TP v Minister of Home Affairs HOLDING The Tribunal of Rome ruled that TP is an Indian citizen according to Indian citizenship rules. 15 However, TP was not recognised as a national in India. The Government of India’s actions reflected a common practice concerning individuals born in India to Tibetan refugee parents, as is apparent in several other cases examined by Canadian and United States jurisprudence. 16 The Indian Consulate in Milan refused to recognise TP’s Indian citizenship and passport following a new application in March 2008. 17 The Consulate issued a certificate which determined TP’s status as a Tibetan national, meaning that TP could not avail himself of the rights afforded to Indian nationals. 18 This proved that TP was not recognised as a national and was, therefore, stateless. 19 The Tribunal of Rome stated that ‘the attitude of the Republic of India towards the applicant is equivalent in all respects to a denial of citizenship’. 20 It added that it was not important to investigate the causes or consequences of such conduct, which were summarised as the impossibility of the applicant being recognised as holding the citizenship of the country in which he was born and with which he has developed significant elements of connection, with the consequence that is impossible [for them] to enjoy [their] relative rights. 21 The conditions for TP to obtain Indian citizenship by naturalisation, as referred to in s 6 (Third Schedule) (c) and (d) of the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955, are not met. Persons born in India between 26 January 1950 and 1 July 1987, which includes TP, cannot undergo any registration procedure to obtain Indian citizenship because the acquisition of nationality occurred automatically upon their birth in India, under s 3 of the same Act. 22 In the Italian state where TP currently resides, the Law of 5 February 1992, No 91 (New Rules on Citizenship) establishes the procedure for acquiring Italian 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 The procedure for acquiring Indian citizenship by birth pursuant to s 3 of the Indian Citizenship Act No 57 of 1955 (India) (‘Indian Citizenship Act, 1955’) does not require any application from the person born in India (or from his/her parents) to obtain it. Until the date of entry into force of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act No 6 of 1986 (India) on 1 July 1987, anyone who was born in India on or after 26 January 1950 and before 1 July 1987, became an Indian citizen automatically as a result of their birth in Indian territory: see Namgyal Dolkar v Ministry of External Affairs [2010] WP(C) 12179/2009 (High Court of Delhi); Rashtriya Mukti Morcha v Union of India (2007) DLT 195 (High Court of Delhi). Namgyal Tenzin v United States Asylum Office of Immigration and Naturalisation (Brief No A78-359-240, Executive Office of Immigration Review in San Francisco 5 May 2003); India: 1) Legal Status of Tibetan Refugees; 2) Rights of Tibetans to Indian Nationality (Query No IND11239, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 1 July 1992) <https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aab124.html>: ‘According to the High Commission of India in Ottawa, Tibetan refugees are not entitled to acquire Indian nationality, even if they were born in India’. TP v Minister of Home Affairs (n 4) 3. ibid. AA v Ministero dell'Interno (First Civil Section, Sentence No 14918, 28 June 2007) (Supreme Court of Cassation) (Italy) (‘Sentence No 14918’); Case 1757/2009 (First Civil Section, 5 March 2010) (Tribunal of Lecce) (Italy); Decreto 5 Marzo 2003 (2005) 128(4) Il Foro Italiano 1283 (Tribunal of Milan) (Italy) (‘Decreto 5 Marzo 2003’). TP v Minister of Home Affairs (n 4) 3. ibid. Indian Citizenship Act, 1955 (n 15). 95