PANJIM: Former Advocate General Carlos Alvares Ferreira said that as per the Portuguese citizenship law, those who register their births in the Portugal Civil Registry acquire Portugal nationality and other benefits. Cancellation of birth registration in Lisbon does not revive Indian citizenship because as per the Indian Constitution, persons voluntarily.
This is completely contrary to the official stand taken by former NRI Commissioner Dr Wilfred Mesquita who in 2014 clearly outlined, in a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs, that registration of birth in Portugal does not tantamount to citizenship and it is only “Cartao de Cidadao”, a document which makes the applicant a Portuguese citizen.
Adv Carlos Alvares disagreed with Dr Mesquita, a man of eminence, who held the vital position of NRI Commissioner, Goa, with cabinet rank status, by saying, “This was incorrect. Goans were under the wrong impression,” he said, urging the Centre to introduce some sort of amnesty in the matter.
Dr Mesquita pointed out that no Goan who had his birth registered in Portugal can travel to that country without obtaining a visa from the Portuguese Consulate in the State. “Those having “Cartao de Cidadao” do not need such a visa, which goes to show that only these people are considered by Portugal as having Portuguese citizenship.”
Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira has however urged the Government of India to amend the Citizenship Act that will allow people an option to retain either of the citizenship within a certain time frame. Adv Ferreira urged the Centre to immediately issue a stop-gap measure to protect them.
“The problem has arisen when Goans are going to the Regional Passport Office to renew or cancel their Indian passports. As there is a three-year time frame to surrender, the authorities are revoking the passport instead of cancelling when the deadline has lapsed. Hence, Goans cannot apply for an Overseas Citizen Card (OCI) and the visa is also denied. Hence, they cannot travel to India. I believe they should get an extension to surrender their passport. Some may have misplaced the passport, didn’t travel abroad, or forgot about surrendering it. Also, some have suppressed facts and got their Indian passport renewed, but were subsequently caught. Some persons held Indian passports but didn’t travel. Some people held the Indian passport for sentimental reasons,” he said.
Adv Alvares also said, “The issue does not belong to one particular community. A lot of youngsters today who are non-Catholics have taken Portuguese passports, which means they have registered their parents’ births first. That does not mean that they should be put out of Goa and the nation.”