India Abandoned Birthright Citizenship Twice, Quietly, by Statute

Article summary

Litigation in the United States over birthright citizenship has drawn attention to a comparison India rarely examines: both countries began with a form of jus soli — citizenship by place of birth — but only one entrenched it constitutionally. The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, adopted in 1868, provides that all persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens, a guarantee interpreted broadly and alterable only through the amendment process. India took a different route. Part II of the Constitution, Articles 5 to 11, settled who was a citizen at commencement and expressly left the subject to Parliament thereafter, so citizenship law in India is ordinary legislation. The Citizenship Act, 1955 originally granted citizenship to anyone born in India — near-unconditional jus soli. That was narrowed twice by simple statutory amendment. From 1 July 1987, a person born in India acquired citizenship only if at least one parent was an Indian citizen; from 3 December 2004, both a stricter condition applies — one parent must be a citizen and the other must not be an illegal migrant. India therefore shifted decisively toward jus sanguinis, citizenship by descent, without a constitutional amendment and with comparatively little public argument.