further clogging the pipeline of Italian institutions, whether judicial or administrative. This situation will most likely lead to a significant delay in the already backlogged public services of the Italian system.

Projections for the Centralization of Citizenship Processes in Rome

First and foremost, it is essential to highlight a central fact: the debate surrounding Italian citizenship has ceased to be merely a legal or administrative issue and has become a central element of parliamentary political dynamics. Behind the scenes, the topic is being used as an instrument of institutional dispute, agenda adjustment, and response to internal pressures within the Italian State. It is within this context that Bills 1450 and 2369 are advancing, legislative proposals that seek a profound restructuring of the Italian citizenship recognition process, with the potential to structurally alter the current legislative and administrative mechanisms.

Bill 1450 establishes a time limit for the recognition of Italian citizenship. Bill 2369, in turn, aims to reduce administrative services by transferring all procedures to Rome. However, centralizing the processes within a single body will create an additional problem of judicialization, since the judicial route only becomes viable upon proof of inefficiency in Italy’s administrative services. Paradoxically, the same Bill 1450 that imposes a limit also proposes extending the maximum recognition period from 2 to 3 years. In summary, in addition to the expected surge in applications resulting from the possible annulment of the Tajani Decree next year, the judicial pathway will become even less accessible to Italian descendants, who will face queues longer than those currently seen at consulates.

The administrative route (Brazilian consulates and Italian municipalities) is the primary pathway for the recognition of Italian citizenship. Judicial proceedings are only possible upon evidence of inefficiency in administrative services. Currently, waiting lists at Brazilian consulates average up to 10 years to complete the recognition process, despite Italian law establishing a maximum period of 2 years.

To illustrate the inefficiency of the administrative route in Brazil, in 2024 alone the waiting list for citizenship recognition at the São Paulo Consulate exceeded 30,000 applications, all submitted in 2022. In other words, it took two years merely to publish the names of applicants admitted to the evaluation stage. The consular authorities themselves acknowledge that staff shortages are the primary cause of delays. As a result, it is expected that this scenario will repeat itself—on an amplified scale—with the centralization of processes in Rome.

Google Reviews: recurring reports from citizens expose the overload and structural inefficiency of Italian consular services, marked by delays, lack of communication, and staff shortages.

Under the current legislation, which establishes a maximum period of 24 months, judicial proceedings have always been an accessible alternative for Italian-Brazilians affected by consular inefficiencies. Centralization, combined with the extension of the recognition deadline, will instead create a concrete barrier for descendants to demonstrate the inefficiency of the new centralized body, which is expected to begin operations already burdened with a high volume of applications.