Citizenship by descent
Topic: Citizenship: Idea and Indian Law · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Citizenship"
Meaning
Citizenship by descent is citizenship for a child born outside India because a parent is an Indian citizen. It comes from Section 4 of the Citizenship Act 1955 and follows jus sanguinis, the rule that citizenship passes through blood (parents), not place of birth. Before 10 December 1992, only the father's citizenship counted. After that, either parent counts. For births from 3 December 2004, the birth must be registered at an Indian consulate within one year. The parents must also declare that the child holds no other country's passport.
Example
A child born in London in 2010 to an Indian mother and a British father can be an Indian citizen by descent. The birth must be registered at the Indian consulate within a year, with the declaration about the passport.
Don't confuse with
- Citizenship by birth: this is for children born inside India (Section 3). Descent is for children born outside India.
- A common trap: "descent is only through the father" is false today. It changed with the 1992 amendment.
Related concepts
- Citizenship Act 1955
- Citizenship by birth
- Citizenship by registration
- Citizenship by naturalisation
- Citizenship by incorporation of territory