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 the citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

UPSC Civil Services Exam (Prelims) General Studies Official Paper-I (Held On: 10 Oct 2021)

Answer 1

The correct answer is 1 only

Key Points

A person cannot have more than one domicile.
- The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
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. Hence, Statement 2 is not correct.
The Citizenship Act, 1955:
- It prescribes three ways of losing citizenship whether acquired under the Act or before it under the Constitution, viz, renunciation, termination, and deprivation. Hence, Statement 3 is not correct.

Additional Information

Citizenship in India :
- The Citizenship Act offers other categories of citizenship like Citizenship by Registration (Section 5) and Citizenship by Naturalisation (Section 6).
- 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).
- Article 11: It empowers Parliament to make any provision concerning the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all matters relating to it.
- There are four ways in which Indian citizenship can be acquired: birth, descent, registration, and naturalization. The provisions are listed under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
- The Act does not provide for dual citizenship or dual nationality. It only allows citizenship for a person listed under the provisions above ie: by birth, descent, registration, or naturalization.