Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 sent to Joint Committee
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Rajnath Singh sent to Joint committee to examine the bill after resistance from opposition.
The Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Citizenship Act, 1955:
The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides
various ways in which citizenship may be acquired. - It provides for citizenship by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and by incorporation of territory into India.
- In addition, it regulates registration of Overseas Citizen of India Cardholders (OCIs), and their rights.
- An Overseas Citizen of India is entitled to some benefits such as a multiple-entry, multi-purpose life-long visa to visit India.
Highlights of the bill:
1.Definition of illegal migrants:
The Act prohibits illegal migrants from acquiring Indian citizenship. It
defines an illegal migrant as a foreigner: (i) who enters India without a valid
passport or travel documents, or (ii) stays beyond the permitted time.
- The Bill amends the Act to provide that that the following groups of persons will not be treated as illegal migrants:
(i) Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains,
Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan,
(ii) who have been exempted from
provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the Foreigners
Act, 1946 by the central government.
The 1920 Act mandates foreigners to
carry passport, while the1946 Act regulates the entry and departure of
foreigners in India.
2. Citizenship by naturalisation:
The Act allows a person to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, if the person
meets certain qualifications. One of the qualifications is that the
person must have resided in India or been in service of the central government
for at least 11 years before applying for citizenship.
- The Bill creates an exception for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, with regard to this qualification. For these groups of persons, the 11 years’ requirement will be reduced to six years.
These include:
(i) if the OCI has registered through
fraud, or
(ii) within five years of registration
has been sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more, or
(iii) it becomes necessary in the
interest of sovereignty and security of India, etc.
The Bill adds one more ground for
cancelling registration, that is, if the OCI has violated any law that is in
force in the country.
