With the approval of new legislation promoted by the government, Italian citizens living abroad will now face longer and more complex procedures when applying for citizenship. Applications will no longer be handled by consulates but by a centralized office in Rome, with waiting times extending up to three years.
“A new law from the Meloni government will make citizenship applications even more difficult.” That’s the warning from Christian Di Sanzo, a Member of Parliament elected to represent Italians in North and Central America, referring to the new law on consular services for citizens abroad approved by the Chamber of Deputies on October 14. “This law is another attack by Prime Minister Meloni on Italians abroad. It will make the citizenship process even harder. Currently, applications must by law be completed within two years and are handled by consular offices in the country where the applicant resides. What the Meloni government is proposing is to extend the processing time from two to four years and to centralize all cases in a single office in Rome, where applications can only be submitted by mail from anywhere in the world — this is clearly a way to make life even more difficult for Italians abroad.”
Di Sanzo noted that, during the parliamentary debate, the Democratic Party managed to limit some of the negative effects of the measure: “Only thanks to my amendments, together with my colleague Toni Ricciardi and the other Democratic Party MPs elected abroad, were we able to mitigate the damage. We managed to keep the processing time to three years instead of four, as originally proposed by the Meloni government. It’s still worse than the current two years, but better than what Meloni wanted. We also postponed the implementation of the law until 2028, meaning that until then, citizenship applications can still be filed through local consulates.”
A positive outcome was also achieved regarding identity documents: “We also secured the possibility for AIRE-registered residents to obtain an electronic ID card in Italian municipalities when they are in Italy. Until now, they could only get a paper one. This will help reduce waiting lists at consulates.”
Finally, Di Sanzo pointed to the broader picture of the government’s policies: “After the citizenship law passed in May, which denied citizenship to the grandchildren of Italians abroad, this represents yet another attack on Italians around the world. Instead of simplifying procedures, the government is doing everything it can to make life more complicated for Italians living overseas.”
