10.3% of the world's population is over 65 years old. The Italian population is one of the longest living in the world: it is 24 % of the total population destined to reach 34.5 % of the total by 2050.

Today the desire for foreign countries affects both young people between 18 and 34 and Italians over 65. Of the total number of those enrolled in the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (AIRE) for expatriation only in the last year, 45.5 % are between 18 and 34 years old, and 5.5 % are over 65. In a general growth (+9.1 %), those over 65 have increased by 12.9 %, with the largest change affecting, more specifically, those between 65 and 74 years old (+14.0 %).

Retirement mobility, almost completely cancelled by the health emergency due to the Coronavirus has, therefore, resumed: elderly Italians, having overcome the shock due to the global pandemic that hit them hard and more than other age groups, are taking back their space of freedom of movement that they had interrupted for several years. They, therefore, are leaving again for new life projects across borders that had been suspended and postponed, and it is possible to trace a multiplicity of profiles according to destination destinations.

There are those who make a kind of return migration to the country they had migrated to for years where they worked and gave birth to their children and where their grandchildren were also born; there are those who act as grandparents or grandmothers baby-sitters chasing their children and grandchildren in a kind of extended family migration project or reverse family reunion; there are those who leave for the first time in search of an adventure and those who, instead, choose abroad to live better and pay less taxes.

Italy outside of Italy: growing, articulate, heterogeneous

As of 2020, Italy has about 652,000 fewer residents. In the same period, however, the growth of those who have decided to reside outside the national borders continues (+11.8% since 2020). Today, the community of citizens and citizens residing abroad consists of more than 6 million 134 thousand: for a long time, the only Italy to grow continues to be only those who have chosen abroad to live.

Sicily is confirmed in 2024 as the region with the largest AIRE enrollment community (+826 thousand), followed by Lombardy (+641 thousand) and Veneto (+563 thousand). 45.8 % of AIRE members are of southern origin (over 2.8 million, including 956 thousand islanders). Over 2.3 million are, on the other hand, from the North (19.0% for both the Northeast and the Northwest with a slight difference in the positive for the latter of about 23 thousand enrolled). More than 966 thousand, on the other hand, are enrolled from Central Italy (15.7%).

Of the 6.1 million AIRE enrollees, 54.2 % are in Europe in 2024 (more than 3.3 million, including more than 2.5 million in the EU-15) and 40.6 % in America (more than 2.4 million, including 2 million in the South-Central America). This is followed by: more than 167,000 in Oceania (2.7 %), more than 78,000 in Asia (1.3 %) and 70,000 in Africa (1.1 %). FOTO2

That Italian migration is a story that is never over and always in progress is attested to by the data on age groups. The official community, in fact, is getting older and older, and the generations that have been emigrating for more than 15 years (48.5%) have gradually been joined by those abroad for less than 15 years (51.5%) and, in particular, between 5 and 15 years (28.2%) and for less than 5 years (23.3%).

The age composition also highlights how articulated and heterogeneous the Italian presence abroad is. 23.2% of those living abroad are between 35 and 49 years old; 21.7% belong to the 18-34 age group and 19.5% to the 50-64 age group. 14.6% of those abroad are minors, while the elderly are 21.0%. Of these: 9.5% are between 65 and 74 years old, 6.7% are between 75 and 84 years old, and 4.8% are over 85 years old.

Departures over the past year: weak growth but steady changes

From January to December 2023, 89,462 Italians registered with AIRE for the sole reason of “expatriation,” 54.8 % of whom were male, 66.9 % single/married, 26.9 % married to which 0.3 % of civil unions should be added. A further change is taking place: official transfers abroad, after the interlude of the health emergency, have resumed. It has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, with more than 130,000 departures for expatriation in one year, but from January to December 2023 compared to the same time frame the year before, there is a positive change of 9.1%, which, in absolute value, is equal to 7,500 departures. Compared to the age composition of the general community of more than 6.1 million Italian nationals and citizens abroad, those leaving in the year are increasingly young and dynamic. FOTO3

Further changes in numbers and quantitatively more important are expected by processing the data after January 1, 2024 when the law that introduced new penalties for Italian citizens living abroad who are not registered with AIRE came into effect.

