A referendum to give Italians chance to loosen citizenship laws for immigrants

Long after seeing millions of Italians emigrate as they fled poverty and war, Italy has now become a country to which millions of people have migrated, its schools and neighbourhoods filling with Africans, Asians, Latin Americans and Eastern Europeans.Yet many here say the law has not kept up with this dramatic demographic and social change, still making it too hard for immigrants to become Italian.On Sunday and Monday, Italians will be called to vote in a referendum to decide whether to reduce the legally required residency to five from 10 years to be able to apply for citizenship. A change in the law would allow hundreds of thousands of foreigners to apply for citizenship, and would be a blow to conservative PM Giorgia Meloni, who opposes loosening the citizenship law. But for the referendum to pass, a majority of Italian voters must turn out, with most of them voting “yes.” Many observers are skeptical that will happen in a country where turnout is low.Who can be Italian?When Italy was a country that sent emigres abroad, generous bloodline citizenship rules allowed people of Italian descent, even if remote, to obtain citizenship, helping maintain a link with the diaspora. On the other hand, Italy has made it hard for immigrants to obtain citizenship. Immigrants from countries outside EU with sufficient income and no criminal record can apply for citizenship only after 10 years of uninterrupted residency in Italy. That is longer than other European countries, where under some conditions immigrants can apply for citizenship after five years. In Italy, children of lawful immigrants can apply only once they have turned 18 and if they have continuously lived in the country since birth.Supporters of the rules say Italy already grants large numbers of new citizenships, but opponents say hundreds of thousands of people reside in Italy without being citizens.What would change?The change proposed would allow nearly 1.5 million foreigners to obtain citizenship, according to an estimate by an Italian research centre. That would include nearly 300,000 minors, who would obtain citizenship if their parents do. Among those affected is Meriem Khaldoun, a Moroccan architect in the northern Italian city of Genoa. Khaldoun has lived in Italy her whole adult life. But because she formally registered her residency only five years ago, she must wait five more years to apply for Italian citizenship. In the meantime, she is working with the city’s authorities on an urban regeneration project. Progressive parties have largely supported the referendum, but the right has opposed it.Will it pass?It won’t be clear whether enough voters cast ballots until polls close Monday afternoon. In the 1970s and 1980s, voters flocked to polls for referendums to uphold legalisation of divorce and abortion. But in last referendum in 2022, only 20% of voters turned out.nyt