Why NRI Marriages Still Require Registration In India: What You Must Know

To deal with the "worrisome trend" of the "rising" fraudulent marriages between NRIs and Indian citizens, the Law Commission has come up with a comprehensive law that will also necessitate the registry of such marriages. Justice (Retd) Ritu Raj Awasthi, panel chairman, said that fraudulent alliances between NRIs and Indian citizens put Indian spouses, especially women, in precarious situations.

Panel Chairman, Justice Awasthi, presented a report titled "Law on Matrimonial Issues Relating to Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Citizens of India" to the law ministry and said the cases of fraudulent marriages between NRIs and Indian citizens are increasing, leaving Indian spouses, especially women, abandoned and financially exploited.

How Do the Fraudulent Alliances with NRIs Affect Women?

The commission said that women get into such alliances hastily in the hope of greater social security, educational opportunities, and professional growth. As a result, they don't verify the claims of the NRI spouse or register their marriage. But when they are deceived, they don't have any legal way to fight through it. The report states that women are often at a higher risk of desertion, domestic violence and isolation from any form of social or familial support while residing in a foreign country  

Justice Awasthi said, "All marriages between the NRIs/OCIs and Indian citizens should be made compulsorily registered in India."

The comprehensive legislation should also have provisions on divorce, maintenance of spouses, custody and maintenance of children, and serving of summons, warrants, or judicial documents on the NRIs and OCIs. 

More about the Law on the registration of Marriages with NRIs and OCIs

He also said that the proposed central legislation should be comprehensive enough to include all the facets of the marriages of NRIs and foreign citizens originally from India with Indian citizens. The legislation should be applicable not only to NRIs but also to those citizens who come under 'Overseas Citizens of India' (OCIs) as per its definition in the Citizenship Act 1955.  

Moreover, the report proposes a new procedure for registering marriages with NRIs. This will include giving notice to the district Marriage Officer which will then be displayed for 30 days. Anyone who objects to the wedding can do so within the stipulated time. 

Adding further in the lines of registering the marriage, Justice Awasthi proposed that amendments should be made to the Passport Act, of 1967. In those regards, he proposed, "in order to mandate the declaration of marital status, the linking of a spouse's passport with the other and mentioning of the marriage registration number on the passports of both spouses"  

The Law Commission also talked about the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indians Bill, 2019, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on February 11, 2019, to curb the issue of deception within such alliances. The 16th Lok Sabha referred the bill to the Committee on the Ministry of External Affairs. Then, in  the 17th Lok Sabha, the bill was again referred to the Committee on Ministry of External Affairs for further examination.

However, in April last year, the Law Ministery conveyed that the Ministry of External Affairs had sent a referral on the NRI bill of 2019 to the Law Commission. After this, the Law Commission has come up with the aforesaid report on alliances of NRIs and OCIs with Indian citizens.