Italy Opens Citizenship Path For 1 Category Of Foreigners Under Law 63

• Italy introduced a naturalisation route under Law No. 63, targeting a specific group of foreign nationals living in the country
• The law covers non-Italian family members of victims killed in road and highway infrastructure collapses of national importance
• Two residency conditions must be met before citizenship can be considered, and approval is not guaranteed

Italy introduced a new citizenship by naturalisation pathway under Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992, specifically for foreign family members of victims of collapses of roads and highways of national importance.

Law No. 63, enacted on 15 April 2025, created this route under Article 7, extending the possibility of Italian citizenship to qualifying relatives of those who lost their lives in harmful events caused by the total or partial collapse of national road or highway infrastructure.

Italy: Who Qualifies Under the Law 63

The eligible family members are those of non-Italian citizenship. This includes the spouse of the victim, a civil union partner, or a person who was permanently cohabiting with the victim as defined under Italian law.

Children of the victim, parents, and brothers and sisters are also covered under the provision.

Two Conditions Must Be Satisfied

Eligibility alone does not guarantee citizenship. Two residency conditions must both be met.

First, the family member must have been regularly resident in Italy at the time the victim died.

Second, at the point when citizenship is being considered for granting, the applicant must have accumulated at least five years of legal residence in Italy.

The process is not automatic. Under the framework of Article 9 of Law No. 91/1992, citizenship in this category may be granted by decree, meaning it remains subject to official approval rather than being conferred as a right.

Italy speaks about permanent residency

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Italy's permanent residency process outlined specific legal requirements that foreigners must meet before they can submit an application.

The Italian government replaced the old permanent residence card with a new EC residence permit for long-term residents starting in 2007.