45.5 % of the total AIRE expatriate-only enrollees from January to December 2023 are between 18 and 34 years old and a 23.3 % belong, on the other hand, to the next age group (35-49 years old). The component of youth and young adults, therefore, as a whole (68.8 %) is definitely the protagonist of the current Italian migration experience accompanied by 14.7 % of minors (over 13,000) and 5.5 % of over-65s (about 5,000). The remaining 11.1% are between 50 and 64 years old. Europe welcomed 71.4% of those who moved abroad from January to December 2023 (nearly 64 thousand compatriots). Italians left from all provinces of Italy and went to 187 countries around the world, representing all continents. FOTO4

Expatriate and repatriate: a continuous and unstoppable movement

In 2022 and 2023, cancellations for abroad of Italian citizens (expatriates) totaled 207,316, of whom 93,762 were women (45.2%), while the number of registry entries from abroad (repatriates) was 129,962 thousand individuals, of whom 56,117 were women (43.2%). In general, expatriates have a median age of 31 for men and 29 for women, while the median age of returning Italians is slightly higher, 35 for men and 32 for women.

Expatriates are particularly young (55% in the 20-39 age group); substantial, too, is the number of minors presumably moving with their families (16% in the 0-17 age group). Also noteworthy is the significant share (23%), among Italian emigrants in 2022 and 2023, represented by those aged 40-65, the latter an indication of an increasing propensity and/or need to emigrate abroad even at an older age. Regarding the level of education, referring to the year 2022, predominantly Italian emigrants have a medium-high educational qualification (about 69 % hold at least a diploma), with a gender difference in favor of men (70 % versus 68 % of women). FOTO5

The regions for which the flow of Italians migrating abroad is most substantial, again in 2022, are Lombardy (about 19,000, or 19.2 % of total cancellations), Veneto (about 9,500, 9.6 %), Sicily (about 8,000, 8.2 %) and Emilia-Romagna (about 7,500, 7.6 %). The highest share of women expatriating is in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Valle d'Aosta (48.8 % and 46.7 %), the lowest in Basilicata (40.2 %). The top five provinces of cancellation for expatriation are Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples and Brescia, which together account for more than one-fifth of outbound migration.

Looking at the citizens who returned to Italy, in the year 2022 alone, it appears that they are also predominantly men (56.6%); in 47.7% of cases they have an average low educational qualification, in 29.5% of cases a high school diploma and in the remaining 22.8% a high level of education (bachelor's and postgraduate). 25.6 % of returnees (in 2022 and 2023) are over 50 years old, a percentage that rises to 28.3 % if only men are considered. Repatriations, in 2022, occur mainly to Lombardy (about 13,000, or 18% of total enrollment), Lazio (almost 8,000, or 10.6%), Sicily (about 7,000, or 9.5%) and Veneto (over 5,000, or 7%). The regions for which the percentage of women, as compared to men, making registry entries from abroad is highest is Trentino-Alto Adige (49%); the lowest percentage is recorded, however, in Puglia and Sardinia (40%). At the provincial level, repatriations occur mainly to Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples and Palermo (a total of 26 %).

In 2022 and 2023, overall, the main destination countries are still the United Kingdom and Germany, followed by Switzerland, France, Spain, Brazil and the United States of America. As for returns, the countries from which people mainly return in 2022-2023 are Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, and the United States of America, but also Brazil and Argentina.

State benefits to return: from stars to future stables

With the tax breaks for repatriated workers coming into full effect, Italy's attractiveness as a return-but also a first-entry destination for foreign nationals-for skilled human capital has soared. The number of new taxpayers from abroad and beneficiaries of tax breaks grew by 11,500 in 2022, bringing the total to more than 32,500. The latter, after the +144 % jump recorded in 2021 (which follows 2020, marked by the mobility freeze), remained in very strong growth over the previous year, with a rate of +90 %.

