Indian Citizenship





Indian Citizenship is decided according to the national law of the country. India is presently providing a single Indian Citizenship for those residing in the land. All the matters related to the Indian Citizenship are dealt according to the rules laid down in the articles numbered 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, in the Part II of the Constitution of India.

The Indian legislation has undergone many changes as per the Citizenship Act 1955, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1992, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003 and the Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance 2005. Indian Citizenship can be acquired through various modes, like, by birth, by registration, by descent and by naturalization. All the amendment acts related to the Indian Citizenship come into being only after the President's authorization.

The issue of the renunciation of the Citizenship of India is explained in the Citizenship Act 1955, in the Section 8. If an adult denies his Citizenship of India, his minor child automatically looses citizenship of the country. The automatic termination of Indian Citizenship is dealt in details in the Section 9 of the Indian Citizenship Act 1955. There are also rules laid down in the Indian Constitution for the Oversees Indian Citizenship. Provisions for the Person of Indian Origin or the POI Card is also available in the country.


The Article dealing with the Indian Citizenship are mentioned below:

  • Article 5: This Article is about Indian Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution
  • Article 6: Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan are mentioned in this Article
  • Article 7: This Article deals with Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan
  • Article 8: Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India are dealt with in this Article
  • Article 9: This Article specifies that Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign state are not to be citizens of the country
  • Article 10: The Continuance of the rights of citizenship is mentioned in this Article
  • Article 11: This Article empowers Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law




Last Updated on 28 September 2012