Constitutional text

At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and — (a) who was born in the territory of India; or (b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or (c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

History and context

Before 1950, India had no citizenship law. Colonial governance created subjects of the Crown, not citizens of a nation. The Constituent Assembly had to create citizenship from scratch in the immediate aftermath of Partition, which had caused millions of people to cross borders between India and the newly formed Pakistan. The framers faced a fundamental choice: should citizenship be based on ancestry (jus sanguinis, the principle of blood), or on domicile (the intention to live in India as home)? They chose domicile. B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru both emphasised that independent India should be a civic nation, not an ethnic one. Anyone who called India home and had lived there sufficiently long could become a citizen, regardless of religion, caste, or ancestry. The five-year residence requirement was a practical accommodation for the many people who had migrated to India from neighbouring territories in the years before 1950.

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Last reviewed: 3 July 2026