Exploring migrants’ willingness to renounce birthright citizenship in Italy: Do national identity, place of socialization, and instrumental approach matter?

Abstract The relationship between citizenship and identity is complex, affecting migrants’ propensity to become citizens if the law of the destination or home country requires renouncing birthright citizenship. Renunciation of birthright citizenship is one of the main barriers to naturalization. However, previous research has underestimated migrants’ readiness to renounce their birthright citizenship, focusing mainly on the dual citizenship regulations of both destination and home countries. This article aims to fill this gap. Using a unique, nationally representative dataset, Social Condition and Integration of Foreigners, we analyse migrants’ intention to renounce their citizenship to become Italian, focusing on three dimensions: identity, place of socialization, and reason for naturalization. The results show that identification with the host country, longer socialization in Italy, and the desire for equality of status and rights are strongly associated with the willingness to renounce citizenship.