Italy's government on Friday issued an urgent decree that drastically tightened the country's citizenship-by-descent rules, in a move it said was intended to crack down on recent “abuse” of the system.
The measure is believed to have stripped tens of millions of people of the right to apply for Italian citizenship iure sanguinis.
Under the previous system, Italy placed no generational limit on citizenship by descent claims, with most people who could prove a direct line of descent all the way back to the country's foundation on March 17th, 1861 eligible to apply.
Bar a few exceptions, the only limitation was that no one in the line of descent lost or renounced their Italian citizenship before the birth of their child.
Under the new rules, however, only people with an Italian parent or grandparent born in Italy, or with an Italian parent who lived in Italy for a minimum of two continuous years, will now qualify for citizenship by descent.
The abrupt change has sparked frustration among swathes of Italy’s diaspora, with an online petition calling on the Italian government to scrap the new rules gaining momentum in recent days.
Earlier this week, we asked our readers to share their views on the change in law.
Dozens of people from around the world have since responded to our survey. Here's what they told us.
'Unfair and aggressive'
"It is unfair, aggressive and xenophobic," said Erin Causa, a US citizen living in New York City, while Jessica in Chicago described the move as "a poorly planned purely political stunt by the foreign minister".
"Despicable," is the word used by W. Guarineri in Virginia, who identifies as an "American and (until 3/28/25) prospective Italian".
"They destroy decades of precedent and tear away the hopes of millions of Italians worldwide. To qualify and then not on a whim overnight is absolutely devastating," they added.
Andy Sheehy in California said he felt "gutted" by the ruling: "It has impacted me deeply as I was hoping to codify my pride in being of Italian descent by becoming a citizen and passing it along to my children."
READ ALSO: How Italy’s rules for claiming citizenship by descent have changed
"I'm devastated," said Mary Williams in Florida, whose appointment had been scheduled for April 1st, "just days after the ruling."
"It is not necessarily what Italy did but how it was done that is the problem," suggested Mario Gaboury in Connecticut.
"To impose it immediately with no actual notice and no grace period for people to finalize their applications or court filings was unfair. Many, many hours and a lot of money was expended only to have hopes killed instantly."
One US national in Boston agreed: "I can understand lawmakers and citizens' frustration if there was abuse of the system, but this change seems abrupt and drastic."
"Waiting years, spending thousands of dollars, and to then have the rug pulled out from underneath you...it's a terrible way to treat anyone," summed up Asher Texeira in the US.
'Short-sighted'
Several readers said they thought Italy, a country with an ageing population and plunging birth rate, was shooting itself in the foot by turning away prospective citizens.
"Extremely short-sighted!" was the assessment of Mariann M., a US resident with dual US-Italian citizenship.
"Italy has one of the lowest birthrates in the EU, if not the lowest, they have an ageing population, their young adults are leaving the country for better opportunities... And now they’re making it even harder to encourage descendants to become citizens?!"
The measure "absolutely negatively impacts attracting new young people to the ageing population," agreed Marisa, a US citizen and resident.
"For a country with declining population and brain drain, it is a bold move to put a halt in the way to obtain new replacements to its work force," echoed Joseph Aiello, who had planned to work as an engineer in Turin before the change.
Meanwhile Valerie Milo in Texas expressed sympathy for the Italian consultants and lawyers who specialise in helping applicants file their claims.
"I can't imagine the mess they're in," she said. "What do they do with all these contracts?"
'Split-up' families
Some respondents with Italian nationality were dismayed to learn that their children will no longer be eligible to claim Italian citizenship through them as they do not meet the new birthplace or residency requirements.
"This law might mean that people from the same family can be split into those who were already recognised as Italian and those who will never be simply because of this," said Gabriel Moreira in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
"I think it's very unfair that being Italian I cannot pass my citizenship to my unborn children," said Costanza, an Argentinian-Italian dual national currently living in Belgium.
"I would love to live in Italy and I tried to, but the job opportunities are limited."
Jessica in Chicago said she while she was "lucky to have received my recognition before the change," other family members weren't so fortunate.
"My other immediate family in the same line have been patiently waiting two years for their appointment only to have the rug pulled out from under them."
'Abusing the system'
A minority of respondents, most of whom were unaffected by the change, said they approved of the decree.
"I think it seems fair. A generational limit makes sense as it ensures people aren't abusing the system and actually have strong ties to Italy," said Martina, a UK national who remains eligible to apply through her Italian grandparents.
P. Bailey in Maine agreed: "It makes sense to me to be more restrictive and make sure that those seeking citizenship have a closer tie to Italy."
A greater number, however, argued that the government should have taken a more measured approach.
"I think they could impose more restrictions, and maybe they should, but I don't think they should limit the number of generations of separation," said James Cavalari in New York.
"There are other levers they could pull. (A language fluency requirement, an Italian civics exam?)."
READ ALSO: Why has Italy clamped down on citizenship by descent claims?
Andy Leeper said: "I think it is an overreaction. If they just make people live in Italy for a period of time and would need to pass an Italian language proficiency, it would stop most of the perceived abuse."
"I understand a need for change, receiving citizenship via a great-great-great-grandparent is unrealistic and bluntly, insane," conceded Christopher Massari in the US.
"That said, for those of us trying to build those cultural and financial connections lost from our ancestors' sacrifices and to create permanent ties through our children, flat out it sucks."
Thank you to everyone who replied to The Local's survey.
We are planning to publish another article based on the responses to the survey in the coming days. Check our Italian citizenship section to keep up with all the latest stories.
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