India
Citizenship guide · IN
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 12 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
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Eligibility is often wider than people expect a free check takes under a minute.
Who can visit India?
167 of 199 passports can enter India visa-free, visa on arrival, by ETA, or with an e-visa.
Visa on arrival 3
e-Visa 161
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Andorra
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- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
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- Singapore
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- Spain
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- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
31 passports require a visa to visit India.
Am I eligible for India citizenship?
Tap the option closest to your situation for an instant steer.
Why India?
The India passport offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival, ETA, or e-visa access to 110 destinations, ranking it #125 globally.
12 yrs; no dual (OCI card instead).
Citizenship by descent
India applies jus sanguinis citizenship can be acquired by descent from a citizen parent.
Naturalisation
Naturalisation typically requires 12 years of residence.
Dual citizenship
India generally does not permit dual citizenship naturalising usually requires renouncing your existing nationality.
Fees & timeline
There is no standard published application fee costs vary, so check with official sources.
Tax considerations
- Top personal income tax rate: 42.7%
- Corporate income tax rate: 25%
- Standard VAT/GST rate: 18%
- Taxation basis: worldwide (residents are generally taxed on worldwide income)
Compiled from the Citizenship Hub law dataset (approximate). Verify with official government sources before relying on this information.
Documents checklist
The documents you'll typically need for each citizenship route in India. Tick items off as you gather them your progress is saved on this device.
Citizenship by descent
Proving your lineage to a citizen parent or ancestor.
Naturalisation
The standard route via continuous lawful residence.
Country data
Overview, citizenship routes, economy, freedom, and tax at a glance.
Overview
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Region
- Asia
- Area
- 3,287,590 km²
- Population
- 1,366,417,754
- Demonym
- Indian
- Languages
- English, Hindi, Tamil
- Currency
- Indian rupee (₹)
Citizenship routes
- Citizenship by descent
- Yes
- Descent depth
- Parents only
- Naturalisation period
- 12 years
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
- Official application fee
- Varies
Economics & development
- GDP per capita
- $2,702 2025
- Total GDP
- $2.9T 2019
- Inflation
- 2.4% 2025
- Life expectancy
- 72.2 years 2024
- GDP growth
- 7.6% 2025
- Human Development Index
- 0.644 #134
- Income group
- Lower middle income
- Development status
- Emerging region: BRIC
Freedom & quality of life
- Corruption Perceptions Index
- 38 / 100 2024 · #84
- Freedom in the World
- 66 / 100 Partly Free · 2024
- Human Rights Index
- 0.53 / 1 2025 · #108
- Liberal Democracy Index
- 0.26 / 1 2025 · #95
- Life satisfaction
- 4.54 / 10 2025 · #117
Tax considerations
- Personal income tax
- 42.7% top rate
- Corporate tax
- 25%
- VAT / GST
- 18%
- Tax basis
- Worldwide
Relocation & living
- Internet penetration
- 70.0% 2025
- Driving side
- Left-hand
- Healthcare system
- Mixed (public + private)
- Climate
- Tropical / subtropical
Where the India passport can travel
Each dot is a destination colours show what you need to enter.
- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
Europe
4 e-visa · 41 requiredAmericas
7 visa-free · 1 on arrival · 1 ETA · 8 e-visa · 18 requiredAsia
9 visa-free · 10 on arrival · 17 e-visa · 14 requiredAfrica
6 visa-free · 10 on arrival · 2 ETA · 25 e-visa · 11 requiredOceania
4 visa-free · 4 on arrival · 1 ETA · 1 e-visa · 4 required- Visa-free
- Visa on arrival
- ETA
- e-Visa
- Visa required
- No admission
Alternative paths to India citizenship
Beyond standard naturalisation, these routes may apply to you.
Residency → naturalisation
Most applicants naturalise through 12 years of lawful residence. An advisor can confirm your fastest route.
More citizenship guides
Maldives
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 12 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
- Capital
- Malé
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 12 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Bhutan
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation is restricted; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
- Capital
- Thimphu
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- Restricted
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Nepal
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 15 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
- Capital
- Kathmandu
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 15 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Sri Lanka
Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 5 years; dual citizenship is generally not permitted.
- Capital
- Colombo
- By descent
- Yes
- Naturalisation
- 5 yrs
- Dual citizenship
- Restricted
Latest India immigration news
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India immigration & citizenship sources
Official government portals and reference pages for India citizenship and immigration rules.
Law
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Overview of citizenship-by-descent, naturalisation and dual-citizenship rules.
Government
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Official government source for immigration and citizenship.
Jobs
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International job board with local listings.
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International job board with local listings.
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Leading local job board.
General data sources & licenses
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Visa-requirement matrix and passport mobility scores.
Visa data derived from passportindex.org, via imorte/passport-index-data (MIT License).
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Country metadata: names, capitals, regions, flags, currencies, languages, calling codes, borders, tld, lat/lng, UN/independence status.
Country metadata from mledoze/countries (MIT License).
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Country polygon geometry plus population, GDP (total), income group, economy, and continent classifications.
Made with Natural Earth (public domain) naturalearthdata.com.
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Raster basemap tiles for the interactive visa-access maps.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0).
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GDP per capita (current US$) and inflation (CPI annual %).
GDP per capita and inflation from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) data.worldbank.org.
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Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks.
Human Development Index from the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
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Intermediate distribution of the Corruption Perceptions Index, V-Dem Human Rights Index, and V-Dem Liberal Democracy Index.
Indices sourced via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
Our World in Data states that third-party datasets remain subject to the original publisher’s license see the individual sources below.
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Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scores.
Corruption Perceptions Index 2024, Transparency International (CC BY-ND 4.0).
Restrictions: No derivatives
CPI scores are reproduced as factual data points, unmodified.
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Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index.
Human Rights Index and Liberal Democracy Index from V-Dem (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Restrictions: Non-commercial · Share-alike
⚠ Non-commercial license: confirm commercial use is permitted before monetising the site.
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Freedom in the World scores and status.
Freedom in the World 2024, © Freedom House (used with attribution for informational purposes).
Review Freedom House republication terms before commercial use.
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Reference for personal income and corporate tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the Tax Foundation.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and VAT/GST rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against the OECD Tax Database.
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Reference for personal income tax, corporate tax, and indirect tax rates.
Tax rates cross-checked against KPMG Tax Rates Online.
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Reference for citizenship-law rules (descent, naturalisation, dual citizenship, fees).
Citizenship-law facts compiled from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Law facts are human-curated approximations; always verify with official government sources.
Citizenship Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of the organisations above. Informational only not legal, immigration, tax, investment, or travel advice. Requirements, scores, fees, and tax rates change frequently; always verify with the relevant official government source before acting.