Which of the following statements relating to the citizenship of India

Which of the following statements relating to the citizenship of India is/are correct?

A person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950, but before 10^th day of December 1992, if his/her father is a citizen of India at the time of his/her birth shall be a citizen of India by descent.
A foreigner who is being illegal migrant can acquire Indian citizenship on application for naturalization to the Government of India.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1 only

2 only

Both 1 and 2

Neither 1 nor 2

Answer is Right!

Answer is Wrong!

This question was previously asked in

UPSC SO-Steno – 2017

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Statement 1 is correct. According to Section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, as it stood before the amendment in 1992, a person born outside India on or after January 26, 1950, was a citizen of India by descent if their father was a citizen of India at the time of their birth. This rule was in effect until the amendment that came into force on December 10, 1992, which allowed citizenship by descent if either parent was a citizen.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Citizenship Act, 1955, explicitly prohibits “illegal migrants” from acquiring Indian citizenship by naturalization. While the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 created a special pathway for specific categories of illegal migrants from certain countries to become citizens, this is not through the general process of naturalization under Section 6 of the Act, and the statement is a broad generalization that is incorrect under the existing citizenship law framework for illegal migrants.

An illegal migrant is defined as a foreigner who enters India without valid travel documents or stays beyond the permitted period of time. The 1992 amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955 made the rule for citizenship by descent gender-neutral, allowing citizenship if either parent was an Indian citizen at the time of birth abroad.

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