Losing citizenship, OCI and the diaspora

Detail

1. Three ways to lose Indian citizenship (Citizenship Act 1955)

• Constitutional base.
• Art. 9: a person who voluntarily takes another country's citizenship is not an Indian citizen under Part II.
• Art. 11: Parliament can make laws on how citizenship is gained and lost. Sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Citizenship Act 1955 are those laws.

Mode	Section	Who starts it	Who it applies to	Nature
Renunciation	s.8	The citizen	Any adult citizen of full capacity	Voluntary
Termination	s.9	The law itself	Any citizen who voluntarily takes foreign citizenship	Automatic
Deprivation	s.10	Central government, after an inquiry	Only citizens by registration or naturalisation	Compulsory (a penalty)

Renunciation (s.8)

• Renunciation of citizenship means a citizen gives up Indian citizenship by their own choice. They make a formal declaration.
• Steps:
• An adult citizen makes a declaration of renunciation.
• The declaration is registered.

• The person stops being an Indian citizen.

• Minor children: when a parent renounces, the parent's minor children also lose citizenship.

• A child can resume citizenship by making a declaration within 1 year of turning 18.

• War exception: while India is at war, the government can withhold registration of the declaration. This stops people from giving up citizenship to escape duties in wartime.

• Data: the government reports renunciation numbers in Parliament.
• Indians who renounced citizenship: 1,34,561 (2018), 1,44,017 (2019), 85,256 (2020), 1,63,370 (2021), 2,25,620 (2022) [5].
• Later figures: 2,16,219 (2023) and 2,06,378 (2024) [6].
• The government told Parliament that the reasons are personal and known only to the person [5].

Termination (s.9)

• Termination of citizenship means Indian citizenship ends automatically when a citizen voluntarily takes another country's citizenship. No order or declaration is needed.
• Proof: under the Citizenship Rules, getting a foreign passport is treated as proof of taking foreign citizenship.
• War exception: termination does not apply to a citizen who takes foreign citizenship while India is at war, until the Central government directs otherwise.
• Disputes: if there is a question about whether, when or how a person took foreign citizenship, the Central government decides it.

Deprivation (s.10)

• Deprivation of citizenship means the Central government takes away citizenship by an order, after an inquiry. It is a penalty.
• Who it covers: only citizens by registration or naturalisation. Citizens by birth or descent cannot be deprived under s.10.
• Grounds: the person
• got citizenship by fraud, false statement or hiding a material fact;
• showed disloyalty or disaffection towards the Constitution by act or speech;
• traded or communicated unlawfully with the enemy during a war;
• was imprisoned for 2 years or more within 5 years of registration or naturalisation;

• has lived abroad continuously for 7 years, without being a student or in government service abroad and without yearly registering an intention to keep Indian citizenship.

• Safeguard: there must be an inquiry before the order. The government must also be satisfied that keeping the person as a citizen is not "conducive to the public good".

The result: no dual citizenship

• Dual citizenship means being a full citizen of two countries at once.
• Art. 9 and s.9 end Indian citizenship as soon as a person takes another. So India has single citizenship and does not allow dual citizenship.

2. Diaspora categories

Non-Resident Indian (NRI)

• A Non-resident Indian (NRI) is an Indian citizen who lives abroad. The NRI is still a full citizen.
• "NRI" is not a status in the Citizenship Act. It is defined by number of days spent in India, for income tax and foreign exchange law.
• Voting:
• An NRI can register as an overseas elector under Representation of the People Act 1951, s.20A, added in 2010.
• The NRI must vote in person at their polling station in India. There is no postal or proxy vote for NRIs.

Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card

• The PIO card was an identity card for foreign citizens of Indian origin. It was started in 1999 and revised in 2002.
• It allowed visa-free travel to India for 15 years.
• Merger with OCI (2015):
• 6 January 2015: the Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance 2015 was issued. It moved the eligibility and extra benefits of the PIO card into the OCI card [8].

• 9 January 2015: the PIO card notification was withdrawn. Every valid PIO card holder was deemed to be an OCI cardholder under s.7A(2) [7].

• The 2015 changes also allowed OCI registration for:

• a minor child of Indian citizens;
• a child, grandchild or great-grandchild of such a citizen;
• the spouse of an Indian citizen or of an OCI, if the marriage is registered and has lasted at least 2 years [8].

Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), ss.7A-7D

• Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is a long-term registration for foreign citizens of Indian origin. It gives them a lifelong visa and many economic rights, but not citizenship.
• Timeline:
• 2003: "overseas citizenship" was created by an amendment to the Citizenship Act.
• 2005: it was widened to persons of Indian origin from all countries except Pakistan and Bangladesh. The amendment came in August 2005 [3].

• January 2006: the first cards were issued. The scheme was launched at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2006 in Hyderabad [3].

