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Local Italy
21-07-2025
- Business
- Local Italy
What are the best ways to move to Italy after the government's citizenship clampdown?
A controversial government reform introduced major restrictions on who can apply for ancestry-based Italian citizenship (or citizenship ius sanguinis) earlier this year. While previously anyone with an Italian ancestor could apply for citizenship if they could prove an unbroken chain of descent, the new law applies a two-generational limit, meaning only those with an Italian parent or grandparent are now eligible. Bar a few exceptions, the new rules also require people born outside Italy to have a parent or grandparent who 'holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship' in order to apply for ancestry-based citizenship. That means parents and grandparents who hold dual citizenship cannot pass Italian citizenship on to children or grandchildren born abroad unless they renounce their other, non-Italian citizenship. The Local's readers who found themselves abruptly blocked from accessing Italian citizenship due to the new rules described the reform as ' heartbreaking '. But for people in this situation, there are alternative routes to Italian residency. We spoke to Marco Mazzeschi, an Italian immigration lawyer at Mazzeschi Legal Counsels, as well as Italian relocation consultant Federica Grazi, about how non-EU nationals affected by the rule change can move to Italy in 2025. The best Italian visa options Italy's elective residency visa (ERV) for pensioners and digital nomad visa (DNV) for remote workers are 'the two big ones' Grazi recommends to people looking to relocate to Italy. The ERV is aimed at people who receive a passive income (such as rental income or a pension), while the DNV, launched last year, is for self-employed workers or fully remote employees. The fact that both visas require applicants to show they have pre-existing income gives them an advantage over people looking for work in Italy, as 'the local job market is quite regulated, both locally and at the EU level,' Grazi says. While the ERV and DNV require applicants to overcome a number of obstacles, including lengthy waits for appointments at Italian consulates and the need to already have long-term accommodation in Italy, the Local has gathered testimonies from people who show it can be done. Another option that Mazzeschi describes as 'underrated' is Italy's startup visa. This visa, which falls under Italy's annual decreto flussi work visa quotas, is targeted at would-be entrepreneurs with available capital of at least €50,000 and an 'innovative' startup project proposal. 'The focus is on 'innovative': so it must be technological, IT,' says Mazzeschi, and you must be able to demonstrate relevant professional experience. 'If I filed a project for a startup in nuclear technology,' he says by way of example, 'they'd look at me and say, 'you're kidding – what is your knowledge?' So they look at the background.' A key advantage is that you don't need to invest any money until your application is approved, making it 'no risk', Mazzeschi adds. Once in Italy, you need to earn over €8,263.31 per year (the minimum threshold for making healthcare co-payments) to remain in compliance with the terms of your visa. The visa options to avoid If you've been researching ways to move to Italy, you may have come across the self-employment visa, which like the startup visa is subject to Italy's decreto flussi work visa quotas. Given how oversubscribed this visa is and how few of them are released each year, Mazzeschi strongly discourages clients from applying, describing the process as a 'nightmare' and warning that they will 'almost surely' be denied. Grazi says she's also had clients ask about joining relatives in Italy on a family reunification visa, but advises them that this is only available for spouses, minor children, dependent parents over 65, and severely disabled adult children of legal residents. The requirements for family reunification are 'very strict,' she notes, adding that 'it's usually not applicable for people that have siblings or an older parent or grandparent.' More realistic visa alternatives include the EU Blue Card, the investor visa, and the intra-company transfer visa: learn more about these HERE. Fast-track residency-based citizenship If you have a dual-national Italian parent or grandparent and have been blocked from accessing ius sanguinis citizenship due to the latest changes, you may still be eligible to apply for fast-track Italian citizenship through residency. The new rules allow people with an Italian parent or grandparent, including those with dual citizenship, to naturalise as an Italian citizen after just two years of legal residency (down from a previous three-year time limit). residency-based citizenship requirements, including demonstrating proficiency in Italian and meeting a minimum income threshold.
