Could a future ruling reopen lines that Law 74/2025 cut?
One case could, and it is already filed: by order 147/2026, deposited on 23 July 2026, Italy's Constitutional Court asked the EU Court of Justice whether article 9 of the Treaty on European Union and article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union permit a national rule that retroactively deems people born abroad never to have acquired a citizenship that is also EU citizenship. Nothing changes while that question is pending, and a realistic answer sits in late 2027 or 2028.
Anyone telling you the odds today is guessing. What can be stated is what was asked, what each outcome would touch, and when.
What the question is really about
Italian citizenship is also EU citizenship, which carries rights of movement and residence across the Union. The EU Court has long held that although nationality rules belong to member states, a state must have due regard to EU law when a decision costs someone their EU citizenship. Article 3-bis does not withdraw a citizenship going forward; it declares that it was never acquired, reaching people born decades before the rule existed.
What each outcome would do
If Italy loses
The retroactive reach of article 3-bis would have to be narrowed or disapplied by Italian courts for the situations the ruling covers. Who exactly benefits would depend on how the judgment is written, and a judgment on retroactivity would not necessarily disturb the generational limit for people born after the reform.
If Italy wins
Article 3-bis stands as it is. The domestic constitutional challenge has already failed in judgment 63/2026 of 30 April 2026, so a loss in Luxembourg would close the main legal avenue against the reform, leaving only new legislation.
Either way
A preliminary ruling answers a question of law referred by a court. It does not automatically reopen closed files, and it does not hand anyone a passport. What follows is a fresh round of Italian proceedings applying the answer.
Why a filing today is a gamble, not a shortcut
Some claimants are filing now and asking their tribunal to stay the case under article 295 of the code of civil procedure until Luxembourg rules. It is a real tactic and it is not free: the court fee is €600 for every petitioner, Italian counsel is required in practice, no tribunal has to grant a stay, and practice differs court by court.
The comparison to make for yourself: what would you pay, today, for a place in a queue whose outcome nobody can price, held for two years or more?
What we do not know, stated plainly
- How the Court will rule.
- Exactly when. Preliminary references of this kind commonly run about a year to two years from referral to judgment, and this one was referred in July 2026.
- Whether an Advocate General opinion will arrive noticeably earlier, and how much it will signal.
- How Italy would implement a ruling against it, and which files would be reopened.
- Constitutional Court, order 147/2026, deliberated 9 June 2026, deposited 23 July 2026; referral under article 267 TFEU; referring proceedings from the Tribunal of Mantua and the Tribunal of Campobasso.
- Constitutional Court, judgment 63/2026, deposited 30 April 2026.
- Article 9 of the Treaty on European Union and article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
- Article 295 of the Italian code of civil procedure.
- Court filing fee of €600 per petitioner: article 13, paragraph 1-sexies, Presidential Decree 115/2002, added by Law 207/2024, article 1, paragraph 814.
One honest next step
If your line is cut, the accurate thing to do about this case is nothing, and to know when it moves. There is no action available today that improves your position at Luxembourg, and paying to hold a place is a bet, not a step.
If your line is not cut, this case is irrelevant to you and the work is documents.
Run the free check to see which of those you areTwo minutes, no email, and it says no when the answer is no.