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OLYMPICS 2020

Olympic wins reignite Italy’s debate over citizenship for children of foreign parents

Italy's enthusiasm over its Olympics success, driven in part by multicultural athletes, has once again reignited a long-running debate over its citizenship law and the bureaucratic hurdles faced by thousands of young people born in Italy.

Published: 10 August 2021 15:50 CEST
Olympic wins reignite Italy's debate over citizenship for children of foreign parents
Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs and Eseosa Desalu celebrate after winning gold in the men's 4x100m relay final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Photo: ALEKSANDRA SZMIGIEL/POOL/AFP

The debate comes on the heels of Italy’s best performance in history at the Olympic Games, with 40 gold medals from a diverse band of athletes from a variety of backgrounds, including the country’s new star sprinter, Texas-born Lamont Marcell Jacobs.

The debate was sparked anew after the head of Italy’s National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malago, complained of the bureaucratic headaches confronting Italian-born athletes who want to compete for their country, but lack Italian citizenship.

Under its current path to citizenship, Italy is an outlier in Europe, providing rights based on blood ties rather than based on where children are born – an idea known as “ius soli”,a Latin term which literally means “right of soil,” or birthright citizenship.

Children born in Italy to the country’s 5.3 million legal immigrants must wait until their 18th birthdays before the have the right to apply for citizenship, beginning an arduous process that can take four years, one that Malago described as “a Dante-esque circle”.

Campaigners pushing for reform of the system have pointed out that these second-generation migrants face the longest wait for citizenship of any applicant category.

After Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said Malago’s criticism was valid, far-right leader Matteo Salvini, head of the populist League party, said that the minister should control the borders rather than rekindling the citizenship.debate.

In Italy, the far-right has repeatedly linked the issue of citizenship with the ongoing migrant crisis.

Salvini formerly served as Italy’s interior minister, during which time he made it more difficult for people to obtain Italian citizenship via existing routes, as well as famously blocking migrant rescue ships from docking at Italian ports.

Enrico Letta, Secretary of the Democratic Party and a former Italian prime minister, said in response that ius soli “is an issue that has nothing to do with the security and management of migrants. It has to do with equity, integration, the vitality of a society that has changed, in spite of the interpretation made by populists”.

Lamorgese told the La Stampa newspaper on Tuesday: “I think the important thing is that for these kids we have to think of social inclusion,” noting that the issue went beyond Italy’s young athletes.

“They have to feel an integral part of society,” she said.

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ITALIAN CITIZENSHIP

Quick guide: Who is eligible for Italian citizenship?

There are many practical benefits to being an Italian citizen, not least the right to freely move and reside within the EU. But exactly who's eligible and what are the requirements?

Published: 12 September 2024 12:18 CEST
Updated: 15 September 2024 08:14 CEST
Quick guide: Who is eligible for Italian citizenship?

Italian citizenship applications can be drawn-out and expensive affairs, often requiring months of appointments and piles of paperwork.

But being an Italian cittadino comes with a number of practical benefits, including freedom of movement across the EU, the right to vote in Italian elections and free access to Italy’s healthcare system if you live in the country.

Further, the Italian passport is considered to be one of the world’s “most powerful” as it grants visa-free entry to more countries than almost any other passport.

But who is eligible for Italian citizenship?

There are several different routes to Italian nationality, which are generally grouped into two major categories: automatic citizenship (acquisto automatico or cittadinanza automatica), which, as suggested by the name, is granted automatically to those eligible, and citizenship ‘by concession’ (cittadinanza per concessione), which must applied for and is only granted if all the relevant requirements and eligibility criteria are met.

Cittadinanza per concessione

Citizenship by descent 

Italy is fairly lenient when it comes to jus sanguinis, or ancestry-based, citizenship applications.

Anyone who can prove that they had an Italian ancestor who was alive after March 17th, 1861 (when the Kingdom of Italy was officially born) and that no one in their line of descent renounced Italian citizenship before the birth of their descendant is eligible to apply.

However, proving you’re a direct descendent of someone who’s often long dead and you may only know through grainy black and white photographs can be a long and convoluted process.

