by Guisela Chiarella
A petition in Italy calling for a referendum to simplify the process for foreigners to obtain Italian citizenship has reached the milestone of half a million signatures, triggering the next step toward a public vote on the matter. The petition, which seeks to halve the number of years non-EU residents must live in Italy before applying for citizenship, has become a flashpoint in Italy’s ongoing debate over migration and integration.
Launched by the liberal +Europa party earlier this month, the proposed referendum would reduce the required period of continuous legal residence from 10 to five years. Once granted, Italian citizenship would also automatically extend to the children of the new citizen, addressing long-standing issues surrounding the status of second-generation immigrants.
Under the current legislation, established in 1992, non-EU nationals must live in Italy for a decade before becoming eligible for citizenship. Children born to foreigners in Italy are similarly bound by strict rules and must wait until they turn 18 to apply. Critics of the current law argue that it leaves hundreds of thousands of young people who were raised in Italy in limbo, even as they have grown up in Italian schools and communities.
The petition’s success in reaching the 500,000-signature threshold comes six days ahead of the September 30 deadline. Riccardo Magi, leader of +Europa, announced the achievement on Tuesday, following a last-minute surge in signatures fueled by a social media campaign and the option to sign online through Italy’s digital identity system, SPID.
“The people who sign this petition are seeking something simple, almost banal,” Magi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Those who choose Italy to live, study, love, and grow, those who imagine their future in our country, are Italian.”
Magi framed the milestone as just the first step in a longer process to reform citizenship laws, calling it a move toward “a more just law that recognizes each one of their daughters and sons as Italian.”
However, before a public vote can be held, the petition must first be reviewed by Italy’s Court of Cassation and, eventually, by the Constitutional Court. These legal checks are required to ensure that the proposed referendum complies with Italy’s legal framework.
Despite the petition’s success, the initiative has encountered firm opposition from Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a strong advocate of Italy’s restrictive immigration policies, dismissed the need for such a referendum. “Italy already has an excellent citizenship law,” Meloni told reporters on Tuesday. “I don’t see the need to change it.”
Meloni’s government, which has taken a hard stance on migration issues since coming to power, is likely to campaign against the referendum should it move forward. The potential referendum represents a significant clash of ideologies, with opposition parties, migrant advocacy groups, and a younger, more diverse population pushing for a more inclusive definition of Italian citizenship.
The outcome of the referendum, if held, could reshape the lives of many long-term residents and their children, providing a faster path to full legal integration into Italian society. For now, Italy awaits the decisions of its courts, as the country’s debate over citizenship intensifies.
