Acquiring citizenship: the Citizenship Act 1955

Detail

The Act and its base in the Constitution

• Part II of the Constitution (Arts. 5-11) decided only who was a citizen when the Constitution began on 26 January 1950.
• Art. 11 gives Parliament the power to make laws on getting and losing citizenship after 1950.
• Parliament used this power to pass the Citizenship Act 1955 (Act No. 57 of 1955), dated 30 December 1955 [2].
• Citizenship Act 1955: the main law that says how a person becomes, or stops being, an Indian citizen.
• NCERT lists five modes (ways) of getting citizenship:

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

• The Act names the same five modes [2].

Citizenship by birth (s.3)

• Citizenship by birth: a person becomes a citizen because they were born on Indian soil, subject to conditions about the parents.
• Parliament tightened the rule twice:

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 at the time of birth	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003

• The Act's own text gives the same three bands, with the third starting on the commencement of the 2003 amendment [2].
• 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.

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

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

• Exclusions: two groups cannot get citizenship by birth even if born in India:
• children of foreign diplomats, who have legal immunity in India

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

• Jus soli to jus sanguinis:

• Jus soli ("right of the soil"): citizenship by place of birth.
• Jus sanguinis ("right of blood"): citizenship by the parents' citizenship.
• India began with jus soli in 1950. After 1987, and more so after 2004, it moved towards jus sanguinis. Birth in India is no longer enough on its own.

Citizenship by descent (s.4)

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

Born abroad	Condition
26 Jan 1950 – 9 Dec 1992	Father a citizen at the time of birth
From 10 Dec 1992	Either parent (father or mother) a citizen at the time of birth (1992 amendment, which made the rule gender-neutral)

• The Act's text sets out the same 10 December 1992 dividing line [2].
• Extra conditions for births 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 a passport of another country.

Citizenship by registration (s.5)

• Citizenship by registration: the Central Government grants citizenship on application to people with close links to India. It is not automatic.
• Bar: an illegal migrant cannot apply.
• Who can apply:
• a person of Indian origin (PIO) who has been ordinarily resident in India for 7 years before applying
• a PIO ordinarily resident in a country outside undivided India
• a person married to an Indian citizen who has been ordinarily resident in India for 7 years
• 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 in India [2]

• an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder registered for 5 years, with 1 year's residence before applying.

• OCI cardholder: a foreign citizen of Indian origin who holds a lifelong visa and some rights in India, but is not an Indian citizen. OCI cardholders cannot vote or hold constitutional office.

• Oath of allegiance: every registrant must swear loyalty to the Constitution of India before becoming a citizen.

Citizenship by naturalisation (s.6, Third Schedule)

• Citizenship by naturalisation: any foreigner (not an illegal migrant) can apply after meeting the conditions in the Third Schedule of the Act.
• Residence rule (12 years in total):
• 12 months of continuous residence or government service in India just before applying

• plus 11 years in the 14 years before that 12-month period [2].

• Relaxation from the 2015 amendment: if special circumstances exist, the Central Government may relax the 12-month stay by up to 30 days [4].

• Other conditions:
• good character
• adequate knowledge of a language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution (the list of 22 official languages)
• intent to live in India, or to serve the Indian government, an international organisation India belongs to, or an Indian company

• renouncing any other citizenship. India does not allow dual citizenship.

• Waiver: the Central Government can waive any or all of these conditions for a person who has done distinguished service to:

• science, philosophy, art or literature
• world peace

• human progress.

• CAA 2019 change (s.6, Third Schedule proviso):

• 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 requirement falls to 5 years for them [3].
• Not illegal migrants: they are not treated as illegal migrants, so the bar on applying does not apply to them [3].
• Areas left out: the Sixth Schedule tribal areas (Karbi Anglong in Assam, Garo Hills in Meghalaya, Chakma District in Mizoram, Tripura Tribal Areas District) [3].

• Also left out: Inner Line areas under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation 1873 (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland) [3].

