Changes to Italian Immigration and Citizenship rules (Decreto Salvini) came into force on October 5th 2018 with Decreto Legge 113/2018.
Article 14 of this new law changes the current rules on applications for Italian citizenship. These new rules affect a number of our clients, in particular British citizens hoping to obtain Italian citizenship before the UK leaves the EU in order to safeguard the rights associated with European citizenship. The main changes are the increase in time in which the Home office must make a decision and the increase in the application fee. Although amendments were also proposed to recognise the same rights to women ancestors to have passed Italian citizenship to their descendants, this was removed from the draft and has not been included in the definitive text. It is expected that this will be included in future legislation.
We have prepared an English translation of Article 14 which deals with changes to the rules on applications for Italian citizenship on the grounds of marriage (Art. 5 of the 1992 law) or on grounds of residence in Italy (Art. 9 of the 1992 law).
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Art. 14
(Provisions for the acquisition and revocation of citizenship)
1 The following modifications are to be made to Law of February 9th 1992, n.91:
a) Article 8, para 2 is revoked
b) Article 9bis, paragraph 2, is amended, the words «sum of 200 Euro« are replaced with the following «sum of 250 Euro»;
c) At the end of Article 9 bis the following is added:
ADDED TEXT “Article 9-ter 1. The term for definition of proceedings referred to in Arts. 5 and 9 is forty-eight months from the date of presentation of the question. “;
2. The time limit referred to in para 1. above also applies to applications for the recognistion of Italian citizenship made to the Italian Consulate network or to the Anagrafe of the Comune relating to facts which took place prior to 1948;
d) At the end of Article 10 the following is added:
ADDED TEXT “Art. 10-bis: 1. Italian citizenship which has been acquired pursuant to Arts. 4 para 2, Art. 5 and Art. 9, is revoked when the foreigner or stateless person to whom it was granted is convicted definitively for any of the criminal offences provided for by article 407, paragraph 2, letter a), n. 4), of the code of criminal procedure, as well as for the crimes referred to in articles 270-ter and 270-quinquies.2, of the Italian criminal code.
The revocation of citizenship is adopted within three years of the conviction of one of the offences mentioned above by decree of the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior.
2. The provisions referred to in paragraph 1, lett. b) e) and d) apply to the conferment procedures of citizenship in progress at the date of entry into force of this decree.
3. To Article 1, para 1 of the Law of 12th January 1991 n. 13 the letter aa) is substituted by the letter “aa) Concession and revocation of Italian citizenship”.
