182 SOCIO-LEGAL REVIEW VOL. 17 refugee status and apply separately for an LTV.182 However, granting of LTVs is wholly subject to government discretion, which means the absence of certainty of procedure or a guaranteed right for applicants. Further, the number of LTVs granted per year remains unclear, since different ministries have released inconsistent figures over time.183 Consequently, we do not have much information on the policy and practice of the government’s considerations while granting LTVs. Thus, the LTV Guidelines provide little relief to refugees who are not categorically included within their scope, including Sri Lankan Tamils. C. The question of jus sanguinis citizenship 1. Jus sanguinis as an alternate basis for Indian citizenship The trajectory of amendments discussed above shows the growing importance of one’s status as an illegal migrant in acquiring Indian citizenship. There are two noteworthy facts about this transition: first, a move towards examining the citizenship of a person’s ascendants; and second, a departure from religious-neutrality to actively using religion for citizenship determination.184 Both these prongs indicate a shift in Indian citizenship law towards a jus sanguinis model.185 To contextualise the repercussions of a potential jus sanguinis citizenship in India, it is imperative to understand the pitfalls of jus sanguinis along with the character of Indian citizenship law – is it jus soli or jus sanguinis in nature? At the outset, it is useful to understand the differences between the two models. Numerous scholars argue that jus sanguinis is an exclusionary form of citizenship, whereas jus soli is an inclusive model.186 This is because jus soli 182 183 184 185 186 Joint Committee Report (n 168); Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2623 (2 August 2016) <https://www.mha.gov.in/MHA1/Par2017/pdfs/par2016-pdfs/ls-020816/2623%20E.pdf>; Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 6307 (5 May 2015) <https://www.mha.gov.in/MHA1/Par2017/ pdfs/par2015-pdfs/ls-050515/6307.pdf>; Press Information Bureau PIB ‘Law for Refugees in India’ (6 August 2014) <https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=108152> accessed 28 July 2021. Vijaita Singh, ‘Figures for Long-term Visas to Minorities don’t Add Up’ (The Hindu, 20 January 2019) <https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/figures-for-long-term-visas-to-minorities-dont-add-up/article26043881.ece> accessed 28 July 2021. Jayal (n 23); Jayal (n 27); Anupama Roy, ‘CAA 2019 and the Spectre of National Citizenship’ (The Leaflet, 25 January 2021) <https://www.theleaflet.in/caa-2019-and-the-spectre-of-nationalcitizenship/#> accessed 28 July 2021. Waas (n 39). David Weissbrodt, ‘The human rights of stateless persons’ [2006] 28 Human Rights Quarterly 245; other scholars highlight that there is no necessary connection between jus sanguinis citizenship and statelessness as in Kristin Collins, ‘Abolishing Ius Sanguinis Citizenship: A Proposal too Restrained and too Radical’ in Rainer Bauböck (ed) Debating Transformations of National Citizenship, IMISCOE Research Series (2018); Rainer Bauböck, ‘Ius Filiationis: A defence of Citizenship by Descent’ in Rainer Bauböck (ed) Debating Transformations of National Citizenship, IMISCOE Research Series (2018).