Citizenship Act 1955

Topic: Citizenship: Idea and Indian Law · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Citizenship"

Meaning

The Citizenship Act 1955 (Act No. 57 of 1955) is the law Parliament made under Article 11 of the Constitution. It sets out how a person becomes an Indian citizen after 26 January 1950, and how a person stops being one. It also covers the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card [2].

It matters because the Constitution itself (Arts. 5-10) only decided who was a citizen on the day it began. Every later question is answered by this Act and its amendments, including the jus soli shift, the Assam migration issue, the NRC and the CAA 2019.

Explanation

Base in the Constitution and the five modes

• Part II of the Constitution (Arts. 5-11) decided only who was a citizen on 26 January 1950.
• Art. 11 lets Parliament make laws on getting and losing citizenship after that date.
• Parliament used this power to pass the Act on 30 December 1955 [2].
• The Act gives five modes (ways) of getting citizenship [2]:

Mode	Section	Who uses it
Birth	s.3	People born in India
Descent	s.4	People born outside India to an Indian parent
Registration	s.5	Certain groups with close links to India, who apply
Naturalisation	s.6 + Third Schedule of the Act	Any foreigner who meets long-residence and other conditions
Incorporation of territory	s.7	People of a territory that becomes part of India

• Loss of citizenship: the Act also lets a person lose citizenship in three ways:
• renunciation: the person gives it up by choice
• termination: it ends automatically when the person takes another country's citizenship
• deprivation: the government takes it away on grounds the Act lists.

Birth (s.3) and descent (s.4)

• Citizenship by birth: a person becomes a citizen because they were born in India, subject to conditions about the parents. Parliament made this rule stricter twice [2]:

Born in India	Condition	Law behind it
26 Jan 1950 – 30 Jun 1987	Citizen, whatever the parents' status	Original Act, 1955
1 Jul 1987 – 2 Dec 2004	At least one parent a citizen at the time of birth	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1986
From 3 Dec 2004	Both parents citizens, or one parent a citizen and the other not an illegal migrant	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003

• Why the 1986 change came:
• Large-scale migration from Bangladesh into Assam led to the Assam movement.
• Children born in India to migrant parents were becoming citizens automatically.

• So Parliament made a parent's citizenship a condition.

• Illegal migrant: a foreigner who enters India without valid travel documents, or who stays on after the allowed time ends [3].

• Who cannot get citizenship by birth, even if born in India:
• children of foreign diplomats, who have legal immunity (protection from Indian law)

• children of enemy aliens born in a place under enemy occupation.

• Citizenship by descent: a child born outside India becomes a citizen through an Indian parent [2]:

• 26 Jan 1950 – 9 Dec 1992: only if the father was a citizen

• from 10 Dec 1992: if either parent was a citizen (the 1992 amendment made the rule the same for men and women).

• Extra conditions for births abroad from 3 December 2004 (2003 amendment):

• The birth must be registered at an Indian consulate within one year. A later registration needs the Central Government's permission.
• The parents must declare that the child does not hold another country's passport.

Registration (s.5) and naturalisation (s.6)

• Citizenship by registration: the Central Government grants it on application. It is not automatic. Illegal migrants cannot apply. People who can apply:
• a person of Indian origin (PIO) ordinarily resident in India for 7 years
• a PIO ordinarily resident in a country outside undivided India
• a person married to an Indian citizen, after 7 years' ordinary residence in India
• minor children of Indian citizens
• an adult whose parents are registered as Indian citizens
• an adult with a parent who was once a citizen of independent India, after 1 year's residence [2]

• an OCI cardholder registered for 5 years, with 1 year's residence before applying.

• Every registrant must take an oath of allegiance (a promise of loyalty) to the Constitution.

• Citizenship by naturalisation: any foreigner who is not an illegal migrant can apply if they meet the Third Schedule of the Act:
• Residence (12 years in total): 12 months of continuous residence or government service just before applying, plus 11 years in the 14 years before that [2].
• 2015 relaxation: in special cases the Centre may relax the 12-month stay by up to 30 days [4].
• good character
• adequate knowledge of a language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution
• intent to live in India, or to serve the Indian government, an international body India belongs to, or an Indian company

• giving up any other citizenship, because India does not allow dual citizenship.

• Waiver: the Centre can drop any or all conditions for a person who has done distinguished service to science, philosophy, art, literature, world peace or human progress.

Incorporation of territory (s.7) and the CAA 2019 route

• Citizenship by incorporation of territory: when a foreign territory becomes part of India, the Centre decides by order which of its people become citizens, and from what date.
• Goa, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1962)
• Pondicherry (1962)

• Sikkim (1975).

• CAA 2019 fast track (proviso to the Third Schedule):

• Who it covers: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan [3].
• Entry cut-off: they must have entered India on or before 31 December 2014 [3].
• Shorter residence: the 11-year part falls to 5 years [3].
• Not illegal migrants: these groups are not treated as illegal migrants, so the bar on applying does not stop them [3].
• Areas left out: Sixth Schedule tribal areas (Karbi Anglong in Assam, Garo Hills in Meghalaya, Chakma District in Mizoram, Tripura Tribal Areas District) and Inner Line areas under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland) [3].

