New rule for Italian citizenship: 2.5 million non-EU residents may be eligible despite PM Giorgia Meloni's resistance
The Italian government, under PM Giorgia Meloni, is promoting a boycott of a citizenship referendum that could benefit 2.5 million non-EU residents.
Over 1.4 million non-EU residents could become eligible for Italian citizenship if Italy passes a new law in the upcoming June 8–9 referendum, according to a study by research centre Idos.
Right now, non-EU nationals must live in Italy for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship. The proposed reform will reduce this to five years.
If passed, nearly 1.14 million adults and 2.29 lakh children will qualify. Another 55,000 children may get citizenship automatically if their parents become citizens.
According to estimates by the +Europa party, about 2.5 million residents will become eligible for Italian citizenship.
However, not everyone will qualify. About 7 lakh people may still be ineligible because they don’t meet the income requirement.
To apply, individuals must earn at least €8,263.31 ( ₹8 lakh) annually or more if they are unmarried. If someone is married, they need an annual income of €11,362.05 ( ₹11 lakh). For each child, they must have an annual incomde of €516 ( ₹50,000). These income rules will remain the same.
Among other rules, applicants must prove their proficiency in the Italian language. They will have to appear for a test to pass the B1 level.
The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) test checks skills in grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening and making correct sentences. It is used to measure language levels in Europe.
Referendum unlikely to be passed
For the referendum to be valid, over 50% of voters must take part. Local news reports suggest that this might not happen as voter turnout in Italy is usually low. Since 1995, only four out of 29 referendums in Italy have met the required voter turnout.
Italy’s right-wing government, led by PM Giorgia Meloni, is not supporting it. Senate Speaker Ignazio La Russa has said he wants people to stay home (and not vote), according to The Local.
Matteo Salvini’s League party is also promoting a boycott. A party memo even asked members to help stop people from voting.
Salvini, who earlier supported referendums, now says he’ll go to the beach instead.