On June 8 and 9, Italian citizens were called to vote on five abrogative referendums – four concerning labour regulations and one focusing on the rules for acquiring Italian citizenship, which proposed a significant change to Italy’s naturalization process for non-EU individuals.
The referendum proposed to amend Article 9 of Law 91/1992, by reducing the mandatory legal residency requirement from ten to five years for non-EU nationals applying for Italian citizenship, while leaving other essential conditions unchanged, such as knowledge if the Italian language, proof of sufficient income and the absence of a criminal record.
Despite the significant impact of such reform, voter turnout reached only slightly above 30%, well below the quorum requirement of 50% plus one of eligible voters needed to validate the results. Consequently, the referendum was declared invalid.
Of those who voted, 34.5% expressed opposition to the proposed reduction in the residency requirement from ten to five years. However, given the failure to meet the quorum, these results have no legal effect due to the failure to meet the quorum.
As the referendum did not produce a valid result, the current provisions of Law No. 91/1992 art 9.1 (f) remain in force. Therefore, the mandatory legal residency requirement for non-EU citizens applying for Italian citizenship through naturalization remains ten years. Any future changes would need to come through the ordinary legislative process in Parliament.
Article written by Giuditta De Ricco and Santa Maturo.
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