Senator Roberto Menia, from the party Brothers of Italy, stated that many descendants who request recognition of Italian citizenship are “fake Italians”.
In an interview with the newspaper Il Gazzettino, from Venice, declared: “I value Italianness in the world very much, but this has nothing to do with the indecent phenomenon of 'fake Italians' who pay agencies to obtain a passport European without any real connection to our country”.
Menia's assessment, however, does not correspond to the facts. Agencies do not sell passports. They act as intermediaries in the legal process of recognizing the Italian citizenship jure sanguinis, playing a role similar to that of dispatchers.
These companies operate due to the absence of the Italian State, which, given the high demand, is unable to provide an efficient service. The final decision remains the exclusive responsibility of the State, through its consulates and courts.
Menia, from the party of Georgia Meloni, the current prime minister, is the author of a bill that is being processed by the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Italian Senate, and which is preparing to begin public hearings.
The proposal states that only descendants up to the third degree — that is, great-grandchildren of Italians — can apply for citizenship. The text also requires knowledge of the Italian language at level B1 and legal residence in Italy for at least one year. In these cases, the process would have priority.
“We will listen to the representatives of interest and experts on the subject, starting with the constitutionalists. My proposal is that citizenship be recognized only to those who prove descent up to the third degree and proficiency in the Italian language at level B1, with preferential access for those who have lived in Italy for at least one year,” said Menia, who is vice-president of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Venezaflix case at the center of controversy
According to a Venetian newspaper, the senator also presented a parliamentary interpellation about the service “Veniceflix”, a platform that offers monitoring of the productivity of judges at the Court of Venice, one of the most overburdened courts in the country.
Menia described the initiative as “indecent” and questioned the public disclosure of such data. “How is it possible that data on the progress of cases conducted by individual judges is circulated?” he said.
“We are facing a real trade in passports,” he added, linking the service to alleged fraud schemes in the recognition of citizenship.
Despite the criticism, the information used by the “Venezaflix” platform is available on Portale dei Servizi Telematici del Ministero della Giustizia, official website of the Italian Ministry of Justice.
