Critics call the decision ‘intolerable discrimination’ against young Italians on ‘an arduous journey to gain citizenship’.

The Italian government has granted Argentinian President Javier Milei citizenship based on his Italian heritage, according to Italian news agency ANSA, sparking outrage across the country.

Milei’s sister Karina also received citizenship, ANSA reported on Saturday, which said the applications were fast-tracked by Rome.

Riccardo Magi, a lawmaker from the opposition party +Europa, condemned the decision, calling it “intolerable discrimination” against young Italians who will face years of bureaucracy to obtain citizenship.

“Millions of Italians born in Italy, raised here, who studied, worked, and pay taxes in this country – unlike President Milei – will face an arduous journey to gain citizenship,” Magi said in a video posted on social media.

Current law requires foreigners to live in Italy for 10 years before applying for citizenship, and even children born in Italy to foreign parents must wait until they turn 18 to apply.

While groups like Oxfam Italia have pushed for a reduction in the waiting period to align with other EU countries, like France and Germany, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government has firmly opposed such changes.

Milei-Meloni bond

Meloni met Milei during a state visit on Friday. The 54-year-old libertarian Argentinian leader also joined Meloni at the Atreju Festival, a right-wing youth event in Rome organised by her Brothers of Italy party.

The two leaders have forged a strong bond due to their ideological similarities.

Last month, Meloni presented Milei with a figurine of him wielding a chainsaw, referencing his 2023 campaign, in which he famously used a chainsaw to signal his intention to reduce the size of government.

Milei is not the first Argentinian president to hold dual Italian citizenship.

Mauricio Macri, who served as Argentina’s president from 2015 to 2019, also had an Italian passport.