Posted on: 17-02-08 10:21:57
Hello Guys,
I hope someone can shed some light about obtaining Indian citizenship through spouse.
A short synopsis: I am an Indian citizen who's been married to my wife for 10+ years. She holds a Canadian Citizenship at present and would like to gain Indian NRI/Citizenship status.
What forms and what procedures do I need to abide in order for me to apply for her Indian citizenship? How long does the process take?
Your insight will be highly valued.
Thank you,
Leo
Quote:
Originally posted by bhaumick
Hello Guys,
I hope someone can shed some light about obtaining Indian citizenship through spouse.
A short synopsis: I am an Indian citizen who's been married to my wife for 10+ years. She holds a Canadian Citizenship at present and would like to gain Indian NRI/Citizenship status.
What forms and what procedures do I need to abide in order for me to apply for her Indian citizenship? How long does the process take?
Your insight will be highly valued.
Thank you,
Leo
______________________________________________________________
Hello Leo,
Citizenship is a POLITICAL process by which you acquire the rights to a membership in the community, generally a COUNTRY.
Citizenship is 'concomitant' with Nationality. (Goes together)
Currently, the Indian Government is formulating the rules and will publish them for all of us to know what they will be. (You can provide them with an insight into your case and ask them if it could be accomplished and after what length of time.)
{Sonia Gandhi is in the same boat as you are and you may please address the same to her also and ask what it is they are doing and get the current updates on this, in detail}. She will be one of the individuals that will benefit the most by this, the topic under discussion.
There is no DUAL citizenship permitted in there in India, as it restricts you in not permitting to participate in the political matters, such as voting, holding offices or in employment within. OCI is the status that is closest to, but not totally equal to DUAL Citizenship. (Either they are protecting themselves or the legal begles are working around it, thereby sticking to their guns.)
Now your spouse can travel and stay in the country as your wife (legally married to a person, who is an INDIAN CITIZEN) and might require the reporting of her stay there in India every six months to the Police, as a foreigner. Later on if they make it retroactive, the period of stay might count towards the qualifying time. How far back they will go to provide the relief is currently under review.
This is what my understanding is, thus far, in the matter and it is not upto date.
Thanks for asking.
Freddie.
If you wife qualifies for OCI, she can get it, hold the card for 5 years and stay in India for a year during those 5 years and file for citizenship in India. She will have to give up Canadian citizenship though since India does not allow dual citizenship.
The other option will take more time. Here is the link http://www.mha.nic.in/citi.htm
Sonia Gandhi acquired Indian citizenship in 1983.
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Yes it is correct, as I note from the link provided.
Here is the crunch about the DUAL citizenship.
""""Procedure
Application in relevant Form for grant of Indian citizenship by registration under section 5 has to be submitted to the Collector/District Magistrate of the area where the applicant is resident. The application has to be accompanied by all the documents and fees payments as mentioned in the relevant Forms. It is very important that applications are complete in all respects otherwise valuable time of the applicant would be lost in making good the deficiencies after they were detected. The application along with a report on the eligibility and suitability of the applicant is to be sent by the Collector/District Magistrate to the concerned State Government/UT Administration within 60 days. Thereafter, the State Govt./UT Administration shall forward the application to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India within 30 days.
Each application is examined in MHA in terms of the eligibility criteria under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 1956. If the applicant is not fulfilling the eligibility criteria, communication to this extent would be sent through the State Govts./UT Administration. Any deficiency in the application would be brought to the notice of the applicant through the State Govt./ UT Administration. The applicant, thereafter, has to make good the deficiency through the State Govts./UT Administration. No correspondence would be made directly with the applicant. However, a copy of the correspondence through the State Govts./UT Administration would be marked to the applicant. Each applicant whose case is found to be eligible after scrutiny of application is informed about the acceptance of his application through the State Government. The applicant should not renounce his foreign citizenship till the citizenship application is accepted and informed of the decision. The applicant is then required to furnish through the State Government, a certificate of the renunciation of his foreign citizenship issued by the mission of the concerned country, proof of fee payment as per SCHEDULE IV of the Act, and personal particulars in Form-V. Thereafter, a certificate of Indian citizenship is issued to the applicant through the State Government.""""
The conditions are the same in United States and in India, which demands that you "Renounce the Foreign Citizenship" to obtain the Indian Citizenship.
In the united States they say that they can have DUAL Citizenship and yet they demand that they renounce One to get Another. That is not DUAL citizenship.
So, the laws have to be changed to accommodate the same. In the US the Lawyers are mulling over it. In India they are sitting on it. That is what I know as facts as this hits the net.
To keep abreast of these, either you have to be a lawyer or have access to the legal updates on a daily basis.
Freddie.
