INDIAN

CONSTITUTION
Citizenship – Part 2

By amit Varidhi kilhor

Lecture 5
By amit Varidhi kilhor
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
• Like any other modern state, India has two
kinds of people–citizens and aliens.
Citizens are full members of the Indian
State and owe allegiance to it. They enjoy
all civil and political rights. Aliens, on the
other hand, are the citizens of some other
state and hence, do not enjoy all the civil
and political rights. They are of two
categories–friendly aliens or enemy aliens.
They enjoy all civil and political rights 
1. Right against discrimination on grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
• All other rights except
(Article 15). Article15,16,19,29,30 are enjoyed by
2. 2. Right to equality of opportunity in the Aliens
matter of public employment (Article 16).
3. 3. Right to freedom of speech and expression, • However Enemy aliens they do not enjoy
assembly, association, movement, residence
and profession (Article 19).
protection against arrest and detention
4. 4. Cultural and educational rights (Articles 29
(Article 22).
and 30).
5. 5. Right to vote in elections to the Lok Sabha
and state legislative assembly. • In India both a citizen by birth as well as a
6. 6. Right to contest for the membership of the naturalised citizen are eligible for the
Parliament and the state legislature.
office of President while in USA, only a
7. 7. Eligibility to hold certain public offices, that
is, President of India, Vice-President of India, citizen by birth and not a naturalised
judges of the Supreme Court and the high
courts, Governor of states, Attorney General of
citizen is eligible for the office of President
India and Advocate General of states
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS: (citizenship
from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II)
· It only identifies the persons who became
citizens of India at its commencement (i.e.,
on January 26, 1950)
· neither any permanent nor any elaborate
provisions
· It does not deal with the problem of
acquisition or loss of citizenship subsequent
to its commencement
· empowers the Parliament to enact a law
on matter relating to citizenship
 • Person who had his domicile in India
and also fulfilled any one of the three
ARTICLE 5
conditions, viz.,
• 1)if he was born in India;
• 2)or if either of his parents was born in
India;
• 3)or if he has been ordinarily resident
in India for five years immediately
before the commencement of the
Constitution, became a citizen of India
 • A person who migrated to India from Pakistan; if
he or either of his parents or any of his
ARTICLE 6 grandparents was born in undivided India And
also fullfill any of 2 conditions
• 1) he migrated to India before July 19, 1948 , he
had been ordinarily resident in India since the
date of his migration
• 2) he migrated to India before July 19, 1948, he
had been ordinarily resident in India since the
date of his migration (residence for 6 months
before registration)
•The partition involved the
division of two provinces,
Bengal and Punjab, based
on district-wide non-Muslim
or Muslim majorities. The
partition also saw the
division of the British Indian
Army, the Royal Indian Navy,
the Indian Civil Service, the
railways, and the central
treasury. The partition was
outlined in the Indian
Independence Act 1947 and
resulted in the dissolution
of the British Raj, or Crown
rule in India.
 •A person who migrated to
ARTICLE 7 Pakistan from India after March
1, 1947, but later returned to
India for resettlement could
become an Indian citizen. For
this, he had to be resident in
India for six months preceding
the date of his application for
registration
 • A person who, or any of whose parents
or grandparents, was born in undivided
ARTICLE 8 India but who is ordinarily residing
To sum up, these
outside India shall become an Indian
provisions deal with the citizen if he has been registered as a
citizenship of (a) persons citizen of India by the diplomatic or
domiciled in India; (b) consular representative of India in the
persons migrated from
Pakistan; (c) persons country of his residence, whether
migrated to Pakistan but before or after the commencement of
later returned; and (d) the Constitution. Thus, this provision
persons of Indian origin covers the overseas Indians who may
residing outside India.
want to acquire Indian citizenship
• The other constitutional provisions with respect to the
citizenship are as follows:
• 1. No person shall be a citizen of India or be deemed to be a
citizen of India, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of
any foreign state.
• 2. Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India shall
continue to be such citizen, subject to the provisions of any law
made by Parliament.
• 3. Parliament shall have the power to make any provision with
respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all
other matters relating to citizenship.
 • Acquisition of Citizenship
• The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of
The Citizenship Act (1955) provides for acquiring citizenship, viz, birth, descent,
acquisition and loss of citizenship after the registration, naturalisation and incorporation of
commencement of the Constitution.
territory:
• 1. By Birth - A person born in India on or after
January 26, 1950 but before July 1, 1987 is a citizen
of India by birth irrespective of the nationality of
his parents.
• A person born in India on or after July 1, 1987 is
considered as a citizen of India only if either of his
parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth.
• Further, those born in India on or after December
3, 2004 are considered citizens of India only if both
of their parents are citizens of India or one of
whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is
not an illegal migrant at the time of their birth.
• The children of foreign diplomats posted in India
and enemy aliens cannot acquire Indian citizenship
by birth.
• 2. By Descent
• A person born outside India on or after January 26,
1950 but before December 10, 1992 is a citizen of India
by descent, if his father was a citizen of India at the time
of his birth.
• A person born outside India on or after December 10,
1992 is considered as a citizen of India if either of his
parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth.
• December 3, 2004 onwards, a person born outside India
shall not be a citizen of India by descent, unless his birth
is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of
the date of birth or with the permission of the Central
Government, after the expiry of the said period.
• By Registration
• on an application, register as a citizen of India any
person (not being an illegal migrant) if he belongs-
•  ordinarily resident in India for seven years
•  person who is married to a citizen of India and is
ordinarily resident in India for seven years
•  registered as an overseas citizen of India cardholder
for five years, and who is ordinarily resident in India for
twelve months before making an application for
registration
 • By Naturalisation
• on an application, grant a certificate of
naturalisation to any person (not being an illegal
migrant) if he-
5. By Incorporation •  not a subject or citizen of any country where
of Territory citizens of India are prevented from becoming
subjects or citizens
For example, when
•  he undertakes to renounce the citizenship of
Pondicherry Origin country in the event of his application for
became a part of Indian citizenship being accepted
India •  resided in India or been in the service of a
Government in India
•  he is of good character
•  adequate knowledge of a language specified
in the Eighth Schedule
 • 1. By Renunciation
•  Any citizen of India of full age and
capacity can make a declaration
Loss of citizenshiprenouncing his Indian citizenship
•  If such a declaration is made during a
war in which India is engaged, its
registration shall be withheld by the
Central Government
•  when a person renounces his Indian
citizenship, every minor child of that
person also loses Indian citizenship.
However, when such a child attains the
age of eighteen, he may resume Indian
citizenship
• 2. By Termination
• When an Indian citizen voluntarily
(consciously, knowingly and without
duress, undue influence or
compulsion) acquires the citizenship of
another country, his Indian citizenship
automatically terminates. This
provision, however, does not apply
during a war in which India is engaged.
• By Deprivation
• It is a compulsory termination of Indian
citizenship by the Central government, if: (a) the
citizen has obtained the citizenship by fraud: (b)
the citizen has shown disloyalty to the
Constitution of India: (c) the citizen has
unlawfully traded or communicated with the
enemy during a war; (d) the citizen has, within
five years after registration or naturalisation,
been imprisoned in any country for two years;
and (e) the citizen has been ordinarily resident
out of India for seven years continuously
• OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA
•  In September 2000, the Government of India (Ministry of
External Affairs) had set-up a High Level Committee on the
Indian Diaspora under the Chairmanship of L.M. Singhvi
•  It recommended the amendment of the Citizenship Act (1955)
to provide for grant of dual citizenship to the Persons of Indian
Origin (PIOs) belonging to certain specified countries
•  Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005, expanded the scope of
grant of OCI for PIOs of all countries except Pakistan and
Bangladesh as long as their home countries all dual citizenship
under their local laws (OCI is not actually a dual citizenships as
the Indian Constitution forbids dual citizenship or dual
nationality (Article 9)
•  OCI card scheme was introduced in December 2, 2005.
•  The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015, replaced the
nomenclature of “Overseas Citizen of India” with that of
“Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder”(OCIC)
NonResident Indian (NRI) Person of Indian Overseas citizens of India (OCI) Cardholder
Origin(PIO)
An Indian citizen who is ordinarily A person who or whose A Person registered as Overseas Citizen of India
residing outside India and holds an any of ancestors was an (OCI) Cardholder under the Citizenship Act, 1955
Indian Passport Indian national and who is
presently holding another
country’s citizenship /
nationality i.e. he/she is
holding foreign passport
All benefits as available to Indian No specific benefits 1)Multiple lifelong visa for visiting India for any
citizens subject to notifications issued Activity as per the type of purpose (require a special permission to undertake
by the Government from time to time visa obtained As per the research work in India) 2)Exemption from
NO VISA REQUIRED ALL ACTIVITIES Citizenship Act, 1955, registration with Foreigners Regional Registration
He/she is an Indian citizen he/she has to be ordinarily Officer (FRRO) 3) Parity with NonResident Indians
resident in India for a (NRIs) in respect of all facilities available to them in
period of 7 years before economic, financial, and educational fields except in
making an application for matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or
registration plantation properties 4) treated at par with
NonResident Indians in the matter of intercountry
adoption of Indian children 5) treated at par with
resident Indian nationals in the matter of tariffs in
air fares in domestic sectors in India