• Who can register (s.7A): persons of Indian origin who were Indian citizens on or after 26 January 1950, or who were eligible to become citizens on that date [3].

• Who is barred:
• anyone who is, or was, a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh;
• anyone whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a citizen of those countries;

• citizens of any other country the Central government names [3].

• Scale: about 40.68 lakh OCI cards had been issued by 31 January 2022 [3].

OCI gives	OCI does NOT give
Lifelong multiple-entry visa to visit India for any purpose [2][3]	Right to vote [2][3]
No need to register with police (FRRO/FRO), however long the stay [2][3]	Seat in Parliament, Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council [2]
Parity with NRIs in economic and educational matters, e.g. adoption, domestic airfares, working as doctors, lawyers, architects or chartered accountants [3]	Constitutional posts: President, Vice-President, judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court [2][3]
Indian-resident fees at national monuments and wildlife sanctuaries [3]	Equal opportunity in public jobs (Art. 16). Only posts the government specially notifies are open [2][3]
—	Agricultural land, farmhouses or plantation property [2]

• Rules now in force: OCI rights are listed in MHA Gazette Notification S.O. 1050(E) of 4 March 2021 [2].

• Under this notification, an OCI needs special permission for research, missionary or Tabligh work, mountaineering, journalism, and visits to protected or restricted areas.

• Re-issue of the card: the card needs re-issue only once after turning 20. For other passport renewals, the OCI uploads the new passport online instead of getting a new card [3].

• Cancellation (s.7D): the Central government can cancel OCI registration. Grounds include:
• registration got by fraud;
• disaffection towards the Constitution;
• helping the enemy in war;
• a jail sentence of 2 years or more within 5 years of registration;

• action needed in the interest of India's sovereignty, security or public interest.

• Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act No. 47 of 2019) added clause (da) to s.7D [4].

• This allows cancellation if an OCI cardholder breaks the Citizenship Act or any other law that the Central government names in the Official Gazette [4].
• Safeguard: no cancellation order can be passed until the cardholder has been given a chance to be heard [4].

• Criticism: "any law" is very wide. It could cover minor offences, such as parking in a no-parking zone [4].

• Not dual citizenship. Despite its name, OCI is not citizenship. It is a kind of permanent visa with economic rights. The MEA says it "is not to be misconstrued as dual citizenship" and gives no political rights [3].

L.M. Singhvi Committee (2002)

• The High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora, headed by L.M. Singhvi, reported in 2002.
• It recommended:
• dual citizenship for some persons of Indian origin. The government's answer was overseas citizenship, created in 2003;
• celebrating Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on 9 January, the day Gandhi returned from South Africa in 1915.

Prelims Hooks

• s.8 = renunciation (voluntary), s.9 = termination (automatic), s.10 = deprivation (compulsory, after an inquiry).
• Deprivation applies only to citizens by registration or naturalisation. It cannot be used against citizens by birth or descent.
• A minor who loses citizenship with a renouncing parent can resume it within 1 year of turning 18.
• Deprivation grounds include 2+ years in jail within 5 years of registration or naturalisation, and 7 years' continuous residence abroad.
• NRI = Indian citizen; OCI = foreign citizen. An NRI can vote in person (RPA s.20A, 2010). An OCI cannot vote at all.
• PIO card (1999) merged into OCI on 9 January 2015, through the Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance of 6 January 2015 [7][8].
• OCI is barred for anyone who is, or whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was, a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh [3].
• OCI rights are set out in MHA notification S.O. 1050(E), 4 March 2021. An OCI cannot buy agricultural or plantation land [2].
• The CAA 2019 added s.7D(da): OCI can be cancelled for breaking any notified law, after a hearing [4].
• Trap: "OCI is a form of dual citizenship." This is false.

Mains Points

• Dual citizenship debate: the Singhvi Committee (2002) wanted dual citizenship. India chose OCI instead.
• For: OCI keeps single citizenship and political loyalty intact.

• Against: about 2 lakh Indians renounced citizenship every year in 2022-2024 [5][6]. This suggests that the ban on dual citizenship pushes skilled people to cut legal ties with India.

• OCI cancellation and the rule of law: the 2019 ground of "violation of any law" [4] gives the executive wide discretion.

• A hearing is required, but cancellation could follow even a minor offence. This makes life uncertain for lakhs of OCI families.

• Reform: list the specific serious offences, and add a proportionality test.

• Deprivation only for naturalised or registered citizens: this creates two tiers of citizens, because a naturalised citizen's status is less secure.

• Defence: the state is protecting itself against fraud and disloyalty in acquired citizenship.

• Diaspora participation: NRIs must vote in person (RPA s.20A), so very few of them vote.

• Postal or proxy voting for NRIs could widen participation, but it raises problems of secrecy and verification.