READ ALSO: An expert guide to getting Italian citizenship via ancestry

Further, anyone applying via their maternal line of descent needs to be aware of the ‘1948 rule’ and how this could affect their application process. Find out more about that here.

Unlike citizenship through residency or marriage (see below), your ancestry-based application isn’t subject to language requirements or other administrative hurdles as you’re essentially applying to have an existing right recognised.

You can apply for citizenship via ancestry at the nearest Italian consulate in your home country or at your local town hall if you live in Italy. 1948 rule applicants must directly petition Italian courts to have their citizenship case heard.

Citizenship by marriage

If you’re married to an Italian, you can file your application for citizenship after two years of legal residence in Italy, or after three years if living abroad.

This time is reduced by half if you have children (natural or adopted).

Under a 2018 law change, applicants must take a B1 language test. For info on what the test involves and where you can take it, see our guide.

You cannot apply for citizenship via this route if you’re divorced from your Italian spouse, or if she or he has passed away.

READ ALSO: What I learned from applying for Italian citizenship by marriage

You can apply for citizenship via marriage at an Italian consulate in your home country, or in Italy by submitting your application to the interior ministry online.

Citizenship by residency

Though it is often considered the most complex way to gain Italian citizenship, this is a popular route among aspiring citizens: of the 121,457 people that were granted citizenship in 2021, nearly 51,000 people qualified via residency.

As suggested by the name, you need to prove that you’ve legally lived in Italy for a minimum period of time in order to apply. This is 10 years for non-EU nationals and four years for EU citizens, but certain categories benefit from lower thresholds.

READ ALSO: Who is entitled to Italian citizenship by residency and how do you apply? 

As with the marriage route, most applicants must prove proficiency in the Italian language at B1 level (lower-intermediate level) or higher by taking a test. For further info, see our guide.

Applicants are also subject to income requirements.

Children born in Italy to foreign parents

Unlike in other countries around the world, including the US, merely being born in Italy doesn’t grant a child Italian citizenship.

Italy-born children of foreign nationals must reside in Italy ‘without interruption’ until the age of 18 and submit a statement of intent within one year of their 18th birthday in order to apply for citizenship.

READ ALSO: Reader question: Will my children get an Italian passport if born in Italy?

If that time window is missed, or they fail to provide proof of continuous residency, then the only option left is to apply for citizenship by residency (naturalisation) after three continuous years of legal residency in the country. 

This, however, is still lower than the normal residency threshold for EU nationals (four years) and non-EU nationals (ten years).  

Cittadinanza automatica

Children of an Italian national at birth

If at least one parent is an Italian citizen, the child will automatically be granted Italian citizenship at birth by virtue of the so-called jus sanguinis (‘blood right’).

This applies to children born abroad as much as it does to those born in Italy.

Children adopted by an Italian national

A foreign minor who’s adopted by an Italian citizen is automatically granted Italian citizenship. 

A foreign national aged 18 or over who’s adopted by an Italian citizen can apply for naturalisation following five years of continuous residency in the country.

Children of stateless or unknown parents

A child born in Italy to stateless (meaning they have no legal nationality) or unknown parents automatically acquires Italian citizenship.

Children whose parents become Italian citizens

A person who acquires Italian citizenship (or reacquires after losing it) passes it to any child under the age of 18 provided that they live with them “in a stable and concrete manner”. 

Things are different for children whose parents become Italian citizens after they turn 18 as they’ll have to file their own application. 

For instance, over-18s whose parents become Italian citizens via the residency route (or naturalisation) need to file their own naturalisation application following five years of legal residency in the country starting from their parents’ naturalisation date (generally coinciding with completion of the oath ceremony).

Special merits or services

Following a joint proposal from the Interior Minister and Foreign Minister, Italy’s head of state can grant citizenship to foreign nationals who’ve “rendered eminent services to Italy, or when there is an exceptional interest of the State”.

This is a very rare case.

For more information about applying for Italian citizenship see the Italian foreign ministry’s website or contact the nearest Italian consulate in your country.

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