Inside Italy: The betrayal of the Italian diaspora and why thousands of graduates are leaving

Local Italy

05-04-2025

Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip from Italy that you might not have heard about. It's published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Millions worldwide were stripped of the right to apply for Italian citizenship last week after Italy's government issued an urgent decree drastically tightening the country's rules on citizenship by descent (or citizenship iure sanguinis).
Under the previous system, Italy placed no generational limit on descent claims, with most people who could prove a direct line of descent all the way back to the country's foundation on March 17th, 1861 eligible to apply.
Bar a few exceptions, the only limitation was that no one in the line of descent lost or renounced their Italian citizenship before the birth of their child.
Under the new rules, however, only people with an Italian parent or grandparent born in Italy, or with an Italian parent who lived in Italy for a minimum of two continuous years, now qualify for citizenship.
The abrupt change in law has sparked anger and frustration among swathes of Italy's diaspora.
"They destroy decades of precedent and tear away the hopes of millions of Italians worldwide. To qualify and then not on a whim overnight is absolutely devastating," said W. Guarineri in Virginia in response to our recent survey.
"Waiting years, spending thousands of dollars, and to then have the rug pulled out from underneath you...it's a terrible way to treat anyone," added Asher Texeira.
Italy's government has so far insisted that the clampdown was necessary to put an end to widespread 'abuse' of the previous citizenship laws and ensure that new citizens have an "effective connection with the country of origin".
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani specifically pointed to the growing "commercialisation of Italian passports", lamenting that the 'old' citizenship system was being increasingly exploited as a route to gaining access to the EU for practical purposes including residency and travel.
The Italian government has arguably done little to back the above statements with concrete data and examples – but let's assume, for the sake of argument, that they are valid and that Italy's citizenship rules experienced 'years of abuses' as claimed by Tajani.
Was excluding millions of people of Italian descent from citizenship overnight the only available avenue to prevent 'abuse'?
Was destroying the plans of thousands of prospective Italians who had already spent significant time and money on putting together their applications the only way to go?
And if the presence of 'effective' ties to Italy was a concern, why not consider introducing a language test or a civics exam before all but shutting the door on ancestry claims?
In my view, the imposition of such drastic citizenship changes without any actual notice and transition period is one of the worst betrayals in modern Italian history.
It is an insult to the heritage of the millions of Italians who left the country in the late 19th and 20th century in search of a better future. And it is an even more despicable insult to the unimaginable sacrifices they made to build a new life hundreds of miles away from their homeland.
Italy has turned its back on the sons and daughters of its diaspora – and there are no excuses for it.
Why thousands of graduates are leaving Italy
'Brain drain' – the emigration of highly trained or qualified individuals in search of better living conditions – has been a persistent issue in Italy in recent years.
We got yet another reminder of it earlier this week, when data from national statistics agency Istat revealed that around 352,000 people aged 25 to 34 left Italy between 2013 and 2022, with nearly 38 percent of them (132,000) holding a university degree.
According to Istat, only 104,000 people in the same age bracket returned to Italy over the same period of time, leaving the country with 87,000 fewer graduates.
Istat President Francesco Maria Chelli said that in 2022 alone Italy lost 12,000 graduates to emigration, adding that the main destination countries were Germany (3,000 Italian graduates) and the UK (2,600).
Besides exacerbating Italy's demographic crisis, the loss of young talent is believed to have far-reaching consequences on the country's economy.
According to research group Fondazione Nord Est, brain drain cost Italy an estimated €134 billion between 2011 and 2023 (over €10 billion a year).
But what's at the root of the problem?
The consensus among experts is that Italy's brain drain is for the most part due to a chronic shortage of job opportunities, especially in the south of the country, and non-competitive wages.
Though it has decreased significantly over the past few years, Italy's youth unemployment rate (calculated on people aged between 15 and 24) continues to be among the highest in the EU.
It stood at 18.7 percent in January of this year – the eight-highest in the bloc and well above the EU average of 14.6.
Young Italian graduates struggle to find jobs that match their education and skills, and even when they do find work that matches their qualifications, the positions often pay notably less than the same positions in other EU countries.
According to a 2023 report by Istat, Italian workers earn approximately €3,700 less per year than the average EU worker and over €8,000 less than the average German worker.
In a bid to reverse its brain drain, Italy has in recent years introduced generous tax incentives for highly qualified Italian workers living abroad who choose to return home.
But if the government really intends to curb the exodus, much stronger measures are needed, starting with steps to create more job opportunities for young graduates and efforts to make wages more competitive at a European level.