Left-wing parties decry the lack of public debate on move to speed up naturalisation of immigrants.

The fate of millions of immigrants is at stake as Italians vote in a two-day referendum that proposes to speed up the process of acquiring citizenship for foreigners who legally entered the country.

The referendum also seeks to roll back labour reforms to provide enhanced job protections.

Polling stations opened on Sunday at 7am local time (05:00 GMT), with results expected after polls close on Monday at 3pm (13:00 GMT).

The measures – backed by opposition parties, labour unions and social activists – are aimed at revising citizenship laws to help second-generation Italians born in the country, to non-European Union parents, integrate more easily.

However, the vote may fail to generate sufficient turnout to be deemed valid – a turnout of more than 50 percent is required for a referendum to be legally binding.

Ahead of this weekend’s vote, the citizenship issue has garnered plenty of attention in a nation where concerns over the scale of immigration helped propel right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s anti-migration coalition to power in late 2022. Immigration has emerged as a key issue, particularly in Western Europe as well as the United States under President Donald Trump.

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So, what does the referendum propose, and what does it mean for immigrants whose lives are in limbo due to the slow process of naturalisation in the EU member nation?

What are the Italian citizenship requirements, and how many immigrants are waiting for citizenship?

The question on the ballot paper asks Italians if they back reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship, by naturalisation, from 10 years to five.

The change proposed by the referendum would allow nearly 1.5 million foreigners to obtain citizenship immediately, according to an estimate by Idos, an Italian research centre. That would include nearly 300,000 minors, who would obtain citizenship if their parents did.

About half of Italy’s 5.4 million foreign residents could be eligible to apply for citizenship if the vote is passed.

The vote comes as Meloni has tightened citizenship laws, making it hard for resident immigrants to obtain nationality.

Currently, immigrants from countries outside the EU can apply for citizenship only after 10 years of uninterrupted residency in Italy.

What is more, the children of lawful immigrants can apply for passports only once they have turned 18 and if they have continuously lived in the country since birth.

On the other hand, generous bloodline laws allowed people of Italian descent, even if remote, to obtain citizenship, helping maintain a link with the diaspora.

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Between 2016 and 2023, for instance, Italy granted citizenship to more than 98,300 people, mostly living in Latin America, based on their claims of Italian ancestry.

With Italy’s birthrate in sharp decline, economists say the country needs to attract more foreigners to boost its anaemic economy.

Francesco Galietti, from political risk firm Policy Sonar, told the Reuters news agency that keeping such rules tight was “an identity issue” for Meloni, but she was also being pushed by businesses to open up the borders of an ageing country to foreign workers.

“On the one hand, there is the cultural identity rhetoric, but on the other, there are potential problems paying pensions and an economy that relies on manufacturing, which needs workers,” Galietti said.

For context, Italy’s constitution allows citizens to repeal laws through referendums, part of the system of checks and balances devised after Benito Mussolini’s fascist rule in the 1940s.

What are the other proposals in the referendum?

The referendum seeks to make it harder to fire workers and increase compensation for those laid off by small businesses, reversing a previous law passed by a centre-left government a decade ago.

One of the questions on the ballot also addresses the urgent issue of security at work, restoring joint liability to both contractors and subcontractors for workplace injuries.

Campaigners gathered more than 4.5 million signatures, according to the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) union, far more than needed to trigger the referendum, which will comprise five questions – four on the labour market and one on citizenship.

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“We want to reverse a culture that has prioritised the interests of business over those of workers,” CGIL general secretary Maurizio Landini told the AFP news agency.

Who backed the referendum and why?

The referendum was promoted by a coalition of relatively small political parties – More Europe, Possibile, the Italian Socialist Party, the Italian Radicals and the Communist Refoundation Party – and numerous civil society associations.

It is also being backed by the centre-left Democratic Party, which is jockeying for Italian citizenship laws to be more aligned with EU-wide standards.

Research shows that access to citizenship has positive causal effects.

Immigrants who naturalise experience lower unemployment rates, earn higher incomes and are less likely to be overqualified for their jobs.

By contrast, protracted waiting periods for naturalisation delay or dampen these effects.

These findings support the claim that naturalisation is not only a reward, but also an important catalyst for integration.

The majority of Italians think that citizenship accelerates the integration process as well.

