Italy moves to tighten citizenship criteria and accelerate deportations of convicted migrants

The centre‑right coalition in Italy is advancing several measures to restrict naturalisation and speed up the removal of foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes. Lega leader Matteo Salvini hailed the urgent parliamentary procedure that would halve the time for a citizenship bill, proposing that applicants born in Italy to foreign parents be excluded if they have convictions for offences ranging from homicide to sexual violence and that revocation, previously limited to terrorism or subversion, be expanded to include murder, human‑trafficking and other violent crimes.

At the same time, Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia), the party of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has presented a draft law allowing the rapid repatriation of non‑EU citizens sentenced to more than one year in prison, with limited appeal rights and a ban on re‑entering Italy. The proposal also enlarges the list of offences that can trigger the loss of Italian citizenship for people born abroad. Lega is also promoting a points‑based residence‑permit system that could lead to expulsion for those who lose points.

Government officials have framed these steps as a response to migrant‑smuggling networks. Meloni announced on social media that new EU sanctions on traffickers are “the right direction,” while Fratelli d’Italia spokesperson Giovanni Donzelli said the legislation shows “thanks to Meloni the EU now talks about how to stop clandestine arrivals, not how to receive them.”