Registration of birth of a minor born in Canada to Indian Citizen Parents

[GJS1714]

Hi All,

I want to understand if the Indian parents (citizen by birth) register the birth of their child who was born in Canada at Consulate of India, then what happens? Does the child lose Canadian Citizenship and benefits?

 

[hawk39]

Canada allows multiple citizenships, so no, the child will not lose Canadian citizenship if he/she also becomes an Indian citizen.

However, based on what I've read on Indian citizenship, the child will only be granted Indian citizenship if the parent declares that the child does not have a foreign (i.e.: Canadian) passport. And when the child turns 18 years old, he/she will have to decide which citizenship he/she wants to keep, as India does not allow multiple citizenships.

"4. Citizenship by descent.―2 [(1) A person born outside India shall be a citizen of India by descent,―​

(a) on or after the 26th day of January, 1950, but before the 10th day of December, 1992, if his father is a citizen of India at the time of his birth;​

or (b) on or after the 10th day of December, 1992, if either of his parents is a citizen of India at the time of his birth:​

​

Provided that if the father of a person referred to in clause (a) was a citizen of India by descent only, that person shall not be a citizen of India by virtue of this section unless―​

(a) his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of its occurrence or the commencement of this Act, whichever is later, or, with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period;​

or (b) his father is, at the time of his birth, in service under a Government in India: ​

​

Provided further that if either of the parents of a person referred to in clause (b) was a citizen of India by descent only, that person shall not be a citizen of India by virtue of this section, unless― ​

(a) his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of its occurrence or on or after the 10th day of December, 1992, whichever is later, or, with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period;​

or (b) either of his parents is, at the time of his birth, in service under a Government in India: ​

​

Provided also that on or after the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 (6 of 2004), a person shall not be a citizen of India by virtue of this section, unless his birth is registered at an Indian consulate in such form and in such manner, as may be prescribed,―​

(i) within one year of its occurrence or the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003(6 of 2004), whichever is later;​

or (ii) with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period:​

​

Provided also that no such birth shall be registered unless the parents of such person declare, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, that the minor does not hold the passport of another country.​

​

(1A) A minor who is a citizen of India by virtue of this section and is also a citizen of any other country shall cease to be a citizen of India if he does not renounce the citizenship or nationality of another country within six months of attaining full age.]​

​

(2) If the Central Government so directs, a birth shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to have been registered with its permission, notwithstanding that its permission was not obtained before the registration. ​

​

(3) For the purposes of the proviso to sub-section (1), 1 [any person] born outside undivided India who was, or was deemed to be, a citizen of India at the commencement of the Constitution shall be deemed to be a citizen of India by descent only."​

​

I think you should contact the Indian consulate and ask them about this.

 

[GJS1714]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Canada does allow dual citizenship but India does not. So that option is ruled out. I did write to Indian Consulate of Vancouver and got to know if the child registers birth at Indian Consulate then will have to acquire a status which the parent has in Canada. So if I am PR then the child has to be sponsored by me which will take around 17 months for his/her PR, with that I guess it will be too complicated on availing benefits and having to prove the birth country in future at every step.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Canada does allow dual citizenship but India does not. So that option is ruled out. I did write to Indian Consulate of Vancouver and got to know if the child registers birth at Indian Consulate then will have to acquire a status which the parent has in Canada. So if I am PR then the child has to be sponsored by me which will take around 17 months for his/her PR, with that I guess it will be too complicated on availing benefits and having to prove the birth country in future at every step.

1. Your child is a Canadian citizen. S/he can't be sponsored as a PR.

 

[hawk39]

The information I provided is from the Indian government website, so the consulate may have misunderstood your question. India knows that a child can involuntarily acquire citizenship from jus soli countries, hence the requirement to decide at age 18 when the child becomes an adult. This mechanism is actually pretty common with countries that do not allow dual citizenship, since a child can not be held responsible to make their own legal decisions until they become an adult. With that being said, the question you need to ask yourself, based on India's stance on dual citizenship, is if you want your child to be a Canadian citizen or Indian citizen.

 

[getcicky]

The information I provided is from the Indian government website, so the consulate may have misunderstood your question. India knows that a child can involuntarily acquire citizenship from jus soli countries, hence the requirement to decide at age 18 when the child becomes an adult. This mechanism is actually pretty common with countries that do not allow dual citizenship, since a child can not be held responsible to make their own legal decisions until they become an adult. With that being said, the question you need to ask yourself, based on India's stance on dual citizenship, is if you want your child to be a Canadian citizen or Indian citizen.

What passport would be used to travel? Does the Canadian passport need visa or OCI? How can the minor travel to and from India and Canada?

 

[hawk39]

What passport would be used to travel? Does the Canadian passport need visa or OCI? How can the minor travel to and from India and Canada?

If the parent wishes the child to be solely a Canadian citizen, then I believe OCI would be the only option available for the child to enter India visa-free. However, if the parent decides to register the child abroad and does not obtain a Canadian passport, the language of that law would suggest that if the child goes to India, then the child would have to stay in India as a Canadian passport would be required to return to Canada. This seems to suggest that this is India's way of introducing its prohibition on dual citizenship obtained through involuntary means.

FYI, I am not Indian so everything is just an educated guess based on what its written in their law.