Local Italy
19-07-2025
- Local Italy
La Bella Vita: Common Italian translation fails and alternative places to visit in 2025
La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to newsletter preferences in 'My Account' or following the instructions in the newsletter box below. Italy is one of the world's favourite summer holiday destinations and, though it's a diverse country with countless sights to see, most visitors seem to flock to the same few hotspots – from 'art cities' such as Florence, Venice and Rome to picturesque regions like the Amalfi Coast and the Cinque Terre. These destinations draw millions of visitors every summer, with large tourist crowds known to regularly overwhelm popular attractions and museums during peak travel period. If you're looking for a more relaxed, less claustrophobic Italian travel experience this summer, there are countless options - but it's not always easy to narrow them down. To help you head off the beaten path, we handpicked some of the best lesser-known places to visit around Italy. Though these aren't all completely unknown, they're the sort of destinations where we believe you can enjoy an authentic Italian experience. As all language learners will know, Italian contains a lot of words that are either the same or very similar to English but have subtly different (or even completely opposite) meanings. Some of these 'false friends' are amusing, but others can be cruel, and you might end up in hot water if you get the meanings mixed up. To help you avoid trouble or embarrassment, we put together some of the most frequently mistranslated words. Italians are known to take their food very seriously, with foreign adaptations of ingredients or methods used in traditional Italian recipes often sparking cries of outrage around the country. This strong sense of pride extends to food production, with Italian farmers and winemakers fiercely defending their products via a stringent labelling system. But food and drink labels can be more than a little confusing to the average non-Italian shopper. If you find it hard to remember what the difference is between DOP, DOC, IGT or DOCG, here's a helpful explanation – and a look at whether this is always a mark of superior quality.
Local Italy
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Local Italy
How to secure Italian citizenship for your child before the 2026 deadline
After Italy's government issued an emergency decree drastically restricting who can apply for ancestry-based Italian citizenship in March, many prospective applicants found themselves abruptly shut out of the process from one day to the next. The final version of the decree, approved by parliament in May, however, included a key addendum: Italian nationals with children under the age of 18 could pass on citizenship under the old, more lenient rules, provided they applied by May 31st, 2026. The Local spoke to Giuditta De Ricco and Valentina Giannessi, a lawyer and consultant specialising in citizenship at the Italian law firm Mazzeschi, about how parents can apply before the deadline. How has the law changed? Italy's new ancestry-based (or ius sanguinis) citizenship law applies a two-generational limit to applications, meaning only those with an Italian parent or grandparent are now eligible. This marks a major change from the previous rules, which had allowed anyone with an Italian ancestor, with no generational limit, to apply as long as they could prove an unbroken chain of descent. Bar a few exceptions, the new law also requires foreign-born applicants to have a parent or grandparent who 'holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship'. That means parents and grandparents who hold dual citizenship cannot pass Italian citizenship on to children or grandchildren born abroad unless they renounce their other, non-Italian citizenship. You can find a more detailed breakdown of the changes HERE. Who does the grace period apply to? According to the text of the new decree and the Senate's instructions regarding its application, Italian nationals with children who were under the age of 18 on May 24th, 2025 (when the law came into effect) can submit a 'declaration of intent' by 11.59pm Rome time on May 31st, 2026 for the child to be recognised as an Italian citizen. Under this exemption, Italian dual nationals may pass on Italian citizenship to their foreign-born minor children provided they meet the May 31st deadline, despite the parent's dual citizen status. The exemption only applies to parents who are Italian citizens by descent or ius sanguinis – so not those who acquired Italian citizenship through residency-based naturalisation or marriage. The parent must have been officially recognised as an Italian citizen through the ius sanguinis route by May 24th, 2025. Children who were under the age of 18 on May 24th, 2025, but turn 18 before May 31st, 2026, are still eligible to apply under the exemption, but must make the declaration in their own name. Where should I apply? Italians resident abroad should file the declaration with their nearest Italian consulate. Those living in Italy, say De Ricco and Giannessi, should apply at the comune (town hall) where they are registered as residents. How can I apply? Many Italian consulates have now released instructions on how to apply: see the New York consulate's guidelines here. If your consulate or comune hasn't published any guidelines, you should contact them for information on how to proceed. In many cases, applications can be submitted via email; you'll then be called to a follow-up appointment to complete the process. What does my application need to include? While the decree only mentions a 'declaration of intent', the instructions provided by consulates make it clear that this should be accompanied by full supporting documentation. While individual consulates and comuni can impose their own requirements, the requested documents are likely to include: An apostilled or legalised copy of the child's full birth