Citizenship acquisitions: the element that makes clear the structural nature of migration for Italy

Italian law states that the child of a citizen father or mother is a citizen by birth. In application of the principle of ius sanguinis, the descendant of Italian emigrant born in a country where ius soli is in force can claim Italian citizenship. Hence the real possibility that second, third and fourth generation descendants and beyond of Italian emigrants may be declared Italian citizens by filiation. There have been many people with Italian ancestors in recent years who have applied for Italian citizenship in South American countries (especially those born in Argentina and Brazil). FOTO6

While in many cases acquisition takes place abroad through the submission of an application at the consular offices of the country where one was born and lives, there are, however, many foreigners residing in Italy who acquire citizenship by descent from Italian ancestors. Not always then do those who become Italian-especially those who follow the procedure by descent-stabilize in our country. In fact, studies show that there are many who, after acquisition, move abroad, using their Italian passport as a passport to Europe and America.

Acquisitions of Italian citizenship outside Italy.

The concept of citizenship is changing rapidly. There is great attention in our country to acquisitions of citizenship by foreigners born in Italy; there is less discussion of the acquisition of citizenship by descendants of emigrants born abroad. Recently, however, cases have come to the headlines of municipal offices struggling to cope with the numerous applications for citizenship by descent and the subsequent transcription of the deeds of those who become Italian (the effects of acquisition in this case are retroactive). Moreover, quite a few cases of serious irregularities and outright fraud have been discovered in the preparation of the documentation necessary to obtain recognition. Migration as a whole is now pushing for a renewed concept of citizenship, identity and belonging. FOTO7

The jolt to the traditional concept comes from several sides. On the one hand, there are the new generations with “multiple” memberships, “transactional” identities that challenge the idea of singularity and struggle to see their rights recognized. On the other, it is clear that “citizenship” in an increasingly interconnected world is frequently associated not only with the idea of rootedness and connection to a territory, but also with that of freedom of movement. This new attitude toward citizenship is also helping to change the idea of the Italian diaspora in the world, which over the years has not only become more educated and skilled, but increasingly multicultural. After acquiring citizenship, in fact, not only those who become Italian by descent emigrate, but also many young immigrants to Italy at a very young age or second generation. FOTO8

A journey, transnational and multidisciplinary, between past and present

In RIM's Special 2024, through 24 essays spanning the five Continents, the authors recounted what it means to be or not to be an Italian citizen, to lose one's Italian citizenship, to acquire or not to acquire the citizenship of the foreign country where one resides, and perhaps where one was born and where one's family has resided for several generations. The emigratory past, the migrant present, and the future of Italy and Italians on the move were analyzed from different perspectives-including sociological, historical, linguistic, and statistical-under the lens of citizenship, with the aim of providing as comprehensive, layered, and multidisciplinary an overview as possible. FOTO9

A transnational passport

Beyond the long-term numerical picture of Italian citizens who have acquired citizenship since 1992 - a figure that varies depending on the country, with significant figures if we think of Latin America -, what emerges in so many life stories, in the tales, in the impressions of Italians, whether they are yesterday's or today's migrants, is the strong sense of belonging, the desire to be part of a collectivity, united by language and culture, the will - despite geographical distances - to rediscover one's origins or not to lose the link with one's roots. FOTO10

Being Italian also means possessing a “strong” passport, a privileged key capable of opening the doors of Europe and the world, starting from the ease with which it is possible to take a plane without the need for a visa, without having to wait in lines and pass special controls, to the opportunity, if one resides in Italy, to have the guarantee of health insurance, access to a faculty, a competition or a job. According to theHenley Passport Index, the ranking of all the world's passports in the context of global mobility, Italy ranks second in 2024. The ranking takes into account the number of destinations that holders can access without a prior visa, with a total of 199 passports and 227 travel destinations. Surpassed only by the Singapore passport, the Italian passport allows entry into 192 countries. The United States ranks eighth. There is no denying that being Italian means being able to move around the globe with extreme ease, being a global citizen. FOTO11