Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (Amendment) | | | Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (Amendment) | | | | AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE GRANT OF STATUS OF SRI LANKA CITIZEN TO PERSONS OF INDIAN ORIGIN | | | | | | WHEREAS the Exchange of Letters between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government, of India relating to the status of persons of Indian origin in Sri Lanka and the future of such persons, was effected in New Delhi on October 30, 1964 (published as Treaty Series No. 5 of 1964) and a further Exchange of Letters between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of India relating to the status of persons of Indian origin in Sri Lanka and the future of such persons, was effected in New Delhi on January 27,1974 (published as Treaty Series No. 1 of 1974) referred to as the Indo-Ceylon Agreement of October 30, 1964 and January 27, 1974 respectively : | | AND WHEREAS the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of India, agreed to solve the problem of statelessness within a period of fifteen years from the date of the said Agreement : | | AND WHEREAS the obligation undertaken in pursuance of the aforesaid Agreement, has not been fulfilled, due to certain unforeseen circumstances and notwithstanding the provisions of the Grant of Citizenship to Stateless Persons Act, No. 5 of 1986 and the Grant of Citizenship to Stateless Persons (Special Provisions) Act, No. 39 of 1988, of the 506,000 persons of Indian Origin, some were not granted Indian Citizenship and some were granted citizenship, but continued to reside in Sri Lanka: | | AND WHEREAS it is in the national interest that the problem of citizenship of persons of Indian Origin should be solved : | | NOW THEREFORE, be it enacted by the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as follows :- | | | [11th November , 2003 ] | Short title.
| 1. This Act may be cited as the Grant of Citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin Act, No 35 of 2003 | Grant of status of citizen of Sri Lanka to certain persons.
| 2. Any person of Indian origin, who, on the date of the coming into operation of this Act, | (a) has been a permanent resident of Sri Lanka since October 30, 1964, or | | (b) is a descendent, resident in Sri Lanka, of a person who has been a permanent resident of Sri Lanka since October 30, 1964, | | shall be granted the status of a citizen of Sri Lanka, with effect from such date and he entitled, in like manner and to the same extent, to all the rights and privileges to which a citizen of Sri Lanka is entitled to, by law | | Provided however, the grant of the status of a citizen of Sri Lanka to a permanent resident, who on the date of coming into operation of this Act, holds an Indian Passport or other similar document, shall be effective only on his forwarding to the Commissioner a declaration in the special form of declaration set out in the Schedule, stating his intention to voluntarily acquire citizenship of Sri Lanka, and upon such declaration being acknowledged by the Commissioner in writing. | | Rights and liabilities on acquisition of status of citizen of Sri Lanka
| 3.Every person, who by virtue of the provisions of section 2, acquires the status of citizen of Sri Lanka, shall | (a) in addition to being entitled to the rights and privileges of a citizen of Sri Lanka, as recognised by law, be subject to the provisions relating to deprivation and loss of citizenship and renunciation of citizenship, in like manner and to the same extent as would be applicable to any citizen of Sri Lanka; and | | (b)from and after the coming into operation of this Act, be deemed to have renounced all rights to the civil and political status which such person may be entitled to, or would have been entitled to, under any law in force in the country of origin of such person or such person's parent, ancestor or husband, as the case may be, but for the promulgation of this Act; and | | (c)in all matters relating to, or connected with, status, personal rights, duties and holding of property in Sri Lanka, be subject to the relevent laws of Sri Lanka. | | Application for certificate of Citizenship.
| 4. (1) Any person who becomes a citizen of Sri Lanka by virtue of the provisions of section2, may if he so desires, apply to the Commissioner for a Certificate of Citizenship, substantially in the Form set out in Schedule A to this Act Every application shall be accompanied by the general form of declaration made under oath in the form set out in the same Schedule. | (2)The Commissioner shall within sixty days from the date of receipt by him of an application under subsection (1), issue to the applicant a Certificate, which shall be substantially in the form set out in Schedule B to this Act | | (3)The Commissioner shall issue a Certificate under this section only to persons who have not been issued with a Certificate under the Indo-Ceylon Agreement (Implementation) Act, No. 14 of 1967 and the Grant of Citizenship to Stateless Persons (Special Provisions) Act, No. 39 of 1988 | | (4)No person shall be required, other than by a Court of competent jurisdiction, to produce the Certificate issued in terms of subsection (1) for any purpose whatsoever and an affidavit shall be tendered in proof thereof, which affidavit shall be acceptable as prima facie proof thereof | | Act to prevail over other laws.
| 5.This Act shall prevail notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law to the relating to the grant of status of Citizen of Sri Lanka. | Interpretation.
| 6. In this Act, 'Commissioner' means the Commissioner for the Registration of Persons of Indian Origin appointed under the Indo-Ceylon Agreement (Implementation) Act, No. 14 of 1967. | Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency.
| 7. In the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall Prevail. | | | |