certificate A sworn translation of this document into Italian A copy of the photo page of both parents' valid passports and the child's valid foreign passport Documentation proving that one of the parents is an Italian citizen ius sanguinis, such as a certificate issued by the relevant consulate or comune. A request form provided by the consulate or comune, filled out and signed by both parents. De Ricco says she advises clients to 'always double-check specific guidelines from their consulate because they're not identical.' To apply as a foreign resident, the parent should first make sure they are registered with AIRE, Italy's register of Italian citizens living abroad. Applicants will also need to register their marriage in Italy if they haven't already, De Ricco adds (non-married couples can provide a certified declaration of paternity). You'll also need to pay a €250 application processing fee to the interior ministry and provide proof of payment at the appointment. That means you won't want to leave it to the last minute to file your declaration, as you'll need to allow plenty of time to gather the necessary supporting documents. What happens if I miss the deadline? If you miss the deadline, you can still apply for Italian citizenship for your child, but the restrictions become a lot tighter. To be eligible for citizenship, the foreign-born child of an Italian dual national must first reside in Italy for two continuous years (this applies equally to minors and adults). People in this situation aren't actually applying for citizenship through the ancestry route, notes De Ricco, but through a fast-track version of residency-based citizenship, or naturalisation (the typical residency requirement for most applicants is between four and ten years). That means that those who apply as adults will be subject to additional restrictions that apply to naturalisation candidates, including meeting minimum income and Italian language requirements. Are there any other exceptions? According to De Ricco and Giannessi, once the May 31st, 2026 deadline has passed, people with dual citizenship of Italy and another country will only be able to pass their citizenship on to their foreign-born children in one of the following circumstances: They present a declaration of intent to apply for citizenship for their child (using the same procedure as the one outlined above) within one year of the child's birth. They are legally resident in Italy for two continuous years after acquiring ius sanguinis citizenship and before having or adopting their child. If neither of these applies, the child must have a grandparent who holds (or held at the time of their death) exclusively Italian citizenship in order to be eligible for citizenship via the ius sanguinis route.
Local Italy
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Italy
Ancestry vs residency: How are Italy's citizenship rules changing?
Last Tuesday, Italy approved the final version of a new law tightening the rules on applying for Italian citizenship through ancestry. PM Giorgia Meloni's government took the unusual step of forcing the measure through by an urgent decree - usually reserved for dealing with natural disasters and public health emergencies - on March 28th. The sudden law change made millions of people of Italian descent ineligible for citizenship overnight, leaving a large number of would-be applicants "angry" and "heartbroken". The emergency decree was ratified by parliament on Tuesday, May 20th, but underwent some key last-minute amendments right before its final approval. Meanwhile, a public referendum proposing to relax the requirements for citizenship by residency is due to take place on June 8th and 9th. It might seem contradictory for Italy to be holding a vote on easing naturalisation rules just a few weeks after tightening restrictions on citizenship by ancestry – but the timing is coincidental. The upcoming referendum wasn't proposed by Italy's hard-right coalition government - which is calling on voters to boycott the vote - but by left-wing opposition parties after they managed to secure over 600,000 signatures in favour the proposed reform. The proposal is seen as unlikely to pass, mainly because it requires a voter turnout of over 50 percent to be valid – a threshold that's rarely reached in Italian referendums. If the quorum is reached, however, the latest polls indicate that the coalition backing the reform may have the numbers to secure a win. Here's a breakdown of the final and proposed reforms. Citizenship by descent clampdown Under the final version of the new law, children born outside of Italy must have a parent or grandparent who 'holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship' to be eligible for citizenship. This means that parents and grandparents with dual citizenship cannot pass Italian citizenship on to children or grandchildren born abroad, unless they renounce their other, non-Italian citizenship. However, there are some exceptions to the "exclusive" requirement. A parent or adoptive parent who 'has been a resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the date of the child's birth or adoption" can pass citizenship to their foreign-born child, even when holding dual nationality. A second exception is aimed at people who gained citizenship by descent under the old, more lenient rules (i.e., rules that merely required applicants to have an Italian ancestor who was alive on or after March 17th, 1861). Those who acquired Italian citizenship by descent under the previous rules, including dual nationals, will be able to pass on citizenship to foreign-born children under the age of 18 by submitting a request by May 31st, 2026. The decree didn't provide any further details as to how this request should be submitted, or to whom. The new law does make things easier for one group of people: former Italians who had to give up their Italian citizenship after naturalising as a citizen of another country before Italy introduced dual citizenship in 1992. Under the new rules, people in this position can reacquire their Italian citizenship "provided that they apply between July 1st, 2025, and December 31st, 2027, and pay a contribution to the Italian state of 250 euros, to be paid to the offices of the Italian consulates of the country where they are resident." The decree did not provide any further details about how this request should be submitted. Citizenship by residency referendum On June 8th and 9th, Italians will be asked to vote in a referendum on whether to ease the rules on applying for residency-based Italian citizenship by halving the current wait time of 10 years of legal residency down to five. The vote requires a turnout of over 50 percent to be valid; if this quorum, or threshold, isn't met, the referendum won't count, regardless of the result. Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, leader of the hard-right anti-immigrant League party, has called the proposal "dangerous", saying it would "give citizenship away". But opposition leaders have said that, since Italy's rules on naturalisation are among the toughest in Europe, the reform still wouldn't make the process particularly lax. Applicants would still be required to demonstrate that they pay taxes, have no criminal record and speak Italian, argued Riccardo Magi, leader of the centre-left +Europa party. As well as making life easier for many of The Local's readers who have moved to Italy as adults, easing residency requirements would also benefit people born in Italy to non-Italian parents, who can currently only apply for citizenship at the age of 18 on condition of having legally lived there "without interruption". If they don't apply before turning 19, they must demonstrate three years of legal residency, meeting the same language test and income requirements as all other candidates for naturalisation, then wait up to three years for their application to be approved.
Local Italy
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Local Italy
KEY POINTS: What are Italy's new rules on claiming citizenship by descent?
If you're planning to make a claim for Italian citizenship through descent (also known as iure sanguinis, or 'blood right' citizenship) some major changes have come into force affecting a large proportion of potential applicants. You may have already read in the news that, at the end of March, the Italian government pushed through an urgent decree immediately applying a two-generational limit to applications, meaning only those with an Italian parent or grandparent were eligible. This marked a major change from previous rules, which had long allowed anyone with an Italian ancestor, with no generational limit, to apply as long as they could prove their unbroken chain of descent. The Italian government said the abrupt changes were necessary partly because a rising number of complex applications and requests for copies of decades-old documents were clogging the country's courts and administrative offices. The new restrictions came into effect immediately after the urgent decree was published at the end of March. However, the final version of the new rules, voted through by Italy's parliament almost two months later on May 20th, contains some important amendments made by lawmakers. While the rules are complex, here's our quick overview of the main changes and how they will affect applications, based on the information available in the final version of the decree text (you can find it here, in Italian). Italian or Italian-born? This has become the main point of confusion for would-be applicants, as the initial decree included a requirement for children born outside of Italy to have a parent or grandparent who was born in Italy in order to be eligible for citizenship. The amendments approved by parliament on May 20th removed this rule and replaced it with a requirement to have a parent or grandparent who 'holds, or held at the time of death, exclusively Italian citizenship', according to the final version of the decree. This means that those born abroad with at least one parent or grandparent who holds only Italian citizenship, or held it at the time of death, will be eligible. Under the new rules, parents and grandparents who hold dual citizenship cannot pass Italian citizenship on to children or grandchildren born abroad, unless they renounce their other, non-Italian citizenship. Italy's parliament has approved a new decree tightening rules on citizenship by descent. Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP) Exceptions There are some exceptions to the 'exclusive' Italian citizenship requirement. A parent or adoptive parent who 'has been a resident in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before the date of the child's birth or adoption" can pass citizenship to their foreign-born child, even when holding dual nationality, the decree states. A second exception is aimed at people who gained citizenship by descent under the old, more lenient rules (i.e., the rules requiring applicants to have an Italian ancestor who was alive on or after March 17th, 1861). Those who acquired Italian citizenship by descent under the previous rules, including dual nationals, will be able to pass on citizenship to foreign-born children under the age of 18 by submitting a request by May 31st, 2026, the decree noted. The decree didn't provide any further details as to how this request should be submitted, or to whom. Are the rules retroactive? The final text of the decree confirmed that the new rules would not be applied to applications already made before the law was changed. The new rules do not apply to citizenship applications filed either through an Italian consulate or an Italian court by 11.59pm Italian time on March 27th, 2025, it states. Applications filed after 11.59pm Italian time on March 27th, 2025 will be subject to the new rules. The Local will continue to provide further information on the new rules as more details become available.
