The Venice Court in Italy has announced the creation of a task force to expedite the processing of Italian citizenship applications. The measure was revealed by the news program TGR Veneto, on the public broadcaster Rai 3.
The group is made up of eight honorary magistrates assigned to the section specializing in international protection. The initiative seeks to reduce the backlog of cases generated by changes in the rules for recognizing citizenship.
“In order to reduce the backlog of cases, a task force of eight honorary magistrates was appointed to the section specializing in international protection — a question of law, a political question, with many interests at stake in the background,” says the report.
O Decree-Law 36 It came into effect on March 28 and imposed stricter criteria for those wishing to obtain Italian citizenship by descent. Now, only children of Italians born in Italy, children of parents who have lived in the country for at least two years before their birth, or direct grandchildren of Italian citizens are eligible.
Applications initiated before March 27 remain valid, both at consulates and in Italian town halls or courts. Thousands of applications are expected to be currently under analysis.
The decree, which takes effect immediately, must be approved by Parliament within 60 days to become final law. Otherwise, it will lose its validity. Legal experts are working to assess possible unconstitutionalities in the new requirements.
The change was justified by the Italian government as a response to the “extraordinary and urgent need” to limit the automatic transmission of citizenship to people born and resident outside Italy. The debate has now moved to the political arena.
