A new report indicates that young Italians are more supportive of granting automatic Italian citizenship to migrant children born in the country compared to their foreign peers. The Istat report “Children and Youths 2023” reveals that approximately 58.5% of young Italians aged 11 to 19 endorse the automatic right to Italian citizenship for these children, a concept known as ius soli. Conversely, only 53.1% of foreign peers support the automatic citizenship for migrant children.

Info Migrants notes that while young Italians favor this right, the same cannot be said for certain other groups. Specifically, Chinese and Ukrainian youths show less support for the measure. The researchers attribute the Chinese youths' reluctance to China’s prohibition of dual citizenship. Similarly, just over 50% of Ukrainian youth support ius soli. Ukraine’s ban on dual citizenship likely explains their stance, according to experts.

While survey respondents had differing views on the issue, it was revealed that for some, “being born in Italy” is a key factor in being considered Italian, according to Info Migrants. Survey data indicate that 54% of Italian respondents aged 11 to 19 believe that being born in the country is crucial for national identity, whereas only 45.7% of their foreign peers share this belief.

Another significant aspect of being Italian, as per the respondents, is “respecting Italian laws and traditions.” This was the top choice among those born abroad but living in Italy. Additionally, 32% of respondents identified “speaking Italian” as an important criterion for citizenship. This option was mainly chosen by Chinese respondents, who noted the difficulty of learning the Italian language.

The survey also revealed that female respondents were more supportive (64.6%) of granting automatic Italian citizenship to migrant children born in the country, compared to male respondents (53.6%).