Child born in Morocco to an Italian parent: what changed in 2025

Since 24 May 2025, a child born abroad who also holds another citizenship is Italian only in the cases the law provides for. A child whose father or mother is Moroccan is Moroccan from birth, so the rule applies to that child. The Consulate General of Italy in Casablanca checks these cases before any birth certificate is transcribed, and asks families who fall outside them not to start the request.

This page explains what changed, why Moroccan nationality matters, and where files get complicated. It does not say whether your child is Italian: only the competent consular office decides, on the documents.

What changed, and since when

The rule comes from decree-law no. 36 of 28 March 2025, converted by law no. 74 of 23 May 2025, in force since 24 May 2025. It added an article 3-bis to law no. 91 of 1992 on Italian citizenship.

The text covers anyone born abroad who holds another citizenship, including people born before 2025. Such a person is treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship, unless one of the conditions in the law applies.

Only a few applications stay under the old rules: those filed by 23:59 Rome time on 27 March 2025, or made at an appointment the office had communicated by then, and claims brought before a court within the same deadline. For a child born in Morocco whose birth was never transcribed, putting the paperwork off is no longer without consequences.

Why the Moroccan parent changes everything

The Moroccan Nationality Code provides that a child born to a Moroccan father or a Moroccan mother is Moroccan, and that the child is treated as Moroccan from birth.

The consulate states that a citizenship acquired automatically, for instance through one of the parents, counts as another citizenship, even if the family has never had it registered. A child with a Moroccan parent therefore falls within article 3-bis.

An Italian-Moroccan parent who became Italian remains, in principle, Moroccan: the code provides for loss of Moroccan nationality only in specific cases, such as a renunciation authorised by decree. And several of the cases in the law require a citizenship that is Italian only.

The Italian rule is about Italian citizenship. It does not touch the child's Moroccan nationality.

The cases, as the consulate describes them

The Consulate General in Casablanca lists the situations in which a child born abroad to an Italian parent is Italian despite holding another citizenship. There are four.

The child does not have, and cannot have, another citizenship. With a Moroccan parent, that is not the case.

The Italian parent lived in Italy for at least two continuous years before the birth. If that parent became Italian by marriage or by residence, only the years lived in Italy after acquiring citizenship count. The foreign parent's residence does not count.

One of the parents holds only Italian citizenship.

One of the grandparents holds, or held at death, only Italian citizenship.

For each situation the consulate asks for specific proof, on top of the usual transcription documents. The list is on its page, and that page is the authority.

Where files get complicated

Where the two years start. For a naturalised parent, the count begins on the date they became Italian, not on their arrival in Italy. For example, a family that lived in Italy for fifteen years, obtained citizenship, then moved to Morocco the following year may not meet this condition for a child born afterwards.

The word continuous. The law asks for two continuous years, and certificates from the Italian comune show them: a historical residence certificate (certificato storico di residenza) and, for a parent who became Italian, a historical citizenship certificate (certificato storico di cittadinanza) showing the date of acquisition.

Proving a single citizenship. Where the situation rests on a parent or grandparent who is only Italian, a document issued by a competent authority is needed. The Embassy in Rabat gives examples such as negative citizenship certificates or attestations of renunciation. A sworn self-declaration is not accepted: proving an absence takes a document that attests it, not a statement.

The appointment. The consulate asks families to book only with every document, including those that prove the situation. If the child falls within none of the cases, it asks them not to start the request, which would be refused.

Children of a parent who becomes Italian

Another rule changed on the same day, in article 14 of the same law. When a parent becomes Italian, their minor children living with them become Italian too, but only if they have been legally resident in Italy for at least two continuous years on that date, or since birth if they are under two.

This applies where the parent becomes Italian on or after 24 May 2025, and the Italian comune checks it. Children who stayed in Morocco while their parent obtained citizenship in Italy do not receive it this way.

A declaration, if the parent is Italian by birth

The law provides another route for a minor whose father or mother is a citizen by birth: the parents declare that they want the child to become Italian. The declaration is made in person before the office, within three years of the birth (the term in the text in force since 1 January 2026), or later if the child then lives legally in Italy for two continuous years.

This route is not open where the parent became Italian by naturalisation, marriage or reacquisition. And a child who becomes Italian this way is not a citizen by birth, which may one day matter for that child's own children.

A transitional window runs until 23:59 Rome time on 31 May 2029 for some children who were minors on 24 May 2025, whose parents were recognised as Italian on an application filed by 27 March 2025. It covers specific situations, which the consular office describes.

What the courts have said, so far

In April 2026 the Italian Constitutional Court dismissed the challenges to this rule raised by the court of Turin (judgment no. 63/2026). In July 2026 it referred a question on the same rule to the Court of Justice of the European Union and suspended the joined cases before it (order no. 147/2026).

Until a decision changes it, the rule applies, and it is the rule the consular offices apply.

Who decides, and who to contact

The competent consular office decides each case, on the documents: the Embassy of Italy in Rabat for the Rabat Salé area and the neighbouring provinces of Skhirat Témara, Khémisset, Tiflet and Rommani, the Consulate General in Casablanca for almost all the rest of Morocco. The Embassy's page gives the exact list for its district. The pages that describe the article 3-bis cases are in Italian. For the children of a parent who becomes Italian, the Italian comune checks.

If a situation is disputed or unclear, the profession to ask is a lawyer.

We cannot tell you whether a child is Italian. If you are not sure which office is yours or which page applies to your family, write to us: we read it, and a person replies.