Indian Citizenship Act: Evolution, Amendments & Special Provisions in India

Evolution, Amendments and Unique Provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955

The Citizenship Act, 1955, is a law that governs the acquisition and termination of Indian citizenship. Conferment of citizenship  is governed by Articles 5 to 11 (Part II) of the Constitution of India. This act was enacted by the Parliament of India on December 30, 1955. 

This legislation has undergone significant evolution and amendments, shaping the landscape of citizenship regulations.

• Legislative Amendments: The legislation related to this matter is the Citizenship Act 1955, which has been amended by the Citizenship (Amendment) Acts of 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2016 and 2019.
• Special Consideration in Assam: The single exception to Indian citizenship act was Assam where as per the 1985 Assam Accord foreigners who came to the state up to March 24, 1971 were to be recognized and regularized as Indian citizens.
• Compulsory Registration: Section 14A in the Citizenship Act of 1955 provides in sub-section (1) that “The Central Government may compulsorily register every citizen of India and issue national identity card to him”.
• National Register of Indian Citizens: The procedure to prepare and maintain National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) is specified in the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003 

Indian Citizenship Act: Birth, Descent and Naturalization

• Indian Citizenship by Birth: Criteria and Evolving Regulations
  • Born between January 26, 1950, and July 1, 1987: 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. 
  • On or After July 1, 1987, with Parental Citizenship Requirement: A person born in India on or after July 1, 1987 is considered as a citizen of India only if if either of his parents is an Indian citizen at the time of his birth.
    
  • On or After December 3, 2004, with Parental Citizenship Conditions: A person born in India on or after December 3, 2004 are considered citizens of India their parents are Indian citizens, or one parent is an Indian citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of their birth.
    

Do You Know?

The children of foreign diplomats posted in India and enemy aliens cannot acquire Indian citizenship by birth. 

2. Indian Citizenship by Descent: Guidelines and Registration Requirements

• • Between January 26, 1950, and December 10, 1992, with Paternal Citizenship: 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 an Indian citizen at the time of his birth.
    
  • On or After December 10, 1992, with Parental Citizenship Requirement: A person born outside India on or after December 10, 1992 is considered as a citizen of India if either one of his parents is an Indian citizen at the time of his birth. 
  • On or After December 3, 2004, with Registration Requirements: A person born outside India on December 3, 2004 onwards 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. 
  • An application to an Indian consulate for the registration of a minor child’s birth must include a written undertaking from the parents stating that the child does not hold a passport from another country.
  • Citizenship for Minors: A minor who is an Indian citizen by descent and also holds citizenship in another country will lose Indian citizenship unless he renounces the other country’s citizenship within six months of his attaining full age. 

3. Indian Citizenship by Registration: Eligibility Criteria and Oath of Allegiance

• • Seven Years Residence In India: A person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration; 
  • Residence in Outside Undivided India: A person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India;
  • Spousal Eligibility by Registration: A person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration; 
  • Minor children of persons who are Indian citizens;
  • Parental Registration: A person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India;
• Citizen of Independent India: and is ordinarily resident in India for twelve months immediately before making an application for a person of full age and capacity who, or if either of his parents was previously a citizen of independent India, has been an ordinary resident in India for twelve months immediately before applying for registration 
• Overseas Citizen of India: A person of full age and capacity who has been 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. 
• Deemed Indian Origin: A person shall be deemed to be of Indian origin if he, or either of his parents, was born in undivided India or in such other territory that was incorporated into India after August 15, 1947. 

Note:

• All individuals in the aforementioned categories of persons must swear an oath of allegiance before they are registered as citizens of India.

4. Indian Citizenship by Naturalisation: Qualifications, Conditions, and Exceptional Consideration: The Central Government may grant a certificate of naturalisation to any person (not being an illegal migrant) if he possesses the following qualification: 

• • Exclusion from Citizenship: He is not a subject or citizen of any country where citizens of India are prevented from becoming subjects or citizens of that country by naturalisation;
    • Renunciation Commitment: He undertakes to renounce the citizenship of other country in the event of his application for Indian citizenship being accepted;
    • Residency and Government Service Criteria: He has either resided in India or been in the service of a GoI or partly the one and partly the other, during the twelve-month period immediately preceding the date of application; 
    • Extended Residency and Government Service Criteria: During the fourteen years immediately preceding the said period of twelve months, he has either resided in India or been in the service of a GoI, or partly the one and partly the other, for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than eleven years; 
  • He is of good character;
  • Linguistic Proficiency Requirement: He has an adequate knowledge of a language specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution;
  • Future Intentions for Residence and Service: In the event of a certificate of naturalisation being granted to him, he intends to reside in India, or to enter into or continue in, service under a GoI or under an international organisation of which India is a member or under a society, company or body of persons established in India. 

Do You Know?

• GOI may waive all or any of the above conditions for naturalisation in the case of a person who has rendered distinguished service to science, philosophy, art, literature, world peace or human progress. Every naturalised citizen must take an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India.

5. Expanding Indian Citizenship: Incorporation of Territories and Assam Accord Special Provisions: If any foreign territory becomes a part of India, the Government of India specifies the persons who among the people of the territory shall be the citizens of India. 
   • Such persons become citizens of India from the notified date. 
   • Example: When Pondicherry became a part of India, the GoI issued the Citizenship (Pondicherry) Order (1962), under the Citizenship Act (1955). 

