The Italian government has tightened citizenship laws in the country, amid criticism that people – often with a little real relationship with the European nation – were fighting their families’ history to try to demand a passport only to reduce travel all over the world.

Less number of Italian people will now be able to obtain citizenship after the government has narrowed the standards of eligibility for those who have Italian fathers or grandparents.

The government says it has changed the rules on passports due to the swelling of requests from the descendants of immigrants.

So what are the rules of old citizenship in Italy, what has changed and what is the logical basis for Italy?

What was the Italian nationality law so far?

Under the old rules, anyone can prove that he had an Italian predecessor alive after March 17, 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was created, he could seek citizenship.

But the Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani said that the regime is old, and that the change in the law was designed to take strict measures against the “aggressors” who became Italian to overcome travel restrictions.

Italy’s passport is ranked third in the world for visa -free travel or visa, according to Henley’s passport. indexWhich makes it one of the most parties, and yet, it is easier to gain.

“Being an Italian citizen is dangerous. It is not a game for a passport that allows you to go shopping in Miami,” Tajani said at a press conference in Rome on March 28.

What are the new rules?

The new decree, which was announced on Friday and which immediately, stressed the criteria for claiming eligibility for citizenship through “Jus Sanguinis”, or the raying line.

Now, only individuals who have one father or at least in Italy will automatically qualify for citizenship by proportions. The amended law does not affect 60,000 suspended requests.

In addition, double citizens risk losing their Italian nationality if they “do not participate” by paying taxes, voting or renewing their passports.

Finally, Italian consulates in other countries are no longer the treatment of citizenship requests.

Instead, all central requests – online – will be addressed by the federal government in Italy. Personal interviews will become mandatory, which means that applicants for citizenship must travel to Italy as part of the process.

How many people can this change the base?

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, between 60 million and 80 million people worldwide were qualified to obtain citizenship under ancient rules. This is more than the population of Italy of 59 million, which is shrinking over the past decade.

An increasing number of people calling for Italian origin are looking for and securing Italian citizenship abroad, especially in South America, where millions of Italians immigrated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and often fleeing the milling poverty.

Between 2014 and 2024, the number of Italians living abroad increased by 40 percent, from 4.6 million to 6.4 million. This number has been strengthened by many new Italian citizens whose nationality has been recorded in this data.

In Argentina alone, the recognition of citizenship jumped to 30,000 in 2024 from 20,000 in 2023, while Brazil witnessed a rise to 20,000 from 14,000 in the same period.

Why did Italy change its nationality rules?

Critics based on assets say that the practice that provided citizenship to people who have nothing to do with Italy.

Tajani said that reforms are necessary because “citizenship cannot be automatic for those who have a predecessor immigration centuries ago, without any cultural or linguistic relations with the country.”

He also pointed out that companies were attracting large sums by helping people track their long competitors needed for their passports applications. Tajani said: “We strongly excel over those who want to earn money from the opportunity to become an Italian citizen,” Tajani said.

According to Valentino Larkiniz, a professor of public policy at London Economy College (LSE), the old system facilitated “reaching the labor market in the European Union … and the system was subjected to harm.”

He said, “The idea of ​​applying some limits [on passports] reasonable “.

In recent years, an increase in passports requests also covered consulates and municipal offices, which in addition to the requests for birth, death and marriage certificates. For this reason, under the new rules, the federal government will only deal with Italy and not external consulates.

Another criticism of the old regime was that it was unfair, as he granted citizenship to people of long -lost assets with the refusal of citizenship born to immigrant children.

Italy is currently allowing legal immigrant children to become citizens only once they reach the age of 18, and if they have lived in the country from birth.

For Larkiniz, “this is a greater issue of passports from abroad.”

It was estimated that there are “a million people to two abnormal immigrants in Italy under a year [of] 18 … much larger than tens of thousands looking for passports outside the country. “

Larkiniz highlighted the historical vote on alleviating other elements of the rules of citizenship in Italy, which will be held from 8 to 9 June.

One of the main issues is to vote to reduce the number of years when a person needs to spend in Italy to be eligible to obtain naturalized citizenship, from 10 to five years. Italian nationality, as soon as it is obtained, will be transferred automatically to the children of citizens.

“This will be a prominent issue in the general debate, and it can mean a political transformation [in favour of immigrants]”

Do other countries have a grandfather’s citizenship?

In Italy, as in most Europe, the Immigration Law was largely dependent on blood breeds, allowing the country to maintain relations with the descendants of millions of Italians who migrated years ago.

Many European countries continue to allow citizenship by landing with a few borders, if any, between generations. However, countries have their own requirements regarding proof of lineage.

In Hungary, for example, citizenship is possible if the applicants have a Hungarian origin and can prove their linguistic efficacy.

In Poland, applicants can obtain a passport by proving their uninterrupted Polish lineage to ancestor.

The Sephardic Jews who have ancestral bonds in Portugal can apply for passports.

Are other countries tightening the rules of nationality?

Rome’s move comes because other countries are rethinking the rules of nationality in response to Change parking about immigration.

In the United States, President Donald Trump signed Executive order On January 20 to end the newly born citizenship, as part of his right -wing national agenda.

Mouloudia citizenship means that any person born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen, including immigrant children or unconventional tourists, and students who visit short -term visas. The policy was present for more than a century and a dedication in the fourteenth amendment of the American constitution.

Republicans have long argued that the newly born citizenship is a magnet for unrelated migration, as individuals come to the United States to have a child.

While Trump’s executive order was scheduled to enter into force on February 19, he was banned by a federal judge for “unconstitutional” reasons.

According to the global population review, in 2024, at least 33 countries enjoy citizenship, mostly in North America and Latin America, including Mexico.