Govt. of India Takes Small Step Towards Dual Citizenship
Posted Jun 10, 2000

Some of you call and email us regarding dual citizenship issues and the impact of dual citizenship. In prior issues of the MURTHYBULLETIN, we discussed some new rights and privileges granted by the Government of India to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs). While these changes are widely seen as a significant move toward granting dual citizenship, no decision granting dual citizenship has been made so far.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) has now reported that on May 16, 2000, India’s External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, announced to the Indian Parliament that the office of the Chief Commissioner dealing with Non-Resident Indian issues has been transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of External Affairs. The intent of the transfer is reportedly to facilitate the participation of overseas Indians in the development of the country, including such aspects as investment, education, culture, technology and science. The Chief Commissioner’s office would also act as a communication link between the myriad organizations of Indians abroad and the Indian Government.

According to the same Press Trust of India (PTI) report, Minister Singh stated that the government was not ready to make a final decision on dual citizenship, though the issue was being examined in detail. Still the transfer of the office of the Chief Commissioner seems to be a small step toward a favorable consideration of this matter.

Though the MURTHYBULLETIN focuses primarily on U.S. immigration law, we recognize that PIO and dual citizenship issues are of interest to many of our readers. The Law Office of Sheela Murthy, P.C., will continue to post updates as further information becomes available.