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Dual
Citizenship for Persons of Indian Origin
Regulatory
Provisions
The
Union Cabinet of the Government of India recently approved of
amendments to the Citizenship Act, 1955 ("Act") which provide
for the grant of dual citizenship to persons of Indian origin
residing in 16 specified countries and holding passports of those
respective countries. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2003
("Amended Act") includes a key section titled "Overseas
Citizens" which sets out the conditions for eligibility for, and
grant of, dual citizenship. The amendments were in response to
a longstanding demand by the vast Indian diaspora overseas --
according to a recent study, there are more than 20 million persons
of Indian origin residing in about 70 countries abroad1.
Section
2 of the Act was amended to include a new clause (ee), which defines
an "overseas citizen of India" as a person of Indian origin, who
is a citizen of a country specified in the Fourth Schedule to
the Amended Act, or a person who was a citizen of India immediately
before becoming a citizen of such specified country. The Amended
Act therefore provides for reacquisition of Indian citizenship
without surrendering the citizenship of any of the specified countries.
Eligibility
Criteria
The
16 specified countries are, in alphabetical order, Australia,
Canada, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Portugal, the Republic of Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland,
the UK and the US. The respective laws of these specified countries
should also allow dual citizenship. Section 7A(1)
of the Amended Act lays down the "condition of reciprocity as
may be prescribed" on an application for overseas citizenship.
Under
Section 7A of the Amended Act, eligible persons include:
(a)
a person of "full age and capacity" who is of Indian origin and
is a citizen of any of the specified countries; or
(b)
a person who was a citizen of India immediately before the commencement
of the Amended Act (December 2003), who, on or after such date
of commencement, had obtained the citizenship of any of the specified
countries; or
(c)
a person who is a minor of such person mentioned in the two previous
clauses (a) and (b)..
The
Amended Act sets out the parameters for classification of "citizenship
by birth" in the amended Section 3 and clarifies that a "person
of Indian origin" means a citizen of another country who:
(i)
was eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of the commencement
of the Indian Constitution (January 26, 1950) or
(ii)
belonged to a territory that became a part of India after Indian
Independence (August 15, 1947) or
(iii)
the children and grandchildren of persons covered under (i) or
(ii), excluding however, any person who is or had been at any
time a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or any other country which
the Indian Government may specify by notification.
Minors
born in any of the specified countries may also be eligible for
grant of dual citizenship under certain conditions. These include
citizenship by descent: if born between January 26, 1950 and 1992
and the father was a citizen of India at the time of the minor's
birth, or, if born after 1992, if either parent was a citizen
of India at such time. Another condition is registration at the
Indian consulate in the relevant specified country within one
year of birth, or within one year of the commencement of the Amended
Act, whichever is later.
Other
categories include persons who apply for citizenship under the
amended Section 5, who have been resident in India for 7 years
before making such application; persons of Indian origin ordinarily
resident in any country or place outside India; persons married
to citizens of India and resident in India for seven years prior
to such application and minor children of persons who are citizens
of India. Such applicants should not be illegal migrants as defined
in the Amended Act. Foreign spouses of persons of Indian origin
are also not eligible.
Available
Benefits / Privileges
Overseas
citizens will receive registration certificates, overseas citizens'
passports and smart cards. Apart from the emotional comfort of
reacquiring citizenship of their country of origin, overseas citizens
will enjoy all the facilities extended to non-resident Indians
('NRIs"). These include: unhindered travel to and from
India minus the formalities attendant on foreign passport holders;
no requirement of registration for stay in India; no separate
documentation for admission to educational institutions or for
employment; parity with NRIs with regard to facilities in economic
and financial sectors, such as investment in agriculture and plantation
properties, and facilities under housing schemes offered by state
governments and government agencies.
Withheld
Rights / Facilities
While
registered overseas citizens are conferred specific rights by
notification by the Indian Government, certain rights otherwise
available to a citizen of India are withheld under Section 7B
(2) of the Amended Act. Rights denied to overseas citizens include
equality of opportunity in matters of public employment; election
as President or Vice President of India; appointment as a judge
of the Supreme Court of India or any of the High Courts of Indian
States; registration as a voter in India; eligibility to be elected
as a member of the Lok Sabha (House of the People in the Indian
Parliament) or the Council of States, or the State Legislative
Assembly or Legislative Council or appointment to positions in
public services and posts related to the affairs of the Indian
Union or of any Indian State unless by specific appointment by
the Indian Government. The overseas citizenship is, therefore,
partial in nature.
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You
can direct your queries or comments to the authors
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Source:
The
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003
The
Times of India, Mumbai Edition, June 17, 2005
Ministry
of Overseas Indian Affairs/FICCI release
Indian
Citizenship, Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreigners Division
Centre
for Study of Indian Diaspora, University of Hyderabad
Indian
Embassy release
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