Italian residents will vote on 8-9 June on a proposal to cut back the variety of years a non-EU nationwide should reside in Italy earlier than they will search citizenship. Lorenzo Piccoli, Yajna Govind and Maarten Vink write the referendum is an opportunity to align Italy with guidelines in the remainder of Europe.
On 8-9 June, Italian residents will vote in 5 referendum proposals, together with a measure to cut back the residency requirement for non-EU nationals searching for citizenship from ten years to 5.
The initiative was promoted by a coalition of comparatively small political events – Extra Europe, Possibile, the Italian Socialist Social gathering, the Italian Radicals and the Communist Refoundation Social gathering – and quite a few civil society associations, reaching a file variety of 637,000 signatures in only a few months, the quickest civic mobilisation on citizenship in Italian historical past.
What the referendum proposes
The referendum has usually been, incorrectly, related to earlier debates on ius soli (proper of soil) and ius scholae (citizenship by means of education), which centred on granting citizenship to youngsters born or educated in Italy. Nonetheless, this referendum is extra restricted in scope.
Its goal is to switch the timeframe for naturalisation outlined in Italy’s 1992 citizenship legislation, with out altering its core ideas. The referendum is not going to have an effect on different current necessities. The residency requirement is a mandatory however not ample situation to grow to be eligible for naturalisation. Candidates will nonetheless be required to show information of the Italian language, in addition to proof of ample revenue in earlier years, fulfilling tax obligations and having no legal file.
The present referendum is barely targeted on the residency requirement for naturalisation and goals to halve it. At present, people should reside within the nation for ten consecutive years earlier than making use of for citizenship. The method usually extends by a number of years resulting from administrative delays, together with as much as three years for utility approval and an additional six months for the citizenship ceremony. The proposed reform would minimize the required residency interval to 5 consecutive years. If profitable, it could align Italy’s naturalisation legal guidelines with these of most European nations.
How Italy compares internationally
In European and western democracies, 5 years of authorized residence is the most typical requirement for naturalisation. Nations like France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, the UK and Eire undertake this threshold, usually alongside integration necessities similar to language proficiency and civic information.
Germany, too, in 2024, modified its citizenship legislation by lowering the residence requirement from eight to 5 years. Exterior Europe, nations like Canada, Australia and New Zealand even have a residence requirement of 5 years. Italy’s ten-year residency requirement is among the many strictest within the EU and amongst western democracies.
Determine: How Italy’s residency requirement compares with the remainder of Europe
Supply: GLOBALCIT Citizenship Legislation Dataset, v3, mode: A06_yrs (embargoed knowledge)
Comparative estimates present that the annual naturalisation price of overseas residents dwelling in Italy is 2.6% (within the EU it’s 2.3%), however one essential consequence of the present legislation is that Italy has one of many lowest charges of naturalisation amongst long-term foreign-born residents: solely 35% of immigrants with 20-24 years of residence in Italy purchase citizenship, far under the EU common of 53%.
Citizenship and integration – what the proof reveals
The educational literature persistently reveals that entry to citizenship has optimistic results. Naturalised immigrants usually tend to be employed, earn increased wages, and really feel a stronger sense of belonging. In contrast, protracted ready intervals for naturalisation delay or dampen these results. These findings recommend that naturalisation is just not solely a reward but additionally an essential catalyst for integration.
Critics argue that lowering the residency requirement might weaken nationwide cohesion or reward “short-term” presence. However knowledge from nations with shorter naturalisation timelines reveals no such impact. If something, early entry to citizenship fosters deeper civic engagement and loyalty. Certainly, a majority of Italians assume that citizenship accelerates the combination course of. The final Eurobarometer on the combination of immigrants studies that 87% of Italians consider that buying Italian citizenship is a vital issue for the profitable integration of immigrants in Italy.
With Italy going through demographic decline and labour market gaps, simplifying entry to citizenship might additionally serve broader financial and social coverage targets. As analysis suggests, when immigrants can entry full membership, they’re extra more likely to put money into long-term human capital, contribute to the tax base and take part in native governance, benefitting society as an entire.
Why this referendum issues
Regardless of such sturdy proof, the referendum has been shortly subsumed into the nation’s polarised political atmosphere. Left wing events assist it, whereas members of the right-wing authorities coalition urged their supporters to abstain to invalidate the vote. It is because in Italy, well-liked referendums require a turnout of over 50% to be legally binding, which ends up in abstentionism getting used strategically to invalidate reform efforts, whatever the difficulty at stake.
The edge of fifty% has not often been met in current many years, though there have been exceptions. The 1974 divorce referendum, the 1981 referendum on abortion and the 2011 referendum on nuclear energy, for instance, crossed the turnout threshold. These referendums have one thing in widespread: sturdy emotional resonance. They mobilised voters, civil society and establishments round points that touched on civic tradition and on a regular basis life.
It’s unlikely this referendum will stir the identical emotional depth because the landmark votes on divorce and abortion. A telling signal of how little consideration it has acquired got here on 5 Could, when the Italian Communications Authority issued a proper observe urging media retailers to not overlook the referendum.
But the implications of the vote are essential. If the referendum passes, the Italian citizenship legislation will lastly be aligned with the most typical requirement for naturalisation in Europe. Nonetheless, if turnout falls under the 50% threshold, the end result will probably be invalidated, probably delaying any significant reform of Italy’s outdated citizenship legal guidelines for years. Failure to go the reform would danger widening the hole between entry to citizenship and the social integration of a whole bunch of hundreds of long-term residents.
Word: This text provides the views of the authors, not the place of EUROPP – European Politics and Coverage or the London Faculty of Economics. Featured picture credit score: vchal / Shutterstock.com
