Embassy of India

Hanoi, Vietnam

A person born outside India on or after 26 January 1950 but before 10 December 1992 is a citizen of India by descent, if his father was a citizen of India by birth at the time of his birth. In case the father was a citizen of India by descent only, that person shall not be a citizen of India, unless his birth is registered at an Indian Consulate within one year from the date of birth or with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period.

A person born outside India on or after 10 December 1992 but before 3 December 2004, is considered as a citizen of India if either of his parents was a citizen of India by birth at the time of his birth. In case either of the parents was a citizen of India by descent, that person shall not be a citizen of India, unless his birth is registered at an Indian Consulate within one year from the date of birth or with the permission of the Central Government, after the expiry of the said period.

A person born outside India on or after 3 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.

Procedure

Application for registration of the birth of a minor child to an Indian consulate under Section 4(1) should be made in Form-I accompanied by an undertaking in writing from the parents of such minor child that he does not hold the passport of another country.

With effect from 1 July 2012, it is mandatory to apply online for grant of Indian Citizenship. Please visit MHA websitehttp://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in for registration details and for online registration of citizenship.

Every Indian citizen staying in a foreign country, who has not acquired citizenship of a foreign country and has completed 18 years as on 1st January of the year, can make an application in form 6 A for registering in the voter roll for his/her constituency (place of residence in India as mentioned in the passport). The application can be presented to the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Particulars and addresses of these EROs and form 6 A, along with guidelines for filling up the form, can be obtained from the official website of the Election Commission of India http://eci.nic.in.

The application forms should be sent directly to the EROs of the constituency. Documents to be submitted with the application form include one recent passport size colour photograph (with a light background and showing the full face of the applicant), self-attested photocopies of relevant pages of passport containing the photograph and all other particulars of the applicant as also the page containing a valid visa.

Once enrolled,the Indian national living abroad will be able to cast vote in the election in the particular constituency for which one would have to be physically present on the day of election at the polling station along with the original passport. Please note that there is no provision of voting by post, or voting at Indian Missions abroad or online voting.