Due to a new set of conditions imposed by the Italian government, Carla, who is aged in her 50s, may never become an Italian citizen.
An Australian woman hoping to retire in her family's ancestral home of Italy has been blocked from obtaining citizenship after a 165-year-old rule was suddenly overturned.
Carla* considers herself to be Italian – she just needed the papers to prove it.
Her parents were both born in Italy, she speaks fluent Italian and is in nearly daily contact with her family members back in Europe.
But due to a new set of conditions imposed by the Italian government, Carla, who is aged in her 50s, may never become an Italian citizen.
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"I attended the Italian Consulate in Sydney in January this year to apply for Italian citizenship for myself and my son as both my parents were born in Italy and they were Italian when I was born in Australia," Carla told Nine.com.au.
"I was shocked and extremely disappointed to find out that, due to the Tajani Decree, I am not eligible for Italian citizenship any longer because my parents became Australian citizens while I was not yet 18.
"I feel like I have lost my identity after feeling Italian all my life and then be told in my 50s, I am no longer Italian."
Carla wanted to take advantage of her blood right to citizenship to live in her mother's childhood home upon retirement.
Her son was hoping to do the same.
Their plight for citizenship has been derailed by a controversial 2025 emergency decree, known as the Tajani decree, which seeks to tighten eligibility criteria for Italian citizenship.
Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at april.glover@nine.com.au
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Under the old "jure sanguinis" (right of blood) rule, anyone who could prove they had an Italian ancestor alive after March 17, 1861 – when the Kingdom of Italy was founded – could obtain citizenship.
But now, the decree, which has been upheld in Italy's constitutional court, has ruled that only those with a parent or grandparent born in Italy can obtain an Italian passport.
The legislation also denies citizenship to those with an Italian parent or grandparent who held dual citizenship at the time of their birth.
Because Carla's parents became Australian citizens before she reached adulthood, she has been stripped of her right to an Italian passport.
"My husband is eligible for Italian citizenship even though his parents were born in Australia because his grandfather did not become an Australian citizen until my mother-in-law was over 18," Carla added.
"My husband does not speak Italian or have any contact with relatives in Italy."
Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani said he introduced the decree to lower the risk of "passport shoppers".
"Being an Italian citizen is a serious thing," Tajani said last year.
"Unfortunately, over the years, there have been abuses and citizenship requests that went somewhat beyond genuine interest in our country."
The Italian passport was ranked as the third most powerful in the world, according to the Henley Passport Index.
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Carla said this rule will now deny an entire diaspora of Italians the chance to live and work in their family's homeland.
"We are extremely lucky to live in this wonderful country of Australia that has been enriched by the multitude of varied migrants that have flourished on these shores," she said.
"I am not optimistic the diaspora of Italian heritage people like me will be recognised.
"As my lovely son-in-law recently said to me, 'you don't need a piece of paper to say you are Italian, because you definitely are Italian''."
Nine.com.au has contacted the Consulate of Italy and Embassy of Italy in Canberra for comment.
*Not her real name.
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