• • Special Provisions as to Citizenship of Persons Covered By the Assam Accord, 1985, The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985, added the following special provisions as to citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord (related to the foreigners’ issue): 
    • All persons of Indian origin who came to Assam before January 1, 1966 from Bangladesh and who have been ordinarily residents in Assam since the date of their entry into Assam shall be considered to be citizens of India effective from January 1, 1966. 
    • Every person of Indian origin who came to Assam on or after January 1, 1966 but before March 25, 1971 from Bangladesh and who has been ordinarily resident in Assam since the date of his entry into Assam and who has been detected to be a foreigner shall register himself. 
    • Such a registered person shall be deemed to be a citizen of India for all purposes as from the date of expiry of a period of ten years from the date of detection as a foreigner. 
    • But, in the intervening period of ten years, he shall have the same rights and obligations as a citizen of India, excepting the right to vote. 

Provisions, Loss and the Role of Citizenship Act (1955)

• The Citizenship Act (1955) outlines three ways of losing citizenship whether obtained under the Act or prior to it under the Constitution:

1. Indian Citizenship  Renunciation: Declaration, Implications, and Resumption

• Any Indian citizen who is of full age and capacity can make a declaration to renounce their Indian citizenship. 
  • Upon the registration of that declaration, that person ceases to be a citizen of India. 
  • However, if such a declaration is made during a war in which India is involved, the Central Government will refrain from registering it. 
• Further, when an individual renounces their Indian citizenship, any minor child of that person also forfeits Indian citizenship. 
  • However, once such a child reaches the age of eighteen, they have the option to regain Indian citizenship. 

2. Termination of Indian Citizenship: Voluntary Acquisition of Foreign Citizenship

• When an Indian citizen voluntarily and consciously acquires the citizenship of another country without any duress or undue influence, their Indian citizenship automatically ceases.
  • However, this provision does not apply in the event of a war involving India. 

3. Deprivation of Indian Citizenship: Grounds and Compulsory Termination

• Compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the Central government in the following cases:
  • Acquired citizenship by fraud
  • Shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India
  • Unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war
  • Within five years after registration or naturalisation, The citizen has been imprisoned in any country for two years
  • Ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously.

Evolution of Indian Citizenship: Significance and Key Amendments in the Citizenship Act, 1955

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 1986: It is no longer adequate to be born in India to be granted Indian citizenship.
  • At the time of birth, one of the parents must be an Indian citizen.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 1992: The bill to eliminate discrimination against women in the matter of citizenship and their children, 
  • A person born after 26 January 1950 but before the commencement of  this  Act shall be a citizen of India if the father is Indian at the time of birth; 
  • After the commencement of the Act, the person shall be citizen if either of the parents is Indian.
  • The act  replaces references to “male persons” with “persons”.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003: The Act was passed by the Parliament in December 2003, 
  • It is labeled “Act 6 of 2004“.
  • The Act introduced and defined the concept of an “illegal migrant” within the Citizenship Act, 1955, making provisions for potential imprisonment or deportation.
    
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2016: Exemption of  certain groups of illegal migrants from provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.
  • These groups consist of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
    

Understanding the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019: Features, Exceptions, and Criticisms in India

• The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAA Bill) was introduced in 2016 in the Lok Sabha through an amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955.
  
• Citizenship by Naturalisation: The CAA was passed to provide Indian citizenship to the illegal migrants who entered India on or before 31st December 2014 by naturalization.
• Proposed Amendments to Multiple Acts: The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 intends to make changes in the Citizenship Act, the Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act.
  • If the illegal migrants are members of religious minority communities from three neighboring countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

• Migrants of Six Community: Illegal migrants who are Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian and originate from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are eligible for Indian citizenship.
• Based on Persecution on the Ground of Religion: CAA intends to make it easier for persecuted people from India’s neighbouring countries to become citizens of India.
  • The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is applicable to individuals who were “forced or compelled to seek shelter in India due to persecution on the ground of religion,” aiming to safeguard them from illegal migration proceedings.
• Residency Requirements and Special Provisions: An individual will qualify under this act if they have lived in India for the past 12 months and for 11 out of the previous 14 years.
  • • For the designated category of illegal migrants, the residency requirement has been reduced from 11 years to five years.
• Date for Naturalisation: The cut-off date for citizenship is December 31, 2014, which means the applicant should have entered India on or before that date.
• Granting Citizenship and Closure of Legal Proceedings:
  • These individuals will be considered citizens of India from the date of their entry into the country, and
    
  • All legal proceedings related to their illegal migration or citizenship status will be terminated.
• OCI Cardholders: People holding OCI cards can lose their status if they violate local laws for major and minor offenses and violations.

Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Exceptions:

• Safeguarding Tribal Territories: The provisions of CAA on citizenship for illegal migrants will not apply to the Sixth Schedule areas, i.e., the tribal regions of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura.
  • These tribal areas include Karbi Anglong (in Assam), Garo Hills (in Meghalaya), Chakma District (in Mizoram), and Tripura Tribal Areas District.
• Exemption of Inner Line Permit Areas: CAA will also not apply to the Inner Line Permit areas under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.

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