The Italian Consulate in Curitiba received a notification regarding possible fraud in applications for Italian citizenship. One of the recent cases involves two Brazilian citizens who allegedly presented falsified documents in the municipality of Castelfranco Veneto, in the province of Treviso.
The episode triggered an alert to Italian authorities, including the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the newspaper Il Gazzettino.
Reporting forged certificates
The town hall of Castelfranco Veneto formalized a complaint to the Treviso Prosecutor's Office in April 2024, which remains under investigation, after identifying falsified birth certificates in applications for citizenship by descent (ius sanguinis).
According to local authorities, the documents mentioned non-existent Italian ancestors, which raised suspicions of forgery. The investigation revealed the absence of historical records in the municipal archives, dating back to the end of the 19th century.
In addition to notifying the Prosecutor's Office, the authorities Castelfranco Veneto forwarded the evidence to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the provincial government. The consulate in Stuttgart, Germany, was also alerted to the case.
Legal pressures and threats
Stephen Marcon, mayor of Castelfranco Veneto and president of the province of Treviso, highlighted the gravity of the situation: “We are being pressured daily by law firms that threaten legal action, in addition to having to deal with incomplete or even false documentation,” said Marcon.
Although fraud in Italian citizenship applications is not unheard of, the growing number of attempts to circumvent the system with falsified documents is drawing the attention of Italian authorities.
The phenomenon particularly affects smaller municipalities, which lack the structure to deal with the growing demand for processes and the need for more rigorous checks.
