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A record-breaking medal tally for Italy’s Olympic team in Tokyo has revived a debate on citizenship rights back home. Footage of Italy’s top athletes showed Italy’s racial and ethnic diversity.

Around 15 percent of Italy’s Olympic team were born abroad or have parents born abroad. On the team, which includes categories like track and field, that figure rises to almost 40 percent.

The diversity of the team has rekindled ongoing discussions in Italy over who is granted citizenship, with Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malagò crediting the “multi-ethnic team” for Italy’s success and calling for an acceleration to the citizenship applications of professional athletes.

Italy’s citizenship laws have long created hurdles for athletes not born in the country.

As with most European countries, Italy awards citizenship based on jus sanguinis — the principle that citizenship is determined by the nationality of a person’s parents. Jus soli, the principle that the country of citizenship is determined by a person’s country of birth, regardless of the citizenship of their parents, is applied in Canada and the United States.

That’s meant that a child born in Italy to immigrant parents is not recognized as a citizen and cannot compete under the Italian flag at an international level.

Some politicians, meanwhile, say citizenship shouldn’t only be made easier for those with the potential to achieve glory in the global sports arena, calling citizenship a “right” rather than something to be “earned.”

A legislative proposal to offer citizenship to children of immigrants who have completed three years of schooling was passed in the parliament’s lower house in 2017 but blocked in the Senate. More than 1 million children currently live in Italy without citizenship rights.

Credit: POLITICO, HANNA ROBERTS, August 12, 2021

Italy and the United States share a commitment to the same values – democracy, human rights, the rule of law, security, and prosperity. The United States represents Italy’s largest non-EU export market. The two-way trade in goods and services amounted to $80 billion last year. The relationship, which ranges from trade in consumer goods and agricultural products to cooperation in the defense industries, has spurred collaboration in fields outside the economic realm, including security and space technology. As of 2019, Italy’s direct investment in the United States totaled $32.8 billion, while U.S. direct investment in Italy was $34.9 billion. As of 2018, U.S. jobs tied to Italian direct investment in the United States totaled 93,700, while 250,000 Italian jobs were tied to U.S. direct investment in Italy. Italy is the second most popular destination for American study abroad students in the world, with more than 35,000 U.S. students studying there each year.  Italian students are also increasingly attracted to education exchange programs in the United States.  In the 2019/2020 academic year, more than 6,000 Italians chose to study at a U.S. college or university. Since the establishment of the U.S.-Italy Fulbright Commission in 1948, approximately 14,000 Italian and American students, teachers, lecturers, and researchers have participated in the Fulbright international exchange program, enhancing scholarship through educational exchange. The U.S.-Italy Fulbright Program has produced alumni who have had enduring impacts on their fields, including Italian Prime Ministers Giuliano Amato and Lamberto Dini, eight Nobel laureates, twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, and five MacArthur Foundation Fellows.

By U.S. Mission Italy | 27 June, 2021

EU citizenship rights

Acquiring an Italian second passport opens you to EU citizenship rights, which means that you have the freedom to live and move across the territory of the Union. You can travel visa-free in the region, enjoy the right to vote, buy property, and work at jobs reserved only to Italians. You also get protection from the consular and diplomatic authorities of any EU Member State.

Free public education

Italian citizens have a right to free public education, which means that their children will get a quality education without spending anything. They can also study in the other EU nations, many of which offer education free of cost.

Free healthcare

Italy is known to have one of the best healthcare systems, and you get access to free Italian National Health Care on getting a second passport. You have peace of mind about the cost of treatment here, no matter how expensive they are.

Besides these tangible reasons, there is a lot more that makes Italy an attractive second passport country for Americans. Picturesque views, excellent weather, and a peaceful lifestyle make it an ideal place for people looking to start afresh after retirement. It also presents lucrative opportunities for those in the workforce. Entrepreneurs can start a business with ease, while families love secure and calm living.

Source: Why Italian Dual Citizenship Is Trending In the US, by Ernest Hamilton, Apr 30, 2021.

The rationale for linking citizenship to school is that education is a naturalization process in itself. Such children typically do not differentiate themselves from their friends and it can be a surprise to them to discover they aren’t citizens.

School-based citizenship has been given the name “jus culturae”, or “cultural right” in Italy. It’s a new addition to the two traditional legal bases for citizenship: jus soli and jus sanguinis.

Jus soli or “right of soil” is birthright citizenship, a norm often seen in America, whereby children born in a country have a claim to that nationality irrespective of the origin of their parents.

In Europe, jus sanguinis is more common. “Right of blood” means citizenship is determined by descent: the nationality of your parents or grandparents.

If you would like more information on our Italian Law Practice, please visit our website at: https://www.fleitaslaw.com/italian-law-practice.html

Source: The Irish Times, Acquiring citizenship through school: a compromise in Europe’s immigration debates? Naomi O’Leary Correspondent, Wed, Apr. 14, 2021.