Tuesday, February 18th, 2025

This facility is available in America-Pakistan but not in India…What is the tension of Foreign Minister Jaishankar?


New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had recently said in a program that there are many challenges in giving dual citizenship to Indians settled abroad. Earlier, in December 2023, the External Affairs Minister had also said that there are many difficulties in the way of granting dual citizenship to Indians settled abroad. he/she said that the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) campaign is a step towards meeting this demand. While interacting with entrepreneurs, Jaishankar had then said that there are economic and security challenges to the countries where Indians living should be provided dual citizenship. Do you know what dual citizenship is, in which countries it is available and in which countries it is not? Let us understand what challenges may arise in providing this.

What is dual or multiple citizenship, first know it

Dual or multiple citizenship refers to the legal status given to individuals who simultaneously hold citizenship of two or more countries. Such persons have the privilege of participating in the political affairs of both countries, receiving visa exemption for travel, and employment in either country. They are also entitled to hold passports of both countries. Such people enjoy social and legal rights like other citizens. Some countries like the US, Finland, Albania, Russia, Israel and Pakistan allow dual citizenship with certain legal provisions.

Dual citizenship is not allowed in India

The Indian Constitution does not allow its citizens to hold citizenship of another country at the same time. If an Indian has acquired citizenship of any other country, his/her Indian citizenship ceases immediately. Similarly, if a foreigner wants to get Indian citizenship, he/she will have to give up the citizenship of his/her country of origin.

OCI card is not for people of Pakistan or Bangladesh

However, the Government of India runs the OCI program for Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), which excludes people from Pakistan and Bangladesh. At the same time, OCI cardholders can avail multiple-entry lifetime visa and certain privileges in India. They do not have the right to vote or contest elections in the country.

dual citizenship

What is the difference between a refugee or a migrant?

Refugees are forced to flee their country due to fear of persecution. At the same time, migration of a migrant from his/her country may be due to employment, family, education etc. However, it does not involve harassment. Also, the migrant (whether in his/her own country or in another country) gets the benefit of many types of protection from his/her own country.

What are the exemptions available under dual citizenship?

Dual citizenship allows a person to participate fully in the political functioning of both countries and is exempt from visa requirements when traveling. This also provides an automatic work permit. Apart from this, many types of facilities are also available.

OCI

Indian citizenship to these people of Bangladesh and Pakistan

The Citizenship Act, 1955 is a comprehensive law regarding the acquisition, determination and cancellation of Indian citizenship after the coming into force of the Constitution. This Act provides for single citizenship in India, that is, a citizen of India cannot be a citizen of any other country. Many amendments have been made in this Act. After the new amendment, there is a provision in this Act to grant Indian citizenship to people belonging to six minority communities (Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Christians and Sikhs) of Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

How to get Indian citizenship, understand

Any person born in India after the coming into force of the Constitution of India i.e. 26 January 1950 is a ‘citizen of India by birth’. Under another provision of this, any person born in India after July 1, 1987 is a citizen of India, if either of his/her parents was a citizen of India at the time of his/her birth. The second provision is to grant citizenship on the basis of inheritance or blood relation. Under this, one condition is that if a person is born outside India, then either of his/her parents should be a citizen of India at the time of his/her birth. Based on the graphic given below, know how to get Indian citizenship.

Indian citizenship

Also know this provision of granting citizenship

The second condition is that it is mandatory to register the child born abroad in the Indian Embassy within one year. If they do not do so, then that family will have to take separate permission from the Government of India. In this provision, the provision of granting citizenship to a person born abroad on the basis of mother’s citizenship was made through the Citizenship Amendment Act 1992. The third provision is to grant citizenship through registration.

Indian citizenship

How can Indian citizenship be terminated?

Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 mentions the termination of citizenship of a person. There are three ways in which a person can lose his/her Indian citizenship. If an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of any other country, his/her Indian citizenship will automatically be terminated.
If an Indian citizen voluntarily renounces his/her citizenship, his/her Indian citizenship will be terminated. Know from the graphic below on which grounds citizenship can be revoked.

What are the challenges of dual citizenship before India?

There is no provision for dual citizenship in the Indian Constitution. India cannot give dual citizenship to Tamil or Rohingya refugees. India has limited economic resources with which only the needs of the country’s citizens can be met. Apart from this, India faces the problem of ascertaining the identity of Tamil refugees and illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka. People living in refugee camps are economically weak. In such a situation, they easily fall into the trap of anti-national elements. There is also a possibility of demographic change in a particular area due to refugees.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *