|
|
|
|
SUBSCRIBE The leading Copyright |
Impact Of Dual Citizenship For Persons Of Indian Origin In The U.S.by Cyrus D. Mehta
On December 22, 2003, legislation was passed by the Indian Parliament to grant dual citizenship (a.k.a. Overseas Citizenship) to persons of Indian origin who are citizens of certain countries. The legislation will also grant Overseas Citizenship to Indian citizens who may take up the citizenship of these countries in the future. At present, this benefit is being extended to persons of Indian origin of the following 16 specified countries: Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States of America.
The second prong renders ineligible a person of Indian origin who is neither a citizen of India nor a citizen of a specified country as of December 22, 2003. Thus, a person who was a citizen of Austria (not a specified country) until December 22, 2003, and thereafter becomes a citizen of the US (a specified country), will not be able to apply for Overseas Citizenship.
At present, the Indian government has not yet established procedures or a prescribed form for application for becoming an Overseas Citizen of India. Applications may be made in India to the Collector within whose jurisdiction the applicant is ordinarily resident for transmission to the Central Government through the State Government or Union Territory Administration. The applicant living overseas may make the application to the Indian Consulate or the Indian Embassy, which has jurisdiction over the country of which an applicant is a citizen. This application will then be transmitted to the Central Government in India. The processing fee for an application for dual citizenship is proposed to be fixed at US $100. Further information will be published on the Ministry of Home Affairs website at http://mha.nic.in Benefits And Privileges An Overseas Citizen will be issued a registration certificate granting him or her such a citizenship. More important, the person will be granted an Overseas Citizen passport. Both the documents will need to be produced when traveling to India. There will be no requirement for a visa for travel to India as well as no registration formalities for staying in the country. The following additional benefits shall also be provided:
US Dual Nationality Policy Some persons of Indian origin in the US have expressed concern about being dual nationals, and whether such a status would interfere with their US citizenship status. The rest of the article will examine this issue. The concept of dual nationality means being a citizen of two countries at the same time. Each country establishes its own citizenship laws for the person holding dual nationality. The US government acknowledges that dual nationality exists but does not encourage it as a matter of policy because of the problems it may cause. Claims of other countries on dual national US citizens may conflict with US law, and dual nationality may limit US Government efforts to assist citizens abroad. The country where a dual national is located generally has a stronger claim to that person’s allegiance. Furthermore, dual nationals may owe allegiance to both the US and the foreign country. Either country has the right to enforce its laws governing taxation or military service, particularly if the person travels there. Most US citizens, including dual nationals, must use a US passport to enter and leave the US. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave the foreign country. Use of a foreign passport does not endanger US citizenship. Loss Of US Citizenship Section 349 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 USC § 1481) specifies several conditions under which a US citizenship may be lost. These include:
Example: Afroyim was a naturalized US citizen originally from Poland who moved to Israel in 1950. He tried to renew his US passport in 1960, but the State Department refused on the grounds that he had lost his citizenship by voting in an Israeli election in 1951. Afroyim sued the State Department, and the Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that he was still a US citizen. The Supreme Court held that Congress had no right to pass a law which had the effect of depriving an American of his citizenship without his assent.On April 16, 1990, the State Department adopted a new policy on dual citizenship, under which US citizens who perform a potentially expatriating act are normally presumed not to have done so with intent to give up US citizenship. Thus, the overwhelming majority of loss-of-citizenship cases nowadays will involve people who have explicitly indicated to US consular officials that they want to give up their US citizenship. Oath Of Allegiance US naturalization laws have always required an oath of allegiance as a prerequisite to naturalization. A person taking the oath states, in part: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen…..” One who takes the oath of allegiance is precluded from retaining dual allegiance. However, the prohibition against dual allegiance does not preclude dual citizenship. There may be situations where the oath may have been taken in bad faith, and thus may subject the naturalization to revocation. Take for example an Indian citizen who becomes a naturalized citizen of the US after taking the oath renouncing and swearing of allegiance to any other country. Under Indian law, the acquisition of US citizenship automatically voids Indian citizenship. This person immediately after naturalization applies for Overseas Citizenship. Would this application for Overseas Citizenship indicate that the person took the oath of allegiance to the US in bad faith? Impact Of Overseas Indian Citizenship On US Citizenship The acquisition of Overseas Citizenship to persons of Indian origin in the US should not jeopardize their existing US citizenship. It does not appear that applicants will have to take an oath of allegiance to India or even require them to renounce US nationality. The acquisition of Overseas Citizenship will not permit the dual national to vote in an Indian election or become a member of the Indian Parliament. Even the Indian government, in its announcements regarding dual citizenship in 2003, specifically indicated that persons seeking Overseas Citizenship should still continue to remain loyal to the countries where they are already citizens. The most problematic situation would involve a foreign naturalization accompanied by an oath of renunciation of US citizenship. Australia, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines have required such oaths. The closest parallel to the new Indian citizenship law is the Israeli “Right to Return,” where applications for recognition merely confirms a nationality already acquired. The “Right to Return” law has never been problematic with regards to a person’s US citizenship status. It can also be argued that Overseas Citizenship does not give an Indian the same rights as full Indian citizenship, and the former only accords better travel and residency privileges. Indeed, the benefits of Overseas Citizenship are substantially similar to the benefits given to Persons of Indian Origin card holders, which is similar to lawful permanent resident status (a.k.a. Green Card) in the US. Moreover, US policy in recent times has shifted away from stripping people of US citizenship, unless one explicitly informs a US consul that he or she wants to give up US citizenship.
About The Author |
Add to del.icio.us