<https://help.unhcr.org/italy/statelessness/#:~:text=There%20are%20no%20access%20requirements,has%20a %20259%20EUR%20fee>. cvi Ibid. cvii Tavolo Apolidia, ‘Procedure’ (Web Page) <https://tavoloapolidia.org/apolidia-italia/procedure/>. cviii DECRETO-LEGGE 17 febbraio 2017, n. 13 Disposizioni urgenti per l’accelerazione dei procedimenti in materia di protezione internazionale, nonche’ per il contrasto dell’immigrazione illegal [DECREE-LAW 17 February 2017, n. 13 Urgent provisions for the acceleration of proceedings in matters of international protection, as well as for the Fight against illegal immigration], Art 3(2). cix UNHCR Italy, ‘Statelessness’ (Webpage). cx Ibid. cxi Ibid. cxii Ibid. cxiii This is reduced from the 10-year residency period required for non-EU nationals. The relevant Nationality Law does not include any speciFic requirements of ‘good character’ but criminal convictions may be grounds for refusal of Italian nationality based on the discretion of the Ministry of Interior. A Council of State case in 2014 established that a criminal record cannot outright bar a person from Italian nationality: 28 PRS.1.b. <https://index.statelessness.eu/sites/default/Files/ENS_Statelessness_Index_Survey-Italy-2022.pdf>. There are no exemptions for stateless people from language, income and fee requirements. European Network on Statelessness (n 28), 28 PRS.1.c. B1 level of Italian is required alongside an annual income of EUR 8,263 (plus EUR 516 for each dependent) and a fee of EUR 250. cxiv Act 91/1992, Art 1 para 1(b). cxv Ibid. cxvi Act 91/1992, Art 1 para 2. Foundlings are also granted Italian nationality at birth provided ‘it has not been proven [that they] possess any other citizenship’, however this is interpreted passively that Italian nationality will only be refused if there is proof the child acquired a different citizenship. See: European Network on Statelessness, PRS.3.a. There has been signiFicant debate about introducing jus scholae for children not born but arriving in Italy before 12 years of age and completing 5 years of Italian schooling to be granted access to Italian nationality (instead of being barred from applying until they turned 18). See: Gaia Testore, ‘Italy: Government crisis means uncertainty for the future of citizenship law’, European Commission (Blog Post, 5 September 2022) <https://migrantintegration.ec.europa.eu/news/italy-government-crisis-means-uncertainty-future-citizenship-law_en>. cxvii European Network on Statelessness, 29 PRS.2.b. However, undocumented migrants may rely on two witnesses rather than documentary evidence (PRS.2.e). cxviii Ibid (29 PRS.2.c). If a stateless child does not acquire Italian nationality at birth despite being born in Italy because they do not meet the requirements of Art 1 of Law 91/1992, a safeguard also applies that they are eligible for nationality based on conditional jus soli through residence without interruption until the age of majority. Ibid (30 PRS.2.f; Art 1 Law 91/1992). The stateless child must submit an application by their 19th birthday. However, this makes them dependent on their parents’ residency status until they turn 18. cxix European Clinical Legal Education Programme Directory, 'Formazione clinico-legale II Italy - Napoli' (Webpage) <https://www.encle.org/cle-directory/formazione-clinico-legale-ii>. 93