• Rules and first grants:

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024 were notified on 11 March 2024 [5].
• Applications are first processed by a District Level Committee. A State Level Empowered Committee then checks them and grants citizenship [5].
• The first certificates were issued on 15 May 2024 in New Delhi, to 14 applicants [5].

Citizenship by incorporation of territory (s.7)

• Citizenship by incorporation of territory: when a foreign territory becomes part of India, the Central Government notifies by order who among its people become Indian citizens, and from what date.
• Examples:
• Goa, Daman and Diu (from Portugal) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (1962)
• Pondicherry (from France) (1962)
• Sikkim (1975).

Amendment timeline

Year	Amendment	Main change
1985	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1985	s.6A added: special citizenship rules for migrants to Assam, following the Assam Accord
1986	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1986	Birth rule tightened: at least one parent must be a citizen (from 1 Jul 1987)
1992	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1992	Descent through the mother allowed (from 10 Dec 1992)
2003	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003	Illegal-migrant bar on birth, registration and naturalisation; s.14A (power to register citizens and issue national identity cards, the legal base for an NRC, a National Register of Citizens); "overseas citizenship" created; Commonwealth-citizenship provisions removed
2005	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2005	OCI scheme widened
2015	Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2015	PIO card merged into OCI; OCI opened to spouses of citizens, minor children of citizens and great-grandchildren of former citizens; 30-day relaxation of the 12-month stay. Effective 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 naturalisation route for six religious groups from three countries; Sixth Schedule and Inner Line areas exempted; new ground to cancel an OCI card: breaking the Citizenship Act or other notified laws [3]. Rules notified 2024 [5]

Prelims Hooks

• Art. 11 lets Parliament regulate citizenship. The Citizenship Act 1955 is that law. Arts. 5-10 dealt only with citizenship at the start of the Constitution.
• Birth-rule dates: 1 July 1987 (one parent a citizen, 1986 amendment) and 3 December 2004 (both parents, or one parent with the other not an illegal migrant, 2003 amendment).
• Descent through the mother became possible only for births abroad from 10 December 1992.
• Naturalisation residence: 12 months + 11 of the previous 14 years = 12 years. The CAA cut the 11 to 5 for its groups.
• Trap: "Third Schedule" in naturalisation means the Third Schedule of the Citizenship Act, not the Constitution's Third Schedule (oaths). The language condition, however, refers to the Constitution's Eighth Schedule.
• CAA 2019: six religions (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, Christian), three countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan), cut-off 31 December 2014. Muslims, and the countries Sri Lanka and Myanmar, are not covered.
• Exempt from the CAA: Sixth Schedule tribal areas and Inner Line areas (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland).
• Citizenship (Amendment) Rules 2024 notified 11 March 2024. First certificates issued 15 May 2024.
• Section–subject pairs: s.6A = Assam Accord migrants · s.7 = incorporation of territory (Goa 1962, Pondicherry 1962, Sikkim 1975) · s.14A = NRC (2003).
• 2015 amendment merged the PIO card into the OCI. An OCI cardholder can seek registration after 5 years as OCI plus 1 year's residence.

Mains Points

• From jus soli to jus sanguinis.
• The change: the 1986 and 2003 amendments moved India from citizenship by birthplace to citizenship by parentage.
• For it: it stops 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 end up stateless, which conflicts with India's inclusive founding idea of citizenship.

• The CAA and equality.

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

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

• The illegal-migrant bar, NRC and the Assam link.

• The tools: the 2003 amendment added the illegal-migrant bar and s.14A (the NRC power), and s.6A gives Assam its own cut-off.
• The clash: together they make detecting migrants and giving citizenship to refugees pull in opposite directions.

• For an answer: use this to argue that India needs a clear refugee and asylum law, which it does not have today.

• Diaspora links without dual citizenship.

• The approach: India does not allow dual citizenship. Instead, the OCI card (widened in 2005, merged with the PIO card in 2015) and the OCI-to-registration route keep the diaspora connected to India.
• The debate: whether to move to full dual citizenship, given security and political-rights concerns.