Q. With reference to India, consider the following statements:

1. There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
2. A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
3. A foreigner once granted citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  • 1 only
  • 2 only
  • 1 and 3
  • 2 and 3

Answer:

Notes:
  • The Citizenship Act offers other categories of citizenship like Citizenship by Registration (Section 5) and Citizenship by Naturalisation (Section 6).
  • These are basically for foreigners who wish to settle in India and seek Indian citizenship or persons of Indian origin living abroad who want to return to India and live as citizens in this country.
  • Citizenship is listed in the Union List under the Constitution and thus is under the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament.
  • The Constitution does not define the term ‘citizen’ but details of various categories of persons who are entitled to citizenship are given in Part 2 (Articles 5 to 11).
  • Unlike other provisions of the Constitution, which came into being on January 26, 1950, these articles were enforced on November 26, 1949, itself, when the Constitution was adopted.
  • A person is said to have a domicile in a country in which he/she is considered to have his/her permanent home. There is only one domicile allowed in India. Domicile Certificate can be made only in one State/UT.
    • In 2010, the Uttarakhand High Court declared that there is no separate domicile for each State and there is only one domicile for the entire country. 
  • The Indian Constitution provides for only a single citizenship, that is, the Indian citizenship. The citizens in India owe allegiance only to the Union. There is no separate state citizenship. Also, when an Indian citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, his Indian citizenship automatically terminates.
    • The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously.
  • In India, both a citizen by birth as well as a naturalized citizen is eligible for the office of President while in the USA, only a citizen by birth and not a naturalized citizen is eligible for the office of President.
  • The Citizenship Act, 1955, prescribes three ways of losing citizenship whether acquired under the Act or before it under the Constitution, viz, renunciation, termination, and deprivation.
  • A foreigner, who has been earlier granted Indian citizenship, can be deprived of his citizenship. His Indian citizenship can be terminated by the Central government, if: 
    • he has obtained the citizenship by fraud: 
    • he has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India: 
    • he has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war; 
    • he has, within five years after registration or naturalisation, been imprisoned in any country for two years; and 
    • he has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously.