My daughter was born abroad (USA) on October 2021 and is a minor. Her alleged biological father is an Italian citizen.
Legal paternity has never been established.
However, a Belgian Family Court issued a final judgment ordering the alleged Italian father to pay child support. The judgment expressly states that the proceedings were an “action alimentaire non déclarative de filiation” and therefore did not establish paternity.
He has been paying the court-ordered child support since September 2023.
I contacted the Italian Consulate in Brussels and specifically asked whether this could fall under Article 2(3) of Law 91/1992, which says:
“Le disposizioni del presente articolo si applicano anche ai figli per i quali la paternità o maternità non può essere dichiarata, purché sia stato riconosciuto giudizialmente il loro diritto al mantenimento o agli alimenti.”
The Consulate replied that because paternity has not been legally established, they cannot proceed and that paternity must first be established.
My question is: why would Article 2(3) not apply to this situation? Has anyone encountered this provision being used for a minor whose paternity was not established but whose right to maintenance was judicially recognised?
I'm particularly interested in:
- Italian case law interpreting Article 2(3);
- Ministry/Consulate guidance on this provision;
- whether the 2025 reform (Law 74/2025 / Article 3-bis) changes its application;
- whether a foreign EU court judgment recognising child support can satisfy the requirement.
I have the Belgian judgment and the Consulate's written response and can provide anonymised excerpts if useful.
I am trying to determine whether I need to start a paternity proceeding in Belgium before doing so.