When a single person is legally recognised as a citizen of two or more countries at the same time, it is called:

Dual (or multiple) citizenship is the status of a person who is legally a citizen of two or more countries at the same time, and who enjoys the rights and bears the duties of citizenship in each of them.

How dual citizenship arises:

• A person may be born in one country to parents who are citizens of another country.
• A person may acquire a new citizenship by naturalisation without being required to give up the old one.

Countries that allow dual citizenship:

• Many countries, such as the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and France, permit their citizens to hold another citizenship.
• Some countries, such as China and Japan, generally do not allow it.

India's position:

• India does not allow dual citizenship.
• Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, an Indian citizen who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country automatically ceases to be an Indian citizen.

The Constitution provides for a single citizenship for the whole country. There is no separate state citizenship, unlike in the USA, which has both federal and state citizenship.

Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI):

• To maintain ties with the Indian diaspora, India introduced the OCI scheme through an amendment to the Citizenship Act.
• OCI is sometimes loosely called "dual citizenship", but it is not citizenship in the legal sense.
• OCI cardholders get a lifelong multiple-entry visa and parity with Non-Resident Indians in many economic and educational matters.
• They cannot vote, contest elections, hold constitutional posts or, generally, buy agricultural land.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Single citizenship means that a person is a citizen of only one country (and, in India, there is one citizenship for the whole nation).
• ✗Statelessness is the condition of a person who is not a citizen of any country.
• ✗Naturalisation is a way of acquiring citizenship of a country, not the holding of two citizenships.