Born in Italy but still a foreigner? EUI expert weighs in on Italian citizenship bill

Brussels – What are the rules in force in other European countries regarding the acquisition and revocation of citizenship? Maarten Vink, holder of the Chair in Citizenship Studies at the European University Institute (EUI) and co-director of the Global Citizenship Observatory (GLOBALCIT), answered this question, invited by the Chamber of Deputies’ Constitutional Affairs Committee as part of the hearings on the proposed citizenship reform.

 During the hearing, which took place on 21 July, Vink presented a comparative analysis of the legislation in force across the 27 Member States of the European Union, the EFTA countries, and the United Kingdom, based on the databases of GLOBALCIT, the EUI’s observatory that documents citizenship legislation worldwide.

The analysis shows that Italy already has one of the most restrictive procedures in Europe for the acquisition of citizenship by children of immigrants born in the country. The draft bill under discussion would also introduce further restrictions on criminal records and expand the circumstances under which citizenship may be revoked after it has been acquired, placing Italy among a very limited number of European countries with measures of this kind.

In his speech, Vink also referred to evidence from international research on the effects of access to citizenship. Studies carried out in Germany and the Netherlands show that acquiring citizenship at an earlier stage is associated with better educational outcomes and a lower likelihood of becoming involved in criminal proceedings, suggesting that citizenship may facilitate integration, as well as being a result of it. 

“Our role is never to tell legislators what to decide; it is to make sure that when they decide, they know what the evidence shows,” Vink said. The full interview with Maarten Vink is available on the EUI website.