The last Eurobarometer on the integration of immigrants reports that 87 percent of Italians believe that acquiring citizenship is an important factor for the successful integration of immigrants in Italy.

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Even if it passes, however, the reform will not affect the law many consider deeply unfair – that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18.

Does PM Meloni back the new citizenship rules?

Opposition left-wing and centrist parties, civil society groups and a leading trade union have latched on to the issues of labour rights and Italy’s demographic woes as a way of challenging Meloni’s right-wing coalition government.

Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot – a move widely criticised by the left as antidemocratic, since it will not help reach the necessary threshold to make the vote valid.

Activists and opposition parties have denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing centre-right coalition of trying to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly affect immigrants and workers.

A Demopolis institute poll last month estimated turnout would be in the range of 31-39 percent among Italy’s roughly 50 million electors, well short of the required threshold.

Leaders of two of the governing coalition’s right-wing parties, Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini of the League, have opposed the vote.

The referendum is “dangerous” and would extend access to citizenship “indiscriminately”, Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, said in May.

How significant is the referendum?

Supporters say this reform would bring Italy’s citizenship law in line with many other European countries, promoting greater social integration for long-term residents.

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It would also allow faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU.

Italy is also confronting one of Europe’s most acute demographic crises.

Its population is ageing rapidly, with about a quarter of Italians aged above 65 years and just 12 percent aged 14 or younger. The referendum could ease some of these pressures.

Italians began two days of voting Sunday in a referendum on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labour laws, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government opposed to both and urging people to abstain.

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The five proposals on the ballot were not expected to pass, in light of low turnout and the requirement that over 50 percent of voters participate to validate the referendum.

Under current laws, non-EU residents without marriage or blood ties to Italy must live in the country for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship – a process which can then take years.

The proposed reform, which was championed by a grassroots campaign led by centrist party +Europa, would cut this down to five years, aligning Italy with countries like Germany, France and the UK.

According to estimates from immigration research centre Idos, over 1.4 million non-EU nationals would become eligible for Italian citizenship if the referendum were to pass.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is strongly against the citizenship reform.

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She said on Thursday that the current citizenship system is “excellent and also very inclusive”, adding that Italy has long been “among the European countries that grant the highest number of citizenships every year”.

Low initial turnout

More than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, around one fifth of the European Union total, according to EU statistics.

Over 90 percent of new citizens were from outside the bloc, mostly from Albania and Morocco.

Meloni and her coalition partners have encouraged voters to boycott the referendum, which will only be valid if over 50 percent of eligible voters participate.

At midday Sunday, national participation stood at 7.41 percent, according to the interior ministry. Voting was to continue through to Monday afternoon.

Casting a ballot for the first time in his life at a Rome polling station was Giovanni Puccini, 18, who called Meloni’s instruction to abstain “disrespectful” of past sacrifices by Italians.

“You have to vote because in the past so many people fought, even died, for this right,” he said.

His friend Pierre Donadio, 21, said less stringent citizenship laws were needed in the country, to boost diversity and avoid “being too closed up in itself”.

Even if passed, the reform would not affect a contested law under which children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot claim Italian citizenship until they turn 18.

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Workers’ rights

Under Italy’s constitution, a referendum can be triggered by a petition signed by at least 500,000 voters.

This week’s ballot includes one question on citizenship and four others on increasing protections for workers who are dismissed, in precarious situations or involved in workplace accidents.

The changes are being pushed by the left-wing CGIL trade union.

“We want to reverse a culture that has prioritised the interests of business over those of workers,” CGIL secretary Maurizio Landini told AFP.

The centre-left Democratic Party is also backing the proposed reforms – even though it introduced some of the laws the CGIL wants to repeal.

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The proposals aim to revoke parts of the so-called Jobs Act, a controversial bill passed in 2014 by then Prime Minister Matteo Renzi under plans to liberalise Italy’s labour market.

Supporters of the bill say it boosted employment across the country, while detractors say it made work more precarious.

Under new leadership, the Democratic Party — which is polling behind Meloni’s Brothers of Italy — is seeking to woo working-class voters by backing the referendum reform.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is strongly against the proposal and has urged people to abstain.

Italians are voting in referendums on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labour protections amid concerns that low turnout may deem the poll invalid.

Voting began on Sunday and will continue through Monday.

