Italians are heading to the polls on Sunday and Monday to vote in a high-stakes referendum that could ease citizenship requirements for migrants and bolster protections for workers. The vote, pushed forward by civil society and trade union campaigns, is facing staunch opposition from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right government, which is urging citizens to boycott the ballot.

The referendum includes five separate questions: one focused on reducing the residency requirement for non-EU adults seeking Italian citizenship, and four on strengthening labor laws, particularly around job security, precarious work, and compensation for workplace accidents.

Under Italy’s current citizenship law, non-EU adult residents without Italian heritage or marriage ties must live in the country for at least ten years before they can apply for citizenship, which can drag on for years. The proposed reform would shorten the required residency period to five years, bringing Italy in line with countries like Germany and France.

Campaigners say the reform could benefit around 2.5 million people and address long-standing calls for a more inclusive nationality framework. The proposal has received support from the center-left Democratic Party, which is polling at around 23% nationally.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Brothers of Italy party, which currently lead polls at approximately 30%, have vocally opposed the initiative. While her administration has issued more legal work visas for migrants, it has doubled down on opposing what it views as lenient pathways to citizenship.

'Excellent system'

“The current system is an excellent law,” Meloni stated on Thursday. “We have for years been among the European nations that grant the highest number of citizenships each year.”

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In 2023, more than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship, double the number from 2020 and a fifth of all such grants in the European Union. The majority were from Albania, Morocco, Argentina, and Brazil, according to EU statistics.

However, the reform would not address the controversial issue affecting children born in Italy to foreign parents, who must wait until age 18 to apply for citizenship. Rapper Ghali, born in Milan to Tunisian parents, called the referendum a “step in the right direction” and encouraged his fans to vote “Yes”.

“With a 'Yes' we ask that five years of life here are enough, not 10, to be part of this country,” he said on Instagram.

The remaining four referendum questions address workplace protections, with backing from Italy’s largest trade union, CGIL. The proposals aim to reverse elements of the so-called Jobs Act, a labor market reform package introduced by former Democratic Party Prime Minister Matteo Renzi a decade ago.

Critics of the Jobs Act argue it has eroded job security and enabled a rise in precarious employment. CGIL General Secretary Maurizio Landini said the referendum seeks to “reverse a culture that has prioritised the interests of business over those of workers.”

The Democratic Party, which originally championed the Jobs Act, is now supporting the reversal as it attempts to reconnect with working-class voters.

High stakes amid concerns about turnout

While the issues at stake are significant, the referendum must meet a quorum—50% of eligible voters plus one—for the results to be valid. Meloni and her coalition have openly encouraged voter abstention, hoping to undermine the initiative through low turnout.

Earlier this year, the government also moved to tighten access to citizenship by ancestry, restricting eligibility to descendants within two generations instead of four, further signaling its hardline stance.

Regardless of the outcome, the referendum has ignited national debate on inclusion, identity, and labor rights at a time of growing polarization in Italian politics. As polls open, the battle is as much over laws as it is over who gets to shape the future of Italy.