Brazilians who obtained Italian citizenship after benefiting from an alleged fictitious residency program in the city of Moggio Udinese may have their recognition canceled, if fraud is proven. In general, citizenship by blood cannot be revoked – unlike other forms, such as that obtained through marriage, which can be canceled in cases of serious crimes – but there is the possibility of legal and administrative challenge, through the town hall.
According to Italian lawyer Celeste Di Leo, there are cases in the country’s recent jurisprudence in which the process of obtaining citizenship has been considered void precisely because of official proof of residence based on forgeries or false verification of requirements.
In 2019, the Milan court ruled that without the fundamental requirement of housing in the city where the citizenship application was filed, the “functional competence of the town hall” was also lost. “As a result, the citizenship recognition measures were considered null and void,” said Celeste, of the Milan-based Canella Camaiora law firm.
“The declaration of nullity of the administrative recognition measure has the effect of immediately depriving it of any legal effect, which leads to the conclusion that the applicant never acquired the status of citizen,” he declared.
Specifically regarding the case of Moggio Udinese, the lawyer claims that there are two ways to cancel the recognition of citizenship. In the first case, the municipality itself can issue, within the framework of a self-protection regime, an order for the suppression of civil status documents and recognition of the citizenship of Brazilians. Moggio Udinese has had a new mayor since 2024 – the cases investigated would have occurred during the previous legislature.
A second option would be for the Udine Public Prosecutor’s Office, currently in charge of the investigation, to initiate civil action to obtain the formal cancellation of citizenship certificates and birth certificates from civil status, documents which constitute the starting point for obtaining an Italian passport.
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