The Municipality of Rome has accumulated more than 120 backlogged birth and marriage certificates. This backlog directly impacts families awaiting documents to validate civil rights or complete the recognition of Italian citizenship—which includes securing citizenship for minor children.
“We have been waiting for our certificates in Rome for two years to update our AIRE registration and apply for citizenship for our children, but with the change in the law, our children's rights have been taken away,” says Maria Mercedes, illustrating the situation of thousands of families in the same predicament.
The problem is not limited to the Italian capital. In Zoldo Valley, in northern Italy, the mayor Camillo De Pellegrin acknowledges the backlog of cases. According to him, the municipality is still processing requests from 2019. The municipality has been the target of court decisions requiring the transcription of certificates of new Italian citizens.
Lack of structure and personnel in the commune are cited as the main causes for the delay.
Pressure has increased since the Tajani Decree was enacted into law in May of this year. With the change, minor children who were not included in the main proceedings lost their automatic right to citizenship. Many were left out due to court orders, financial constraints or because they were born during or after the legal proceedings.
In May, the Court of Rome ruled in favor of a young man who had been denied citizenship due to government delays. The decision reinforces that the State can be held responsible for excessive bureaucracy.
For the law professor Paolo Morozzo della Rocca, an immigration specialist, the ruling makes it clear that the State cannot transfer its failures to families.
“The State cannot transfer its own delays to its children,” he said. For him, “when a parent becomes an Italian citizen, the minor child has the right to follow the same path. If this does not happen due to the exclusive fault of the administration, the child cannot pay this bill. The judge correctly applied the law in force at the time of the request, respecting the principle of good faith and the best interests of the minor.”
As Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani says, "Italian citizenship is serious business." The delays, too.
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