With the Centre deciding to constitute an authority to resolve the matter of dual citizenship, and with Collectors to be designated in Goa as the authority to take decisions on the matter, Commissioner for NRI Affairs
Dr Wilfred Mesquita in an interview with Abdul Wahab Khan said that the window for people to voluntarily appear before the designated authority to prove Indian citizenship will be open for a limited period of time
Q: People are giving you credit for the central government’s decision to expedite the matter concerning dual citizenship. What prompted you to write a letter to the Centre?
I am grateful to the people for acknowledging my effort. Seeing the plight of senior citizens, who were forced by children to transcribe their birth abroad to enable them to obtain Portuguese citizenship for better job prospects, the state government in 2013 wrote a letter to the central government stating that a person does not cease to be an Indian citizen as per the Citizenship Act, 1955, by just transcribing his or her name in the central registry of Lisbon. Hence, it was recommended not to consider such people having obtained foreign citizenship. The recommendation has been accepted by the high-level committee.
Q: How many Goans have registered their birth with the central registry of Lisbon?
There is no such record available with any of the government agencies. Neither does the Portuguese government share with us this information, nor do we have any means to access the information, which is kept under secrecy. We only have the records of those who have surrendered their Indian passport.
Q: How should the government take up the initiative to identify the number of Goans who have registered their birth with the central registry of Lisbon?
There is no way the government can identify such people, unless the people willingly disclose such information, because Goans who have registered their birth in Lisbon either travelled there or got it done through agents thereby surpassing the authority.
Q: What rights and benefits do such people enjoy after having registered their birth in Portugal?
As per the Portuguese law, those who register their name in the central registry of Lisbon automatically become Portuguese nationals as Portugal recognises dual or multi-nationality.
However, by just registering their birth, they are neither entitled for any rights or benefits under that country’s law nor can they become European Union (EU) citizens. Not only that, if they want to travel to Portugal, then they have to travel with an Indian passport.
Q: Does registration of birth with the central registry of Lisbon disqualify a person from being an Indian citizen?
As I told you, Goans who were born prior to the state’s liberation are entitled to opt for Portuguese citizenship, which can be obtained by submitting a simple application. Since they cannot even travel to Portugal by registering their name with the central registry, such people cannot be considered Portuguese citizens by the Indian government. There is no law in India which suggests that by transcribing birth in another country, it amounts to losing Indian citizenship.
Q: Since the District Collectors will be appointed by the high-level central panel to decide on the dual citizenship issue, who is safe now and who is unsafe from among those who have just registered their birth or those who have taken steps to seek Portuguese passport and citizen card?
People who have voluntarily acquired Portuguese passport or those who have taken steps to seek citizen card and foreign passport are very unsafe as it amounts to an offence if the Indian passport has not been surrendered. Opting for another country’s citizenship without renouncing the Indian citizenship is illegal, as Indian law does not permit dual citizenship. We have not pleaded for these people and we will not plead for people who have acquired the foreign citizenship and returned their Indian passport. People have been blaming their circumstances for what they are and hence they cannot blame anybody and nobody can blame them since they have willingly acquired foreign citizenship for a purpose.
Q: There have been allegations that several public servants, including MLAs and MPs have registered their names in the central registry, which they claim has not been done by them or done without their knowledge. How do you expect them to approach before this authority since it has to be a voluntary act?
It is wrong for a person to claim that his name has been registered in the central registry without his knowledge. Now the central government has given the right opportunity to people so as to forgive them for the misadventure and cancel their birth registration at Lisbon. It is an opportunity given to Goans who want to cancel their registration at Lisbon. If the notification, which is not yet released, suits them, then they will definitely come forward and if they don’t want to come forward, then what more can we do.
Q: Will there be any political influence on the designated authority while deciding on these applications?
The authority designated by the central government will be constituted for a fixed period of time and inquire in just, fair, reasonable and a transparent manner on the applications received without any political influence. There will be a cut-off time given to the people, who have had their name transcribed in central registry of Lisbon to come forward and swear an affidavit to cancel their birth registration there. I presume there was a series of discussions that were held in the past with the central authorities that this matter will be resolved once and for all. The authority headed by the District Collector would be allowed to decide on the issue in a time-bound manner and not take years.
Q: Since the Collectors are burdened with administration work of the district including the recent ordinance appointing them as authorised officers under the Goa Regularisation of Unauthorised Construction Ordinance, 2016, how do you think this added task of deciding on dual citizenship matter will be taken up and resolved in time?
Yes, I agree that there will be burden on the authority. However, all this will depend on the number of applications that will be received within the given period of time. I expect many senior citizens to come forward and swear an affidavit before the designated authority stating that they wish to remove their names from the central registry of Lisbon and declare that they are Indian citizens and whatever mistake they committed consciously or unconsciously, thus be rectified.