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Lega Files Bill to Tighten Italian Citizenship and Family Reunification

Sponsors cite June's citizenship referendum as the impetus for tougher rules.

Overview

  • The Lega presented the draft in the Chamber of Deputies, with first signer Jacopo Morrone and group leader Riccardo Molinari among the sponsors.
  • Foreigners born in Italy would need to pass a government-set integration exam at 18 and have no convictions or pending proceedings for non-negligent crimes to gain citizenship.
  • Minimum legal residence requirements would rise across categories, including 2 to 4 years for certain minors, 3 to 10 years for those born in Italy, 4 to 8 for EU citizens, and 5 to 10 for stateless persons.
  • New revocation grounds include definitive sentences over five years or over three for gender-based violence, rape, domestic abuse, stalking, revenge porn, and culturally motivated crimes, while removing the current bar on revocation in cases of statelessness risk.
  • Procedural changes would cut standard processing from 24 to 12 months and shorten the revocation adoption window from 10 to 2 years, while tightening family reunification with higher income thresholds, exclusions for dependent elderly parents, and mandatory health insurance for each relative.