The citizenship question on the ballot paper asks Italians if they back reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalisation to five years.

A resident from a non-European Union country, without marriage or blood ties to Italy, must currently live in the country for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship, a process that can then take years.

Supporters say the reform could affect about 2.5 million foreign nationals living in the country and would bring Italy’s citizenship law in line with many other European nations, including Germany and France.

The measures were proposed by Italy’s main union and left-wing opposition parties.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she would show up at the polls but not cast a ballot. The left has criticised the action as antidemocratic, since it would not help reach the necessary turnout threshold of 50 percent plus one of eligible voters to make the vote valid.

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Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting undocumented immigration even while increasing the number of work visas for migrants, is strongly against it.

She said on Thursday that the current system “is an excellent law, among the most open, in the sense that we have for years been among the European nations that grant the highest number of citizenships each year”.

More than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, double the number in 2020 and one-fifth of the EU total, according to statistics.

More than 90 percent were from outside the EU, mostly from Albania and Morocco, as well as Argentina and Brazil – two countries with large Italian immigrant communities.

Even if the proposed reform passes, it will not affect the migration law many consider the most unfair – that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18.

Italian singer Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents and has been an outspoken advocate for changing the law for children, urged his fans to back the proposal as a step in the right direction.

“I was born here, I always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,” Ghali said on Instagram. “With a ‘Yes’ we ask that five years of life here are enough, not 10, to be part of this country”.

Michelle Ngonmo, a cultural entrepreneur and advocate for diversity in the fashion industry, also urged a “yes” vote.

“This referendum is really about dignity and the right to belong, which is key for many people who were born here and spent most of their adult life contributing to Italian society. For them, a lack of citizenship is like an invisible wall,” said Ngonmo, who has lived most of her life in Italy after moving as a child from Cameroon.

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“You are good enough to work and pay taxes, but not to be fully recognised as Italian. This becomes a handicap for young generations, particularly in the creative field, creating frustration, exclusion and a big waste of potential,” she told the Associated Press news agency.

The other four measures on the ballot deal with the labour law, including better protections against dismissal, higher severance payments, the conversion of fixed-term contracts into permanent ones and liability in cases of workplace accidents.

Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46 percent of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums. Turnout projections were even weaker, at about 35 percent of more than 51 million voters, well below the required quorum.

Many of the 78 referendums held in Italy in the past have failed due to low turnout.

Polling stations opened on Sunday at 7am local time (05:00 GMT), with results expected after polls close on Monday at 3pm (13:00 GMT).

A person votes during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. MATTEO MINNELLA / REUTERS

Italians vote on Sunday, June 8 and Monday, June 9 in a referendum on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labor laws, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government opposing both changes and urging people to abstain. A non-EU adult resident without marriage or blood ties to Italy must currently live in the country for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship – a process which can then take years.

The referendum proposal, triggered by a grassroots campaign led by NGOs, would cut this to five years, putting Italy in line with Germany and France. Campaigners say around 2.5 million people could benefit from the reform, which is being backed by the center-left Democratic Party.

Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting illegal immigration even while increasing the number of legal work visas for migrants, is strongly against it. She said Thursday that the current system “is an excellent law, among the most open, in the sense that we have for years been among the European nations that grant the highest number of citizenships each year.”

More than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, double the number in 2020 and one fifth of the European Union total, according to EU statistics. More than 90 percent were from outside the bloc, mostly from Albania and Morocco, as well as Argentina and Brazil – two countries with large Italian immigrant communities.

Ministers agreed in March to restrict the rights to citizenship of those with blood ties to Italy from four to two generations. Meloni and her coalition partners have encouraged voters to boycott the referendum, which will only be valid if 50 percent of eligible voters plus one participate. Even if it passes, the reform will not affect the migration law many consider the most unfair, that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18.

Prominent rapper Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, has been an outspoken advocate changing the law for children, but nevertheless urged fans to back Sunday’s vote as a step in the right direction. “With a ‘Yes’ we ask that five years of life here are enough, not 10, to be part of this country,” he wrote on Instagram.

Under Italy’s constitution, a referendum can be triggered by a petition signed by at least 500,000 voters. This week’s ballot includes one question on citizenship and four others on increasing protections for workers who are dismissed, in precarious situations or involved in workplace accidents.

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