Approximately 80 million people, mainly from South America, are eligible to apply for Italian Citizenship by descent as descendants of Italian emigrants.
This surge in citizenship requests, especially from Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, is putting a significant strain on the civil and municipal systems in regions such as Veneto, which have historically experienced high levels of emigration.
In fact, applicants face long delays at Italian Consulates abroad, sometimes over ten years, leading many applicants to appeal to Italian regional courts. This process has overwhelmed the local Courts, particularly in Veneto, where 19,000 appeals were pending in September – half of the total number of citizenship cases in Italy. Each appeal often covers several family members, resulting in tens of thousands of citizenships being granted each year, but hundreds of thousands of cases remain.
Local reports show that the primary motivation for this trend is the enhanced travel flexibility offered by Italian passaport, including access to the EU and eligibility for the US Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which allows nationals from specific countries to enter the US for short-term visits without a visa.
The President of the Venice Court notes that either administrative resources at Consulates need to be increased or more judges need to be assigned to deal with the growing backlog, as demand for Italian citizenship is expected to remain strong in the coming years.
This article was written by Giuditta De Ricco and Irene Lauretta.
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