Italy: Referendum proposed on shortening process for citizenship by naturalization

Rome: In August 2024 Italy saw numerous political and media debates on the issue of citizenship, led by centre-right party ‘Forza Italia’, which advocates for access to citizenship for foreign children who have concluded an education cycle (‘ius scholae’). The debates did not lead to any serious discussion of legislative reform on this issue.

Additionally, on 6 September, several associations made up of migrants – or people with a migration background – filed a proposal for a national referendum on reducing the timeline for obtaining citizenship by naturalisation to 5 years. These associations include Italiani senza Cittadinanza, Conngi, Idem Network, and organisations such as Libera, Gruppo Abele, A Buon Diritto, Società della Ragione, and parties Più Europa, Possibile, Partito Socialista, Radicali Italiani, and Partito della Rifondazione Comunista.

The specific aim behind the referendum proposal is to modify an article of the current Italian citizenship law, which dates back to 1992, in order to reduce from 10 to 5 years the period of residence required to apply for citizenship by naturalisation. Although Italy approved naturalisation for the highest number of third-country nationals (TCNs) in Europe in 2022, its continuous residence requirement is considerably higher than in countries such as France, Germany and Belgium (all 5 years). Moreover, following their initial submission of the application for naturalisation, TCNs are usually required to wait a further 24 to 36 months before receiving a response.

500 000 signatures must be collected in order for a referendum to be considered. The collection period is currently open until 30 September.