Italy’s citizenship referendum: What’s at stake?

The destiny of millions of immigrants is astatine involvement arsenic Italians ballot successful a two-day referendum that proposes to velocity up the process of acquiring citizenship for foreigners who legally entered the country.

The referendum besides seeks to rotation backmost labour reforms to supply enhanced occupation protections.

Polling stations opened connected Sunday astatine 7am section clip (05:00 GMT), with results expected aft polls adjacent connected Monday astatine 3pm (13:00 GMT).

The measures – backed by absorption parties, labour unions and societal activists – are aimed astatine revising citizenship laws to assistance second-generation Italians calved successful the country, to non-European Union parents, integrate much easily.

However, the ballot whitethorn neglect to make capable turnout to beryllium deemed valid – a turnout of much than 50 percent is required for a referendum to beryllium legally binding.

Ahead of this weekend’s vote, the citizenship contented has garnered plentifulness of attraction successful a federation wherever concerns implicit the standard of migration helped propel right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s anti-migration conjugation to powerfulness successful precocious 2022. Immigration has emerged arsenic a cardinal issue, peculiarly successful Western Europe arsenic good arsenic the United States nether President Donald Trump.

So, what does the referendum propose, and what does it mean for immigrants whose lives are successful limbo owed to the dilatory process of naturalisation successful the EU subordinate nation?

What are the Italian citizenship requirements, and however galore immigrants are waiting for citizenship?

The question connected the ballot insubstantial asks Italians if they backmost reducing the play of residence required to use for Italian citizenship, by naturalisation, from 10 years to five.

The alteration projected by the referendum would let astir 1.5 cardinal foreigners to get citizenship immediately, according to an estimation by Idos, an Italian probe centre. That would see astir 300,000 minors, who would get citizenship if their parents did.

About fractional of Italy’s 5.4 cardinal overseas residents could beryllium eligible to use for citizenship if the ballot is passed.

A pistillate casts her ballots connected referendums connected citizenship and occupation protections, astatine a polling presumption successful Rome, Sunday, June 8, 2025. [Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP]

The ballot comes arsenic Meloni has tightened citizenship laws, making it hard for nonmigratory immigrants to get nationality.

Currently, immigrants from countries extracurricular the EU tin use for citizenship lone aft 10 years of uninterrupted residency successful Italy.

What is more, the children of lawful immigrants tin use for passports lone erstwhile they person turned 18 and if they person continuously lived successful the state since birth.

On the different hand, generous bloodline laws allowed radical of Italian descent, adjacent if remote, to get citizenship, helping support a nexus with the diaspora.

Between 2016 and 2023, for instance, Italy granted citizenship to much than 98,300 people, mostly surviving successful Latin America, based connected their claims of Italian ancestry.

With Italy’s birthrate successful crisp decline, economists accidental the state needs to pull much foreigners to boost its anaemic economy.

Francesco Galietti, from governmental hazard steadfast Policy Sonar, told the Reuters quality bureau that keeping specified rules choky was “an individuality issue” for Meloni, but she was besides being pushed by businesses to unfastened up the borders of an ageing state to overseas workers.

“On the 1 hand, determination is the taste individuality rhetoric, but connected the other, determination are imaginable problems paying pensions and an system that relies connected manufacturing, which needs workers,” Galietti said.

For context, Italy’s constitution allows citizens to repeal laws done referendums, portion of the strategy of checks and balances devised aft Benito Mussolini’s fascist regularisation successful the 1940s.

What are the different proposals successful the referendum?

The referendum seeks to marque it harder to occurrence workers and summation compensation for those laid disconnected by tiny businesses, reversing a erstwhile instrumentality passed by a centre-left authorities a decennary ago.

One of the questions connected the ballot besides addresses the urgent contented of information astatine work, restoring associated liability to some contractors and subcontractors for workplace injuries.

Campaigners gathered much than 4.5 cardinal signatures, according to the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) union, acold much than needed to trigger the referendum, which volition comprise 5 questions – 4 connected the labour marketplace and 1 connected citizenship.

“We privation to reverse a civilization that has prioritised the interests of concern implicit those of workers,” CGIL wide caput Maurizio Landini told the AFP quality agency.

A canine connected a leash waits arsenic its proprietor votes successful a booth for referendums connected citizenship and occupation protections, astatine a polling presumption successful Milan, Italy, Sunday, June 8, 2025. [Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP]

Who backed the referendum and why?

The referendum was promoted by a conjugation of comparatively tiny governmental parties – More Europe, Possibile, the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Radicals and the Communist Refoundation Party – and galore civilian nine associations.

It is besides being backed by the centre-left Democratic Party, which is jockeying for Italian citizenship laws to beryllium much aligned with EU-wide standards.

Research shows that entree to citizenship has affirmative causal effects.

Immigrants who naturalise acquisition little unemployment rates, gain higher incomes and are little apt to beryllium overqualified for their jobs.

By contrast, protracted waiting periods for naturalisation hold oregon dampen these effects.

These findings enactment the assertion that naturalisation is not lone a reward, but besides an important catalyst for integration.

The bulk of Italians deliberation that citizenship accelerates the integration process arsenic well.

The past Eurobarometer connected the integration of immigrants reports that 87 percent of Italians judge that acquiring citizenship is an important origin for the palmy integration of immigrants successful Italy.

Even if it passes, however, the betterment volition not impact the instrumentality galore see profoundly unfair – that children calved successful Italy to overseas parents cannot petition nationality until they scope 18.

Does PM Meloni backmost the caller citizenship rules?

Opposition left-wing and centrist parties, civilian nine groups and a starring commercialized national person latched connected to the issues of labour rights and Italy’s demographic woes arsenic a mode of challenging Meloni’s right-wing conjugation government.

Meloni has said she would amusement up astatine the polls but not formed a ballot – a determination wide criticised by the near arsenic antidemocratic, since it volition not assistance scope the indispensable threshold to marque the ballot valid.

Activists and absorption parties person denounced the deficiency of nationalist statement connected the measures, accusing the governing centre-right conjugation of trying to dampen involvement successful delicate issues that straight impact immigrants and workers.

A Demopolis institute canvass past period estimated turnout would beryllium successful the scope of 31-39 percent among Italy’s astir 50 cardinal electors, good abbreviated of the required threshold.

Leaders of 2 of the governing coalition’s right-wing parties, Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League, person opposed the vote.

The referendum is “dangerous” and would widen entree to citizenship “indiscriminately”, Salvini, Italy’s lawman premier minister, said successful May.

How important is the referendum?

Supporters accidental this betterment would bring Italy’s citizenship instrumentality successful enactment with galore different European countries, promoting greater societal integration for semipermanent residents.

It would besides let faster entree to civilian and governmental rights, specified arsenic the close to vote, eligibility for nationalist employment and state of question wrong the EU.

Italy is besides confronting 1 of Europe’s astir acute demographic crises.

Its colonisation is ageing rapidly, with astir a 4th of Italians aged supra 65 years and conscionable 12 percent aged 14 oregon younger. The referendum could easiness immoderate of these pressures.