![Attorney Marco Mellone during oral arguments at the Court of Cassation in Rome, at the United Sections hearing on the 'child issue' | Photo: Reproduction/[source of the video]](https://italianismo.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/marco-mellone-600x337.jpg)
Antonio Tajani, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, continues to insist on his proposal to restructure citizenship legislation. The politician advocates stricter criteria for jus sanguinis and jus scholae, pointing out that maturity and the link with Italianness need to be guaranteed.
According to Ansa, in the coming days, the proposal — still in draft form — will be discussed among Forza Italia parliamentarians and presented to government allies.
One of the main proposed changes is the limitation of Italian citizenship by descent to the second generation., that is, even for grandchildren.
Tajani does not give up: new proposal for Italian citizenship in sight
Tajani, Italy's number two government official and head of Italian consulates around the world, reaffirmed his intention to review citizenship legislation, emphasizing the need for stricter criteria for both jus sanguinis (citizenship by descent) as for the jus scholae (citizenship through the educational cycle).
The Supreme Court reaffirmed: citizenship is born with the person.
- New legal front opened
- Processes can still be filed.
- Individual assessment before any decision.
Tajani announced that a meeting between Forza Italia MPs will be held in the coming days to discuss the details of the proposal, which he intends to take to Parliament.
“We are working to consolidate a proposal that addresses citizenship in its entirety,” Tajani said. “We are totally against granting citizenship after just five years of studies. We need at least ten years, because after five years it is still too early for a person to have matured in terms of awareness and Italianness,” he explained.
More stringent criteria for the jus sanguinis
Tajani also addressed the need to tighten the rules for the recognition of citizenship through jus sanguinis, arguing that many people obtained Italian citizenship simply to secure a European or North American passport, without any interest in actually becoming Italian citizens.
“Many of these people don’t even know the Italian language,” he stressed. For him, it is essential to move forward with a “serious and credible” reform that avoids this type of indiscriminate recognition.
The minister stressed that the proposed reform has no connection with the issue of illegal immigration, and is, above all, a question of rights and national identity. Tajani assured that Forza Italia is “strongly committed” to this objective.
Before presenting the proposal to parliament, Tajani plans to submit it to the coalition's allies to assess whether they are interested in supporting the reform. "If they don't want to share it, we will present it as Forza Italia," he said with determination.
A very risky operation for the right-wing coalition and for the stability of the government.
The path to this change, however, will not be easy, as other senior government figures, such as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, have already indicated that they see no need to change current citizenship legislation.”The citizenship law is fine as it is, I see no reason to change it”, said Meloni.
![Attorney Marco Mellone during oral arguments at the Court of Cassation in Rome, at the United Sections hearing on the 'child issue' | Photo: Reproduction/[source of the video]](https://italianismo.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/marco-mellone-100x100.jpg)