Italy has approved a law that tightens the rules for people with Italian heritage to get passports.

Previously, anyone with an Italian ancestor who lived after 17 March, 1861 - when the Kingdom of Italy was created - qualified to be a citizen under the 'jus sanguinis', or descendent blood line law.

Under the amended law, which parliament ratified on Tuesday, applicants for an Italian passport must now have one parent or grandparent who was a citizen by birth.

The government said it changed the rules to "enhance" the link between Italy and the citizen abroad, avoid 'abuse' and 'commercialisation' of passports, and free up resources to clear backlogged applications.

From the end of 2014 to the end of 2024, the number of citizens residing abroad increased by 40%, from around 4.6 million to 6.4 million, the government said.

As of the end of March, when Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government introduced the law, there were more than 60,000 pending legal proceedings for citizenship verification.

Italy's foreign ministry said in a statement then that the change "will free up resources to make consular services more efficient, to the extent that they can be dedicated exclusively to those who have a real need, by virtue of their concrete connection with Italy".

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the principle "will not be lost" and descendants of Italians will still be able to become citizens, but "precise limits will be set, especially to avoid abuse or phenomena of 'commercialisation' of Italian passports".

"Citizenship must be a serious thing," he said.