Goans born abroad before 1961 deemed Indians

Goans born abroad before 1961 deemed Indians
TNN | Apr 9, 2013, 04.50 AM IST

READ MORE Union Ministry Of Home Affairs|Born Abroad|Manohar Parrikar|Goa Legislative Assembly

PANAJI: The Union ministry of home affairs recently confirmed to the Goa government that persons of Goan origin who were born abroad before liberation shall be deemed to have become citizens of India. This is provided their parents or their grandparents were born before December 20, 1961 in Goa, Daman and Diu and they had not made a written declaration to retain the citizenship they had immediately before December 20, 1961.

This was stated in the Goa legislative assembly by chief minister Manohar Parrikar in reply to a calling attention motion by Tivim BJP MLA Kiran Kandolkar. The MLA said there was fear in the minds of people that Goans born outside India are being denied Indian passports on the grounds of citizenship. He wanted to know what steps the government is taking to address the problem.

In his written reply, Parrikar said that the commissioner for NRI affairs had taken up the issue with the Union ministry of home affairs in July 2012.

Parrikar also said that persons of Goan origin who were born abroad to Goan parents holding Indian citizenship after liberation, provided their births have been registered in Indian missions abroad.

The ministry clarified that Section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, provides Indian citizenship by descent to persons born outside India between January 1, 1950 to December 9, 1992, if their father was an Indian citizen at the time of their birth, and those born outside India on or after December 10, 1992, if either of their parents is a citizen of India at the time of their birth and their birth has been registered with the Indian mission abroad within a period of one year of their birth or with the permission of the central government after the expiry of one year and they had not held the passport of another country.

Accordingly, persons who were born abroad to Goan parents holding Indian citizenship as per Goa, Daman and Diu (citizenship) Order 1962, shall be citizens of India provided their births have been registered in Indian missions abroad.

Parrikar’s reply also gave the following details. The ministry of home affairs vide notification dated March 28, 1962, had notified the Goa, Daman and Diu (Citizenship) order, 1962 under powers vested in the central government by Section 7 of the Citizenship Act 1955. The order envisaged that every person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents was born before December 20, 1961, in the then union territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, shall be deemed to have become citizens of India on that day, except where any such person had made a declaration in writing within one month that he had chosen to retain the citizenship which he had immediately before December 20, 1961.