Thousands Of Goans Are Giving Up Their Indian Passports In Search Of A Better Life
As thousands of Indians from other parts of the country flee to Goa as the season amps up, it’s interesting to note that the union territory’s own locals are leaving the sunshine state in the thousands too. And it’s all thanks to the Portuguese Nationality Law.
Dual citizenship has been a hot topic of debate that has been festering in Goa ever since the departure of Portuguese colonisers in 1961. Under the above-mentioned law, those born in Goa before its liberation from the European nation’s rule on December 19, 1961 can claim Portuguese citizenship after registering their births in Lisbon and their next three generations can also claim citizenship. However, since India’s nationality law doesn’t allow dual citizenship and recent years have seen a rush of Goans giving up their Indian passports to claim their Portuguese identity. The matter of citizenship garnered even more attention at a national level when two government post holders, Glenn Ticlo of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Caetano Silva of the Goa Vikas Party, had complaints filed against them in 2014 for holding Portuguese citizenship, which renders them unable to hold positions in the government, vote, or buy agricultural land.
As quoted by The Navhind Times, the Consul General of Portugal in Goa, Dr Rui Carvalho Baceira in 2014 clarified the qualifications for Portuguese citizenship saying,“the registration of birth in Portugal, as per the existing Portuguese laws will entitle a person to possess Cartão de Cidadão, a Portuguese Citizen Card, which has been primarily designed to replace the older Bilhete de Identidade or Identity Card,” Dr Baceira made clear that a holder of the Cartão de Cidadão would make them a citizen of Portugal.
When an order was issued by Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, in 2014, to find a permanent solution to the issue, Dr. Baceira, who was newly appointed at the time, stated to reporters at The Economic Times, “you become a Portuguese citizen when you have an identity card. Passport is just a document that allows you to travel to Portugal. None from Goa born before 1961 (when the state was liberated from Portuguese rule) becomes Portuguese citizen, unless he applies for it.” Dr. Baceira separated his nation from the ongoing debate in India; their laws are clear and this issue has “nothing to do with Portugal.” He emphasised on the point that birth before 1961 would not automatically make you a Portuguese citizen, and if an applicant has all the necessary documents in place then their request has to be complied with.
It’s not about Portugal at all
There are those who have not given up their Indian passports, but for many Goans, this inability to vote and buy farmland doesn’t seem like much of a loss since holding a EU passport is much more desirable. For some, it’s a sense of Portuguese kinship that has driven their decision, but for most people it seems that the readiness to give up their status as Indians is based on the perks that come with having EU citizenship, such as, greater sources of income, better health and education facilities; travelling within the European Union nations becomes easy with the Schengen Agreement that makes the visa requirement redundant. As such, most Goan applicants don’t even end up in Portugal, but choose to reside in the more prosperous neighbouring countries.
Many erstwhile colonies suffer the effects of colonisation till today. The pendulum swings between the option to follow laws set by our past rulers, or those created by an independent nation, while respecting the rights of an individual. Creating a balance on this scale has grown to be a challenge and the issue of dual nationality is a hard one to solve. The Goan government has reached out for guidance from the State as the region loses a growing number of citizens; 11,500 people surrendered their Indian passports in favour of Portuguese citizenship in the five years between January 31,2008 and January 31, 2013 alone, according to data from the Election Commission of India, as quoted by Scroll.in. This is a particularly important phenomenon to investigate when you take into consideration the huge identity crisis Goa is undergoing either way. With millions of non-Goans migrating into their land, if they give up the right to stand for elections right now, it could threaten the very fabric of their way of life.
But it’s not as easy as it seems.
Any person born in Estado da India Portugues before the takeover of the Indian republic would by jus soli, right of soil, be a Portuguese national and their next three generations do have the right to Portuguese citizenship by jus sanguinis, right of blood. But both categories, those born before 1961, more importantly, and their future generations need their births registered not only in the Goan registries but also integrated into the Portuguese civil registry services in Portugal.
A lot of confusion and misconceptions float around the concepts of nationality and of holding a passport of a particular region, and the difference between the two. A passport is an issued travel document whereas nationality and citizenship is far more complicated. We do not hold that our position and/or opinion being stated here is the absolutely correct one, again there is confusion and misconceptions that prevail, and it’s only the lawmakers and governments of India and Portugal who can come together, clear up and clarify the entire process, necessities and possibilities when it comes to this subject. Only time will tell whether multiple nationality will eventually be legally granted to citizens of the multicultural global village that we live in today. And whether it stands to be beneficial to the Goan state and its people at all.
