Nepali woman married to Indian citizen has to wait for seven years to apply for Indian citizenship

Sujit Mainali / November 30, 2016

Photo: Youtube/SagarmathaTV

During an interview with STV Chat aired on Sagarmatha TV on November 10, CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gyawali said:

“Here [in Nepal], naturalized citizenship through matrimony can be acquired within 24 hours…but in India…Nepali women married off to Indian citizens…cannot even apply for [Indian] citizenship for seven years.”

South Asia Check has examined whether Gyawali’s statement that a Nepali woman married off to an Indian national has to wait for seven years to apply for Indian citizenship, is fact-based or not.

India’s Citizenship Act-1955 has mentioned the requirements to be fulfilled by foreigners marrying Indian citizens to apply for citizenship.

Clause 5(c) of the Act says:  ‘a person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration.”

According to this clause, a Nepali woman who is married to an Indian citizen has to wait for seven years to file an application for citizenship.

Therefore, Gyawali’s statement is correct.

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