Acquisition of citizenship for immigrants in Italy

Acquisition of citizenship for immigrants in Italy

    

Italian citizenship is largely granted through ius sanguinis (right of birth), which includes  foreign nationals who can prove their Italian descent. There are, though, no law granting citizenship by ius soli (right of residence). Children of legal immigrants are not automatically granted citizenship, unless they are children of stateless foreign citizens (“apolidi”). Furthermore, they must apply for citizenship by their 19th birthday in order to keep their eligibility. And as soon as they turn 18, these young women and men have to apply for their own individual temporary residence permit, to avoid deportation to countries where they have never lived.

On March 21, 2013, four members of the PD (Cécile Kyenge, now Minister of Integration, Khalid Chaouki, Roberto Speranza and the former PD Secretary Pier Luigi Bersani) introduced a Bill that would change this situation, “Dispositions on the Conferral of Citizenship” (Disposizioni in Tema di Acquisto della Cittadinanza Italiana). If passed, this law would mean that Italian citizenship would be granted to the children of immigrants legally resident in Italy for at least 5 years, or to children who moved to Italy before turning 10 and who completed a cycle of primary, secondary school, or vocational instruction in Italy. As Kyenge later clarified, in response to the wave of ensuing political debate, the proposal advocates a watered-down ius soli right: citizenship would not be automatically granted to all those who are born in Italy but only to those who also meet certain residency requirements.

The proposal has immediately divided the political world, with right-wing forces (PDL and the Northern League) adamantly against it and the center-left overwhelmingly in favor.

Beppe Grillo, the charismatic Movimento Cinque Stelle leader, has rejected it strongly, claiming that Italians need to have a referendum, and that such an important decision should not be left to a group of self-interested politicians.

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