Nothing of Ius scholae ou Ius alone: a proposal for a referendum on citizenship, with the issue already filed, could start the signature collection in the coming days. The initiative is promoted by the +Europa party, together with other parties and associations.
The text envisages reducing the requirement for years lived in Italy, which would benefit more than two million potential new citizens.
The debate over Italian citizenship is expanding, and after weeks of discussion about the Ius scholae, a new proposal has emerged: to modify part of the law currently in force so that foreign citizens who become adults only need to reside in Italy for five years, instead of ten.
A seemingly simple reform, but one that would bring forward access to citizenship for more than two million people. The path to this reform is a referendum, the question of which has been submitted to the Court of Cassation, and the collection of signatures could begin in the coming days, including online, through a specific institutional website (firmareferendum.giustizia.it/referendum).
+Europa Secretary Riccardo Magi is one of the main promoters of the initiative, together with several other associations and parties, through the campaign Daughters and daughters of Italy (Sons and daughters of Italy). Specifically, the referendum proposes to repeal two small parts of an article of law 91 of 1992, which currently regulates citizenship.
Article 9 states that citizenship may be granted “to a foreigner who has resided legally for at least ten years in the territory of the Republic”. However, by deleting this sentence and modifying another, the rule that would result after the referendum would say that citizenship may be granted “to a foreigner of legal age who has resided legally in the territory of the Republic for at least five years”.
Therefore, the age limit would not change, remaining at 18, but the requirement would become less strict: just five years of residence in Italy, instead of ten. In short, citizenship could be obtained by those who started living in Italy from the age of 13, instead of eight.
“We are talking about 2,2 million foreign citizens who would be able to obtain citizenship today, in addition to their children, around 500 thousand girls and boys,” Magi emphasized. He also highlighted that this would represent “much more than those interested in the Ius scholae, about 500 thousand people, and by Ius alone, which would cover approximately 1,5 million people. A simple reform, but also revolutionary.”
“We hope that those who in recent days have spoken out in favour of reforming the citizenship law will support this referendum. To the rhetoric of ‘Italians first’, we respond with ‘Italians first’,” Magi said. In fact, the left-wing Democratic Party has already shown its initial support.
Elly Schlein reiterated that “the law needs to be changed”, and in a statement, Marwa Mahmoud (responsible for the party’s participation) and Pierfrancesco Majorino (responsible for migration policies) confirmed: “Our country needs to make a great leap in quality on the issue of citizenship. We will not fail to sign your initiative”.
O PD will also prepare a billHowever, Magi expressed skepticism: "We believe that the conditions in Parliament are not right for a new law, and this legislature risks being yet another one without a review of the rules for obtaining Italian citizenship."
Therefore, the referendum would act as a 'safety net' in case political negotiations fail, as has happened on other occasions in the past.
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