Pl read this long post as some of the residents may have children and grandchildren abroad and the story may be similar. My apologies for the long post
"I would like to share a painful story of the son and daughter in law and two small children of my friend with you who asked me for advice and help in their personnel matter. It was sad and painful for me to tell them I cannot help at present at all as entry of foreign citizens is banned in India due to corona virus. My friend’s son, Daughter in law and two children are in USA. Both children aged 6 years and 2 year were born in America and both Indian parents were working there. Now due to changes in the rules made by USA government they have to leave the country within 60 days and notice already served to them. They went to airport to board a Vande Bharat fight to India. They got tickets and were told that they could board the flight but not their children as they were not Indian citizen but American citizen. They had to go to a hotel to stay. They have only 40 or more days in America.
I asked them only one questions only as the children were born after 3 Dec 2004 that did they register their children after their birth within a year at the Indian Embassy or not? Sadly their reply was no and added that they did not know. Here lies the problem. Section 4(2) of the Citizenship act 1955 states that:-
“A person born outside India on or after 3rd December, 2004 shall not be a citizen of India, unless the parents declare that the minor does not hold passport of another country and his birth is registered at an Indian consulate within one year of the date of birth or with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period.”
This means the all children who are born to Indian parents in America or any other country are not Indian Citizens unless the registration procedure was followed. Probably the parents were scared that if they register then their children will lose American citizenship which is automatic since they were born in America and they did not want that to happen. They were unaware of the fact that the child born in other countries gets the citizenship of that country because of his birth there provided the country act permits it like USA and the registration of birth with the Indian Consulate does not bar this citizenship but on attaining the age of 18 years (After becoming adult) the child needs to intimate the consulate his desire as to which citizenship he wishes to retain as Indian Act does not permit dual citizenship. The painful outcome may be, in the worst case scenario, that if the parents deported after 60 days as illegal residents then the children will be transferred to child care home or foster parents. They also said that there are many more people like then stranded. The Embassy has also regretted that they cannot help due to instructions from Indian government banning the entry of foreign national in India.
I could offer them sympathy only and the only advice I could give was that to ask the Indian groups in America to pressure the embassy to take up such cases to the Indian government for relaxation on urgent basis or send a mail to foreign minister in India for help in this matter. More than that the option of court is not suitable as they will have to come to India or the last option was that to somehow manage to stay in America till this restriction is lifted and then come to India and do necessary. paperwork here. "
The birth and death registration act also gives some reprieve to the parents in terms of sixty days period for the registration of birth of their children born in other countries provided they are returning permanently back to India under Registration of Birth and Death Act 1969 under section 20 of the act..
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