City of San Marino by naturalization, changes in sight: language and history exam but citizenship of origin can be maintained
After years of controversy, battles and pressures from international organizations, the obligation to renounce original citizenship is about to end when the citizenship of San Marino is acquired by naturalization.
It is one of the important innovations that will be included in the draft law coming to the Council in the coming months. The other is that obtaining Titan citizenship will be subject to a specific knowledge test of the Italian language, history and institutions of the Republic of San Marino.
In recent days, the State Congress has created an ad hoc working group to prepare the draft law by 30 June 2022 indicating these guidelines.
The renunciation of citizenship of origin has been a hot topic for a long time. In particular, it is the Comites of San Marino, which represents Italian citizens on the Titan, that has raised the issue strongly in recent years. But most of all it was ECRI – European Commission against racism and intolerance – in its Report relating to the fifth monitoring cycle in February 2018 to recommend to the Republic of San Marino to include more flexibility as regards dual citizenship when the San Marino citizenship is acquired.
In July of last year the subject was approved in the Council on the occasion of some changes to the law on citizenship. Here an agenda shared by all political forces was approved which committed the State Congress to “a structured confrontation with all political forces represents in the Great and General Council, verifying at the same time the administrative characteristics with the competent Offices, which has as its objective the presentation, by 30 November 2021a draft law that contemplates, among others, the issue of the obligation to renounce original citizenship “.
That bill was prepared and presented to the council groups on November 26, 2021. But the draft did not go ahead because during the meeting, explains the Congress in the resolution of recent days, “the opportunity to subordinate the ‘obtaining San Marino citizenship in a specific test of knowledge of the Italian language, of the history and of the institutions of the Republic of San Marino ”.
Hence the assessment of creating a working group to elaborate, by 30 June, a draft of legislation governing these methods of carrying out tests of knowledge of the Italian languageof the history and institutions of San Marino “.
The Group is coordinated by the Director of the Department of Institutional Affairs and Justice and is also composed of: Director of the Education Department or his delegate, a representative of the Foreign Affairs Department, a representative of the Department of Historical Studies of the University of San Marino, a representative of the ‘Istituto Giuridico Sammarinese, the Director of the Civil Status Office or his / her delegate.
The Government has expressly indicated that the draft law must contain:
- the characteristics and methods of carrying out the language assessment test, also on the basis of the “Common Framework of Reference for European Assessment” approved by the Council of Europe;
- list of any exemptions for taking the language test (Italian citizens, people already in possession of a language certification, etc.)
- characteristics and methods of carrying out the San Marino history and institutions test;
- Identification and characteristics of the certifying body;
- content of the texts;
- process, timing and organization of tests
- any other element that the group considers useful for the purpose of the effectiveness of any legislative production.
Davide Giardi