Italy has enacted a law on Tuesday for people with Italian heritage to qualify for citizenship. This has impacted the lives of millions of people claiming ancestry-based citizenship.
In the past, obtaining Italian citizenship just required a great-grandparent or great-great-grandparent.
Before Italy was formed on March 17, 1861, anyone having an Italian ancestor who lived after that date was eligible for citizenship under ‘jus sanguinis’ or descendent bloodline. But now the right-wing Italian government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has restricted the requirements for qualifying to Italian nationals’ children and grandchildren.
The new Italian citizenship rules came into force in March and were codified into law on Tuesday.
To qualify under ‘jus sanguinis’, candidates must have at least one Italian parent or grandmother, according to the new laws. Additionally, they must prove their proficiency in Italian, which was previously a prerequisite for naturalisation through marriage or residency. The competence test is either a higher-level equivalency test for individuals who do not live in Italy or a five-part state exam that is conducted several times a year.
According to the decree-law that was approved in March, only two generations of Italian descendants born outside of Italy will automatically be citizens: only those who have at least one parent or grandparent who was born in Italy will be citizens from birth.
Additional and more detailed amendments to the citizenship law were to be introduced in the second phase, which included a first draft law that was also passed in March. The basic requirement of this law is that foreign-born citizens retain genuine connections with Italy throughout time and exercise their citizenship rights and obligations at least once every 25 years.
Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, stated that the directive, published in the official gazette of laws on March 28, intends to either ease travel restrictions or crack down on “abusers” who become Italian as a “novelty.”
The Trump administration has recently strengthened its control over illegal immigrants. There have been stories of Latin Americans entering the US without a visa and settling there permanently with Italian passports.
The Henley Passport Index ranks Italy the third in the world for visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel, making it one of the most sought-after and, until recently, easiest-to-get passports.
In recent years, the number of citizenship recognitions in the countries with the highest rates of Italian emigration has significantly increased. The number of citizens living overseas rose from around 4.6 million to 6.4 million between the end of 2014 and the end of 2024, a 40 percent increase in just 10 years. More than 60,000 cases are pending to determine citizenship.
Instead of contacting consulates, residents overseas have now been asked to visit a centralised office at the Italian Foreign Ministry. Consulates have been instructed to concentrate on serving current citizens rather than “creating” new ones.
Italy is preparing for a crucial referendum on easing the nation’s naturalisation requirements. In the referendum, citizens will be asked to vote on reducing the legal residency requirement for non-EU foreigners from ten to five years to apply for Italian citizenship. Polling booths will be open from 7 am to 11 pm on June 8 and from 7 am to 11 pm on June 9.