Dual citizenship

On December 31, 1974 India and Portugal restored diplomatic relations and signed a Treaty to recognise India’s sovereignty over Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. As per this Treaty, Portugal recognised with retrospective effect the sovereignty of India over the territories which had constituted the Portuguese “Estado da India” from the date of their integration into the Union of India. The Portuguese Nationality Law of 1975 provides that Goans, born before December 20, 1961 up to the third generation, are entitled to Portuguese citizenship, if they opt for it. This provision did not evoke much interest in Goa until 1986 when Portugal joined the European Union. Then, many Goans seeking employment abroad found that a Portuguese passport would provide them easy access to the more affluent European countries. 

About 150 countries permit dual citizenship in some form or the other. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao considered permission for dual citizenship in view of persistent demands, particularly from the diaspora in North America and in some other countries. However, this proposal was ultimately dropped. 

Some of our neighbouring countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, allow some kind of dual citizenship. Pakistan permits dual citizenship to citizens from 13 Western countries as well as from Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Pakistanis with dual nationality are forbidden to run for public office, contest elections or join the military. On September 20, 2012, the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified 11 lawmakers, including Interior Minister Rahman Malik, for failing to disclose their dual nationality. Bangladesh permits dual citizenship to persons of Bangladeshi origin who are citizens of the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and countries of the European Union. According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, “A person shall be disqualified for election, or for being a Member of Parliament if he acquires the citizenship of, or affirms or acknowledges allegiance to a foreign State.” Sri Lanka is the only Asian country that permits full dual citizenship. The persons with dual citizenship of Sri Lankan origin have the same rights as the other Sri Lankan citizens. 

A high-level Committee on the Indian Diaspora was set up in 2000 under the chairmanship of Dr L. M. Singhvi to prepare a comprehensive Report on the Indian Diaspora and to recommend measures for a constructive relationship with it. The Report of the Committee was submitted to Prime Minister Vajpayee in January 2002. It recommended that dual citizenship should be permitted and that Sections 9, 10 and 12 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 should be suitably amended. The Report further recommended that persons of Indian origin, who are nationals of any of the 16 countries (including Portugal) mentioned in the Schedule, should be eligible for dual citizenship. The Report also recommended that those who acquire dual citizenship should not be entitled to exercise electoral franchise and should not be inducted into the civil services or the defence or paramilitary forces except by a special order of the Central Government. The Government of India accepted these recommendations. In December 23, 2003 Parliament enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 and Rules giving effect to the Act were notified in March 2004.

The Government of India formulated the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Scheme and the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Scheme for the benefit of persons of Indian origin who hold foreign nationality. The PIO card was issued to Indians who have been staying abroad for a couple of generations while the OCI card was granted to more recent emigrants. The validity of the PIO card was fifteen years whilst the OCI card is for life. There are some other benefits that the OCI enjoys which were not available to PIO card holders. In 2011, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh announced that the OCI and PIO cards would be merged. Thereafter, the Ministry of Home Affairs introduced in Parliament the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2011 to merge the OCI and PIO cards and to create the “Overseas Indian Cardholder Scheme”. The Overseas Indian Cardholder is granted a lifelong visa to India, exemption from registration at the FRO for any length of time of stay in India and parity with resident Indians in financial, economic and educational matters except those relating to acquisition of agricultural property.

A foreigner, the spouse of an Indian citizen, is also eligible for the OCI Card after two years of marriage to an Indian citizen. The moratorium has been provided to avoid misuse of this provision. The Intelligence Bureau found that some foreign nationals were getting married to Indian nationals and indulged in the narcotic trade. It also found that some foreign nationals married an Indian or person of Indian origin merely to prolong their stay in India. After getting married and acquiring an OCI card there was no scrutiny to find out whether they were staying with the Indian national. It was observed that some such foreigners do not inform about their separation and continue to enjoy the privileges provided under this category of visa.

In 2014, I met the then Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Mullappally Ramachandran, who was in charge of the Foreigners Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Minister held a public meeting-cum-interactive session in Kerala on the January 2014 on questions relating to citizenship, OCI, extension of visas and related matters. There were several persons in Kerala who had acquired Pakistani citizenship in order to work in Pakistan and were now facing problems like those faced by some Goans who acquired Portuguese nationality. I had requested the Minister to hold a similar meeting-cum-interactive session in Goa and he agreed to do so. In the meantime elections took place and the present Government came to power.

(The writer is a former Union Minister)