Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part II, Article 11
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1. In One Sentence
Grants Parliament complete constitutional authority to make laws governing who can acquire, lose, or hold Indian citizenship after 26 January 1950.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 11 is the master empowering clause of Part II. The Constituent Assembly realized that writing a permanent, detailed citizenship code into the Constitution in 1949 would be rigid and inappropriate for a rapidly evolving nation.
Therefore, the Assembly limited Articles 5–10 to determining citizenship at commencement (26 January 1950) and used Article 11 to give Parliament full sovereign power to enact future citizenship laws—including provisions for acquisition, termination, registration, and naturalization.
Parliament exercised this authority by enacting the landmark Citizenship Act, 1955. This Act has since been amended several times (1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2015, and 2019) to address changing historical and security needs.
Editorial guidance: Anyone with questions regarding current citizenship eligibility, naturalisation, passport applications, or OCI status must refer to the Citizenship Act, 1955 and relevant Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines. This educational site does not provide legal advice.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A child born in Mumbai in 2010 applies for their first Indian passport.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Empowers Parliament with plenary legislative power over citizenship acquisition, termination, and regulation.
- Plenary power: Parliament is not constrained by Articles 5–10 when legislating for the future.
- Enactment of the Citizenship Act, 1955: Provides for citizenship by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation, and incorporation of territory.
- Subject to judicial review: Parliamentary statutes must comply with constitutional equality (Article 14) and basic structure principles.
- Educational disclaimer: Readers should consult statutory authorities for current citizenship procedures.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part II, Article 11 • Human source-link check pending
Official consolidated text of the Constitution published by the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
- •Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India • Act No. 57 of 1955 • Human source-link check pending
Statutory legislation enacted by Parliament of India.
- •Lok Sabha Secretariat (Parliament of India / Lok Sabha Secretariat) • Volume IX, 10 August 1949 • Human source-link check pending
Official verbatim record of Constituent Assembly proceedings published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.