Sri Lanka: 1) Citizenship status in India of a person born 1948 to Tamil parents in India and who subsequently moved to Sri Lanka and took up Sri Lankan citizenship; 2) Citizenship status in Botswana of a person born 1988 in Botswana to Sri Lankan parents temporarily resident in Botswana
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LKA2359 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sri Lanka: 1) Citizenship status in India of a person born 1948 to Tamil parents in India and who subsequently moved to Sri Lanka and took up Sri Lankan citizenship; 2) Citizenship status in Botswana of a person born 1988 in Botswana to Sri Lankan parents temporarily resident in Botswana, 1 October 1989, LKA2359, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aafb70.html [accessed 7 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
1) Please find attached a copy of the relevant sections of the Indian Constitution which cover citizenship. Section 9 (nine) mentions that no person who shall be a citizen of India by virtue of the eligibility requirements established in Sections 5 (five), 6 (six), and 8 (eight) if that person has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state. This would seem to preclude the possibility of holding dual citizenship. The current application of this law is not available to the IRBDC at the present time. As a note, it should be added that India has a substantial Tamil population, particularly in the state of Tamil Nadu. Consequently, the person concerned may have parents who are Indian citizens.
The Department of External Affairs commented in 1986, with regards to an ethnic Chinese born in India in 1954, that as a minor child of aliens, this person would not automatically have acquired Indian citizenship but merely the right to apply for Indian citizenship upon becoming an adult. In the case of an ethnic Chinese, External Affairs further noted that obtaining Indian citizenship in this manner requires making an application to the Indian High Commission stating that the person had never obtained Chinese citizenship. Then the applicant would have to live in India for five years before being eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. It is not known if the same procedure applies to persons born of Sri Lankan Tamil parents in India.
2) Please find attached a copy of the relevant sections of the Constitution of Botswana. Included is the Citizenship Act and the Citizenship Amendment Act 1984. The latter piece of legislation, section 2 (two) mentions that " A person born in Botswana shall be a citizen of Botswana by birth and descent if, at the time of his birth, a) his father was a citizen of Botswana; or b) in the case of a person born out of wedlock, his mother was a citizen of Botswana." The current application of this legislation is unavailable to the IRBDC at the present time. Botswana has no diplomatic representation in Canada and consequently, an answer cannot be obtained through the Department of External Affairs.
