During the 41st Annual Assembly of Anci (National Association of Italian MunicipalitiesIn 2017, the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, criticized the system for recognizing Italian citizenship based on the criteria of... swear sanguinis.
Tajani mentioned that many applicants seek citizenship solely for the European passport, without any interest in connecting with Italian culture.
“We have granted hundreds of thousands of citizenships to people who can prove an ancestor born after 1861. Many of these people don’t care about being Italian. They just want the passport to go to Miami. or move around Europe without any problems”, declared Tajani this Friday (22), in Turin.
Listen to the statement:
Fraud and overload in small municipalities
The minister also highlighted problems related to fraud in the citizenship process. Tajani stated that cases have been identified of applicants who used falsified documents to obtain recognition, which were later revoked. “We were able to revoke the citizenship of five people who used false documents,” he reported.
Another point raised was the overload on small Italian municipalities, which often have to manage a number of requests disproportionate to their structure. Tajani cited an example in Veneto, where a city with 300 inhabitants has 1.500 citizens in Brazil. “None of them have ever visited the municipality,” he emphasized.
Proposal for a new fee in administrative processes
During the event, Tajani suggested changes to the way Italian citizenship processes are financed. Currently, consulates charge a fee of 300 euros per application, but the idea is for Italian municipalities to also start charging for the service.
“This figure should be at least doubled to support the economic effort required for citizenship processes,” suggested Tajani.
He also commented on the judicial route, highlighting that, if municipalities do not process administrative requests, many applicants turn to the courts to guarantee citizenship, further increasing pressure on the system.
