About the Italian Citizenship Request: Law 173/2020.

Due to its dependence on how well the immigrant country upholds civil and political rights, the issue of Italian citizenship has always been at the top of the political agenda.

The COVID-19 global pandemic hasn't helped in this regard; instead, it has made legislative work even more cumbersome.

Recent occurrences, particularly the controversy surrounding soccer player Luis Suarez receiving Italian citizenship, have reignited interest.

The so-called "Security Decrees," which were signed by Matteo Salvini, the country's interior minister at the time, in October 2018, marked the beginning of the reform of Italian citizenship. As a result, the citizenship process now takes four years rather than the previous two.

However, it appears that applicants are only now beginning to benefit from the revisions.

The Decree Law of October 21, 2020 n. 130, which is the immigration revision decree, has been replaced with the Salvini law by the Law of December 18, 2020 n. 173, which was passed while Minister Lamorgese was in office.

Decree-Law 130/2020 corrects a number of issues with immigration and TUI. It focuses more on expediting processes and on the procedures for awarding or refusing citizenship (as governed by the now-famous statute 91/1992).

Aside from the issue at hand, which is Italian nationality, the decree-law has made interventions in a number of different areas.

First, the one involving work-related residency permits. In fact, the previously interchangeable categories of permits have been widened to include special protection, disaster, elective residence, obtaining citizenship or remaining stateless, sports, artistic endeavors, religious activities, and supporting children.

Priority examinations, faster processes, and the treatment of repeated applications during the execution of an expulsion order were all modified in relation to international protection. The groups of people who qualify for residence permits with special protection have been greatly increased. This category of protection (refugee status and international protection) is seen as subordinate to the two types of international protection. Furthermore, it is stated that those who run the risk of receiving torture in their home country as well as those who run the risk of having their right to respect for their private and family lives violated while on national soil are both entitled to "special" protection. The length of the residence permit for special protection has also been extended from one to two years.

The idea of a resident permission for natural disasters has also changed; now, the occurrence of a "serious" situation disaster is all that is necessary for the permit to be granted; the prior regulations required that the disaster be exceptional and temporary. The addition of the applicant for international protection to a list of residents is one advantage.

The framework of navigation prohibitions and limits for NGO vessels is changed, with a focus on the maritime rescue issue. The Minister of the Interior may limit or forbid vessels other than military or government non-commercial vessels from entering or transiting territorial waters, with the approval of the Minister of Defence and Transport and after notifying the President of the Council. The only exemption is made for ships that have performed rescue operations in line with international treaties and informed the appropriate national authorities or their flag state of their operation. As a result, penalties of 10,000 to 50,000 euros may be levied for "noncompliance with the ban or the limit of navigation." Prior to the passage of the current law, violators of the aforementioned prohibition were subject to fines up to one million dollars for saving migrants at sea, which is more than the current fine. Last but not least, it is no longer possible to take boats out of territorial seas that have been violated.

The Protection System for International Protection Holders and for Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (SIPROIMI) has been replaced, and a system similar to the previous SPRAR (Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) has been restored in terms of reception. First assistance or rescue will be provided through huge reception facilities in regular and exceptional government centers set up by the interior minister. The local authorities will be in charge of the next phase, reception, which will be divided into two levels of service for subjects needing international protection—for whom the law provides forms of reception that had been removed from the 2018 security decree—and for the owners of those subjects. Health, social, and psychiatric care, as well as assistance for cultural and language mediation, are made accessible to those who are in need of international protection; for those who are entitled to protection, job orientation and vocational training are also provided. There is, however, more. The Decree also recognized unusual instances, domestic violence, disasters, particular labor exploitation, acts of great civil worth, and holders of a range of special residence permits as prospective recipients of the aforementioned services.

Regarding the crucial subject of Italian citizenship, Law 91/92 has been amended to reduce the amount of time it takes to receive a response to a request from four to three years.

The law that states a person's citizenship may be withdrawn if they are found guilty of acts related to terrorism has not been changed. People who were born in Italy and have Italian citizenship by birth should not be treated unfairly.

However, the Decree-Law was inadequate because Law 91/92's original text specified that it would only be valid for two years. This was amended to four years by the 2018 Security Decree.

As a result, the deadline was altered when Law 173/2020 was passed. The timeframe has been shortened by the Chamber of Deputies to 24 months, although a 36-month extension to complete the process is still a possibility.

It should be noted that the "two-year rule" only applies to citizenship applications submitted after the law's effective date of December 20, 2020, with the understanding that all current procedures are unaffected by the reform, as stated in law 91/92's article 9ter, paragraph 6.

The Italian language is unaffected by maintaining the B1 proficiency standard, with the exception of those with an unrestricted EC or EU residency permit.

Regarding the crucial subject of Italian citizenship, Law 91/92 has been amended to reduce the amount of time it takes to receive a response to a request from four to three years.

The law that states a person's citizenship may be withdrawn if they are found guilty of acts related to terrorism has not been changed. People who were born in Italy and have Italian citizenship by birth should not be treated unfairly.

However, the Decree-Law was inadequate because Law 91/92's original text specified that it would only be valid for two years. This was amended to four years by the 2018 Security Decree.

As a result, the deadline was altered when Law 173/2020 was passed. The timeframe has been shortened by the Chamber of Deputies to 24 months, although a 36-month extension to complete the process is still a possibility.

It should be noted that the "two-year rule" only applies to citizenship applications submitted after the law's effective date of December 20, 2020, with the understanding that all current procedures are unaffected by the reform, as stated in law 91/92's article 9ter, paragraph 6.

The Italian language is unaffected by maintaining the B1 proficiency standard, with the exception of those with an unrestricted EC or EU residency permit.

Abogado Sarah Silvestri
Immigration Attorney

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