Pro-Migrant Groups Trigger Referendum to Ease Italy's Stringent Citizenship Laws

Pro-migrant groups and opposition parties in Italy have garnered enough signatures to initiate a referendum aimed at easing the country's stringent citizenship laws. The proposed changes would reduce the required residency period from ten to five years and allow new citizens to pass their nationality to their children immediately. The referendum could potentially affect 2.5 million foreigners if approved.

Pro-migrant groups and opposition parties in Italy have successfully gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum to ease the country's stringent citizenship laws, government data revealed on Tuesday.

The initiative seeks to reduce the residence requirement for citizenship from ten to five years and to allow new citizens to pass on their nationality to their children immediately. According to an online register curated by the Justice Ministry, the organisers have collected the necessary 500,000 signatures to initiate a popular vote and circumvent parliamentary gridlock. The referendum request awaits review by the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. If approved, a nationwide vote would likely take place in 2025.

The referendum, if successful, could enable 2.5 million foreigners to obtain Italian citizenship, according to proponents such as Oxfam Italia, ActionAid, the +Europa party, and the Italian Socialist Party. Despite resistance from right-wing parties like Brothers of Italy and the League, a shift in stance from coalition partner Forza Italia this summer has reinvigorated the debate. Italy's current laws, among the toughest in Europe, require foreigners to wait over ten years for citizenship. With Italy's birthrate in decline, the outcome of this initiative could have significant economic and social implications.

(With inputs from agencies.)