New rules are intended to prevent the abuse of the system and strengthen the emotional connection between Italy and its citizens abroad.
Italy will limit the current law on the acquisition of citizenship for the blood descendants of the Italians, according to which the applicants will have to be the new two generations from an emigrant with Italian citizenship, said on Friday the government in Rome. He wants to fight the abuse of the system, TASR writes according to AFP report.
“The granting of citizenship is a serious thing and in recent years it has been abused,” said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The new regulation will allow the descendants of Italians to apply for citizenship only if their parent or grandparent came from Italy.
According to Tajani, the aim of the amendment is to “strengthen the emotional connection between Italy and citizens abroad”. So far, people who have demonstrated a blood relationship of up to four generations could have asked for Italian citizenship, for example, if their Pradudedo was born in Italy. “Many descendants of emigrants will still be able to acquire Italian citizenship, but there will be clear restrictions, especially to avoid abuse,” Tajani said, adding that the goal is to prevent “commercialization of Italian passports”.
AFP recalls that Italy has long been a country from which more people emigrate than it immigrates into it. However, according to the Ministry, the number of applications for citizenship has been increasing over the last ten years, currently in the approval process of approximately 60,000. According to the ministry, before the change in the world was 60 to 80 million people who could apply for Italian citizenship.
