Parliament’s Power to Regulate the Right of Citizenship by Law (Article 11)
Indian Polity › Citizenship · Topic 5.6
Article 11 gives Parliament power to regulate acquisition, termination and all other matters of citizenship by law. The Citizenship Act, 1955 is the law made under it and was amended in 1985, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019.
4 min read · UPSC Prelims · Polity · Citizenship
At a Glance
- What it is Article 11: Parliament has the power to make any provision about the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship
- Law made under it The Citizenship Act, 1955
- Amended in 1985, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019
- Why needed The Constitution identifies only the citizens at its commencement
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Citizenship
Where Does It Fit?
Articles 5 to 10 settled citizenship at the commencement and its continuance. Article 11 is the link to the later law. It lets Parliament decide how citizenship is acquired and lost, and the Citizenship Act, 1955 is the law made under it.
What Does Article 11 Say?
Parliament shall have the power to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship. The Constitution contains neither permanent nor elaborate provisions on citizenship. It only identifies the persons who became citizens on 26 January 1950 and does not deal with acquisition or loss afterwards, leaving these to Parliament.
What Law Did Parliament Make?
Parliament enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955, which provides for acquisition and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution. It has been amended from time to time. The five ways of acquiring citizenship are birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory, and the three ways of losing it are renunciation, termination and deprivation; both are taken up in the next topic.
How Has the Act Been Amended?
| Amendment | Main change noted |
|---|---|
| Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985 | Special provisions for persons covered by the Assam Accord |
| Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 | Repealed the provisions on Commonwealth citizenship; provided for Overseas Citizenship of India for persons of Indian origin of 16 specified countries other than Pakistan and Bangladesh |
| Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005 | Expanded OCI to persons of Indian origin of all countries except Pakistan and Bangladesh whose home countries allow dual citizenship |
| Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015 | Created the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder scheme by merging the PIO and OCI card schemes |
| Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 | Special provisions for migrants of six communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan; the Act came into force on 10 January 2020 |
What Are the Modes of Acquiring and Losing Citizenship?
The Act prescribes the following modes.
| Acquiring citizenship | Losing citizenship |
|---|---|
| Birth | Renunciation |
| Descent | Termination |
| Registration | Deprivation |
| Naturalisation | — |
| Incorporation of territory | — |
The Act also made special provisions for persons covered by the Assam Accord and for migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan. Overseas Citizenship of India, which is a card and not citizenship, was added by later amendments.
Why Is Article 11 Important?
Article 11 means that citizenship law can change with time without a constitutional amendment, since Parliament can amend the Citizenship Act by an ordinary law. The Constitution itself fixes only the initial body of citizens, and the later body of citizens is shaped by the Act and its amendments.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- The source of the Act It is the constitutional authority for every later citizenship law
- Direct Prelims material The list of amendments and their main changes can be asked directly
What Came Next?
The next topic describes the Citizenship Act, 1955 and its modes of acquiring and losing citizenship.
Key People and Terms
- Article 11 Parliament’s power over citizenship
- Citizenship Act, 1955 The law on acquisition and loss of citizenship
- Assam Accord Basis of the 1985 amendment
- Commonwealth citizenship Repealed in 2003
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Article 11: Parliament regulates citizenship by law.
- Law: Citizenship Act, 1955.
- Amendments: 1985, 2003, 2005, 2015, 2019.
- The Constitution identified only the citizens at 26 January 1950.
- Commonwealth citizenship was repealed in 2003.
Do Not Confuse With
- Article 10 and Article 11 Article 10 continues citizenship; Article 11 empowers Parliament to legislate
- Constitutional and statutory citizenship Citizens at commencement come under the Constitution; later acquisition and loss come under the Act
- 2003 and 2005 amendments The 2003 Act covered 16 countries; the 2005 Act extended to all countries except Pakistan and Bangladesh
Memory Hook
Article 11 hands citizenship to Parliament, which wrote the 1955 Act and amended it in 1985, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019.
Mains Angle
Questions ask why citizenship is left to ordinary law. Use these points to add depth.
- Flexibility Parliament can adjust citizenship law to changing needs
- A growing Act The amendments responded to the Assam issue, the diaspora and migrants from neighbouring countries
- Constitutional limits Any citizenship law must remain within the Constitution
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Why does the Constitution leave citizenship to Parliament, and how has Parliament used the power?”
How to Answer
- Introduction Article 11 and the limited constitutional provisions.
- The Act Citizenship Act, 1955.
- Amendments The five amendments and their purposes.
- Conclusion Citizenship law can evolve by ordinary law.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Article 11 provide?
Article 11 gives Parliament the power to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship. The Constitution itself identifies only the persons who became citizens at its commencement, so Parliament makes the later rules by law.
Which law was made under Article 11?
Parliament enacted the Citizenship Act of 1955 under this power. The Act provides for the acquisition and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution, and has been amended from time to time, most recently in the amendments of 2015 and 2019.
Why does the Constitution leave citizenship to Parliament?
The Constitution contains neither permanent nor elaborate provisions on citizenship. It only identifies who became citizens on 26 January 1950, and does not deal with acquisition or loss afterwards, so it empowers Parliament to make a law on these matters.
When was Commonwealth citizenship repealed?
Originally the Citizenship Act of 1955 also provided for Commonwealth citizenship. This provision was repealed by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2003, which also made provision for Overseas Citizenship of India for persons of Indian origin of 16 specified countries.
What did the 1985 amendment of the Citizenship Act do?
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 1985 added special provisions for the citizenship of persons covered by the Assam Accord, which related to the foreigners issue in Assam, including persons of Indian origin who came from Bangladesh before 25 March 1971.
What did the 2015 amendment change?
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2015 introduced the scheme of Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder by merging the PIO card scheme and the OCI card scheme. The PIO scheme was rescinded from 9 January 2015.
When did the 2019 amendment come into force?
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 came into force on 10 January 2020. It made migrants of certain communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 eligible for Indian citizenship.
Can citizenship law be changed without amending the Constitution?
Yes. Because Article 11 empowers Parliament to make provision on all matters relating to citizenship, the Citizenship Act can be amended by an ordinary law of Parliament, and no constitutional amendment is needed for such a change.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Article 11 empowers Parliament to regulate citizenship by law.
The law made is the Citizenship Act, 1955.
2 The Citizenship Act, 1955 was enacted before the commencement of the Constitution.
It provides for acquisition and loss of citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.
3 Commonwealth citizenship provisions were repealed in 2003.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 repealed them.
4 The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into force on 10 January 2020.
It deals with migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan.
5 A constitutional amendment is needed to change the modes of acquiring citizenship.
Parliament can do so by amending the Citizenship Act under Article 11.
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