politics
Italy ruling tells millions with Italian roots they have lost the right to citizenship
Since Italy became a country in 1861, there has been a surefire way to know who is and isn’t an Italian citizen: look at their parents.
TL;DR
- Italy's Constitutional Court is expected to rule in favor of a new law restricting citizenship for those born abroad.
- The law challenges Italy's 160-year-old principle of citizenship by descent (ius sanguinis).
- Under the new law, only those with a parent or grandparent born in Italy will be recognized as citizens.
- Dual citizenship for the diaspora is effectively outlawed under the new decree.
- The process for obtaining citizenship by descent has historically been long, costly, and bureaucratic.
- Descendants of Italian women born before 1948 were previously blocked from transmission of citizenship due to gender discrimination.
- Italy faces a shrinking and aging population, with a significant number of its citizens emigrating.
- Legal experts are exploring further challenges to the new law in EU courts and Italy's Court of Cassation.