PANAJI
While the circular has caught many off guard, the Member of Parliament (South Goa) Francisco Sardinha was informed about the issue by a concerned citizen seeking his intervention, through a letter on August 12, this year.
The citizen highlighted a widespread misunderstanding regarding the process of acquiring Portuguese citizenship.
According to a letter available to The Goan, many individuals of Goan origin mistakenly believed that getting a Portuguese passport meant they had completed the citizenship acquisition process. This misconception led them to continue using their Indian passports, even renewing them when they expired.
“In a bid to rectify this oversight, many voluntarily approached the Regional Passport Office and Indian Missions abroad to surrender their Indian passports. However, due to the misunderstanding surrounding the sequence of events required for obtaining Portuguese citizenship, a substantial number of individuals received Revocation Certificates instead of the intended Surrender Certificates. This situation arose as a result of invoking Section 10(3)(b) of the Indian Passport Act 1967 and the Ministry's circular dated November 30, 2022, which pertain to passports obtained through the suppression of material information or wrong information,” it states.
The concerned citizen claimed that Goan origin persons born before December 19, 1961, and their descendants up to the third generation have the legal right to apply for Portuguese citizenship according to prevailing Portuguese Law. However, complexity arises from the interaction between this right and the provisions of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955 as according to this Act, any Indian national acquiring citizenship of a foreign country automatically ceases to be an Indian citizen.
Furthermore, the Indian Passport Act of 1967 requires individuals acquiring foreign citizenship to voluntarily renounce their Indian citizenship and surrender their Indian passport within a 3-month grace period from obtaining foreign citizenship. They must also obtain a Surrender Certificate from the Regional Passport Office or the relevant Indian Mission abroad - an important step for those wishing to maintain a connection with India through visas and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status.
However, things drastically changed as the citizen stated, “The implications of this misunderstanding are significant. Those who have received Revocation Certificates are currently facing legal limbo. Despite their genuine intent to comply with the law, these individuals are ineligible for visas or OCI status, rendering their stay in India potentially illegal. It's crucial to note that these individuals have their permanent residences, families, and significant assets in India,” it said, seeking his intervention.”
The issue also extends to cases involving minor children whose parents inadvertently committed these violations while the children were still minors. The Goan attempted to reach out to MP Sardinha for comment, but he remained unavailable.
