Italy. Changing the provisions on obtaining citizenship. The government talks about abuse

The Italian government adopted regulations limiting the possibility of obtaining citizenship of this country. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani explains that the reason is the abuse of law by people living abroad and in fact having no relationship with Italy.

The decree on changes was published on March 28 in the Journal of Laws and began to apply from the moment of announcement. The restriction concerns the acquisition of citizenship through the law of blood (ius sanguinis). Until now, everyone who had at least one Italian relative (for example, great -grandfather or a great -grandfather) lived to do so. Italian.

How to become Italian – conditions

The tightening of the rules means that in order to obtain Italian citizenship based on blood law, the applicant will have to prove that he has at least one parent or grandfather/grandmother born in Italy. He will also have to demonstrate knowledge of the Italian language, passing the appropriate exam. Until now, such a requirement has been in force only in the case of naturalization through staying or marriage. Although living in Italy is not necessary yet, the applicant must show that he has lived in this country in the past for at least three years.

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The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the reasons for changes

The aim of the changes is to stop people who acquire the citizenship of this country from obtaining an Italian passport, including Only to enjoy traveling easier – explained Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. In addition to the fact that Italy is part of the EU and Schengen zonesowners of Italian passports can enjoy visa -free entry to as many as 192 countries, which places them in third place ranking of the strongest passports in the world.

– Being a Italian citizen is a serious matter. It's not about putting a passport in your pocket and go shopping in Miami – said the head of diplomacy on Friday. – Unfortunately, over the years there were abuse and submitting applications for citizenship, which went beyond the real interest of our country – he added.

According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2014-2024, the number of Italian citizens living abroad increased by as much as 40 percent, from 4.6 million to 6.4 million. Mostly these people live in Argentina and Brazil. It was to South America that millions of Italians went in the 19th and 20th centuries, including escaping from poverty. In both of these countries, only 30 and 20 thousand were positively considered, respectively. applications for Italian citizenship.

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Even 80 million people in the world would qualify for Italian citizenship

Tajani emphasizes that these people often have no connection with Italy, do not pay taxes or vote. In his opinion, the reform was necessary because “citizenship cannot be automatic for those who have ancestors who emigrated centuries ago who have no cultural or language relationships with the country.” The head of diplomacy adds that the current law also favored the companies that broke fortunes, helping people discovering their forgotten Italian roots and looking for documents confirming. This also caused a situation in which huge numbers of applications were overwhelmed by many courts and institutions in small towns, which did not keep up with the processing of applications for issuing relevant documents, such as birth certificates, deaths or ancestors' marriages.

About 60,000 are currently considered in consulates around the world. applications for Italian citizenship, but their changes will not affect. They will apply to those who are just planning to apply for citizenship. The Italian population has about 59 million people. According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the current law would mean that from 60 to even 80 million people in the world would qualify for Italian citizenship.