In the Constitution and practice

• Source of power: Art. 11 (Part II). The Act is ordinary law, so Parliament changes it by simple majority, without a constitutional amendment.
• Who runs it: the Central Government grants registration, naturalisation and incorporation orders. Birth and descent work automatically once the conditions are met.
• Amendment timeline:

Year	Main change
1985	s.6A added: special citizenship rules for migrants to Assam, following the Assam Accord
1986	Birth rule: at least one parent must be a citizen (from 1 Jul 1987)
1992	Descent through the mother allowed (from 10 Dec 1992)
2003	Illegal-migrant bar on birth, registration and naturalisation; s.14A (power to register citizens and issue national identity cards, the legal base for a National Register of Citizens, NRC); "overseas citizenship" created; Commonwealth-citizenship provisions removed
2005	OCI scheme widened
2015	PIO card merged into OCI; OCI opened to spouses and minor children of citizens and to great-grandchildren of former citizens; 30-day relaxation. In force from 6 January 2015; Rajya Sabha passed it on 4 March 2015 [4]
2019	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA), Act No. 47 of 2019: 5-year route for six religious groups from three countries; Sixth Schedule and Inner Line areas left out; new ground to cancel an OCI card, namely breaking the Citizenship Act or other notified laws [3]

• CAA in practice:
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024 were notified on 11 March 2024 [5].
• A District Level Committee processes each application first. A State Level Empowered Committee then checks it and grants citizenship [5].

• The first certificates went to 14 applicants in New Delhi on 15 May 2024 [5].

• Overall shift: India started with jus soli ("right of the soil", meaning citizenship by place of birth) in 1950. After 1987, and more so after 2004, it moved towards jus sanguinis ("right of blood", meaning citizenship through the parents). Birth in India alone is no longer enough.

Don't confuse with

• Part II of the Constitution (Arts. 5-10): these decided citizenship only on 26 January 1950. Everything after that date falls under the Act made under Art. 11.
• OCI cardholder vs citizen: an OCI cardholder is a foreign citizen of Indian origin with a lifelong visa and some rights. They cannot vote or hold constitutional office. India has no dual citizenship.
• Third Schedule of the Act vs Third Schedule of the Constitution: naturalisation conditions sit in the Act's Third Schedule. The Constitution's Third Schedule contains oaths. The language test, however, uses the Constitution's Eighth Schedule.
• Registration vs naturalisation: registration (s.5) is for people already linked to India (PIOs, spouses, children of citizens, OCI holders) and needs shorter stays. Naturalisation (s.6) is open to any foreigner but needs about 12 years' residence.

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 11 → Citizenship Act 1955: Parliament's power to regulate citizenship. Arts. 5-10 covered only the start of the Constitution.
• Birth-rule dates: 1 July 1987 (one parent a citizen, 1986 amendment); 3 December 2004 (both parents, or one parent with the other not an illegal migrant, 2003 amendment).
• Descent through the mother: only for births abroad from 10 December 1992.
• Naturalisation: 12 months + 11 of the previous 14 years = 12 years [2]. The CAA cuts the 11 to 5 for its groups [3].
• CAA 2019: six religions, three countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan), cut-off 31 December 2014 [3]. Muslims, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are not covered. Rules notified 11 March 2024; first certificates 15 May 2024 [5].
• Section–subject pairs: s.6A = Assam Accord migrants (1985); s.7 = incorporation of territory (Goa 1962, Pondicherry 1962, Sikkim 1975); s.14A = NRC power (2003).

Mains Points

• From jus soli to jus sanguinis:
• For it: the 1986 and 2003 amendments stop illegal migration from turning into automatic citizenship for the next generation, a key concern in Assam.

• Against it: children born in India to an illegal-migrant parent may become stateless (citizens of no country). This clashes with India's inclusive founding idea of citizenship.

• CAA 2019, equality and secularism:

• For it: the government calls it a humanitarian fast track for minorities persecuted for their religion in three neighbouring countries [3].
• Against it: critics say a religion-based list that leaves out groups such as Ahmadiyyas, Rohingyas and Sri Lankan Tamils may fail the reasonable-classification test of Art. 14 (equality before law) and weaken secularism.

• North-East: the Sixth Schedule and Inner Line exemptions show worries about the region's population balance and identity [3].

• Detection versus protection, and the diaspora:

• The illegal-migrant bar, s.14A (NRC) and s.6A (Assam's own cut-off) are tools to detect migrants. The CAA grants citizenship to refugees. The two pull in opposite directions, which supports the case for a clear refugee and asylum law, which India does not have today.
• Without dual citizenship, India keeps the diaspora connected through the OCI card (widened in 2005, merged with the PIO card in 2015 [4]) and the OCI-to-registration route. Whether to allow full dual citizenship remains open, given security and political-rights concerns.

Related concepts

• Citizenship by birth
• Citizenship by descent
• Citizenship by registration
• Citizenship by naturalisation
• Citizenship by incorporation of territory

Read more

• Acquiring citizenship: the Citizenship Act 1955