Citizenship

A citizen of a given state is a person who enjoys full membership of the State and all civil and political rights. An alien or mere resident is a person who is a citizen of another political community or state. They do not enjoy all the rights associated with full membership of the state. Aliens are of two types:

• Friendly aliens: Citizens of friendly countries.
• Enemy aliens: Citizens of enemy countries. They are denied some rights that friendly aliens enjoy.

Some Fundamental Rights belong to citizens alone, such as:

• Article 15: Right against discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
• Article 16: Right to equality of opportunity in public employment.
• Article 18(2): No citizen of India will accept any title from any foreign state.
• Article 19: Right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and profession.
• Article 29: Protection of interests of minorities.
• Article 30: Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

Only citizens are eligible for certain offices, including:

• The President of India
• The Vice-President of India
• Judges of the Supreme Court of India
• Judges of High Courts
• The Governor of a state
• The Attorney General of India
• The Advocate General of the state

The Constitution deals with citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II. It identifies the persons who became citizens of India at its commencement (January 26, 1950). It does not address the acquisition or loss of citizenship post-commencement, instead empowering Parliament to enact laws on the matter.

Thus, the Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted, amended multiple times (1957, 1960, 1985, 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, and 2015), dealing with:

1. Acquisition of Citizenship
2. Termination of Citizenship
3. Supplemental Provisions

Acquisition of Citizenship

The Act provides the following modes of acquiring Indian citizenship:

1. By Birth:
   • Any person born in India before 01.07.1987 is a citizen, regardless of the nationality of their parents.
   • Persons born between 01.07.1987 and 02.12.2004 are citizens if either parent is a citizen.
   • Persons born after 03.12.2004 are citizens if both parents are Indian citizens or at least one parent is an Indian citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant.
2. By Registration:
   • Persons of Indian origin residing in India for 7 years prior to registration.
   • Persons of Indian origin residing outside undivided India.
   • Persons married to Indian citizens, with a 7-year residency requirement.
3. By Descent:
   • Persons born outside India after 26 January 1950 are citizens if their father was a citizen by birth.
   • Persons born after December 10, 1992, are citizens if either parent is an Indian citizen.
4. By Naturalisation:
   • The Central Government may grant naturalisation if:
     • The applicant is not a subject of a country that prevents Indians from naturalising.
     • The applicant has resided in India or served in the Indian government for 1 year before the application and 12 years in the previous 14 years.
     • The applicant is of good character and has adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Constitution.

The Government may waive conditions in exceptional cases.

Loss of Citizenship

The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways to lose citizenship:

1. By Renunciation: If a citizen voluntarily renounces Indian citizenship while holding the nationality of another country.
2. By Termination: If an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship.
3. By Deprivation: Compulsory termination by the government if:
   • Citizenship was obtained by fraud.
   • The citizen shows disloyalty to the Constitution.
   • The citizen unlawfully communicates with the enemy during war.
   • The citizen has been imprisoned for 2 years in any country within 5 years after registration or naturalisation.
   • The citizen has been ordinarily resident outside India for 7 continuous years.

Dual Citizenship

India does not allow dual citizenship or dual nationality. A person can only hold Indian citizenship through birth, descent, registration, or naturalisation.

Person of Indian Origin (POI)

A Person of Indian Origin is someone whose ancestors were Indian nationals and who holds a foreign passport. No specific benefits are granted to POIs, and they can only participate according to their visa status.

Non-Resident Indian (NRI)

An NRI is an Indian citizen ordinarily residing outside India. They hold an Indian passport and have all the benefits of Indian citizens, subject to certain Government notifications. They do not require a visa to visit India.

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Cardholder

An OCI holder is a person registered under the Citizenship Act, 1955. They can visit India without a visa for life, but the OCI is not considered dual citizenship.

Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019

This amendment allows Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to reside in India if they entered before December 14, 2014. It reduces the required residency for citizenship from 11 years to 6 years.

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Subject: Polity

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