With a total of 81 votes in favor and 37 against, the Italian Senate approved the decree-law that limits access to Italian citizenship for descendants born in other countries.
However, the text still requires the approval of the Chamber by May 27, Schengen.News reports.
According to the recently approved text, a person born outside Italy will only be considered Italian if at least one parent or grandparent holds only Italian citizenship.
A person can still be considered Italian if their parents lived in Italy for at least two years without interruption after acquiring citizenship and before the child’s birth.
Descendants in Brazil & Argentina, Most Affected Ones
According to a report from NSC, of the recent changes, the most affected ones will be descendants living in Brazil and Argentina, who received millions of Italian emigrants at the end of the 19th century onwards.
The same notes that in Brazil alone, nearly 1.4 million Italians arrived between 1870 and 1920. At the same time, at present, there are an estimated 30 million descendants in the country, together with 800,000 Italian citizens (expatriates or those holding dual citizenship).
In 2023, at least 61,000 citizenships were recognized by blood right to descendants. Brazilians accounted for 68.5 per cent of the total, with nearly 42,000 citizenships.
At the same time, Argentinians became the third-largest nationality to hold Italian citizenship in 2023.
The figures provided back then by the Italian Office for Statistics, Istat, revealed that more than 16,000 Argentinians became naturalized in 2023, quadrupling from the figures registered in 2021.
Being an Italian Citizen Is a Serious Matter
The Italian Deputy Prime Minister, Antonio Tajani, said that being an Italian citizen is not a joke.
Being an Italian citizen is a serious matter; it is not a joke to have an [Italian] passport in your pocket to go shopping in Miami. We want those who wish to become Italian citizens, because they have the right and because they feel connected to our country, to be able to do so. But without abuse, with the end of the use of our nationality for other reasons.
On March 28, the government of Italy tightened rules for claiming citizenship by the right of bloodor descent bloodline.
Up to this point, applicants are not required to be living in Italy currently, however, they need to have previously lived in Italy for three years in order to be eligible.