What will be the citizenship of a child born to an Indian mother and Pakistani father?

Question

We married in UAE family court and i am Indian citizen and my husband works here and is a Pakistani. I am pregnant and would like to know from experts about the citizenship of my child. If i deliver in India, can my child get indian citizenship? What if i deliver in UAE, can my child get Indian citizenship? We have not registered our marriage in any of the consulates. We just have the Dubai courts arabic marriage certificate. At the time of marriage, we were not required to get NOC from either embassy. We just went to the court and got married. If my husband insists on getting pakistani citizenship, can i get PIO card for my child? By the way i never travelled to pakistan.

Please answer my queries and suggest the best way forward.

Answer 1

Your child can become either Pakistani or Indian. You will have to get the birth registered at the Pakistani/Indian embassy in the UAE. Whatever you choose, he/she will not be able an OCI (no such thing as a PIO anymore) or POC.

If your child becomes Indian, he/she will have the option to choose to become Pakistani when he/she turns 21.

It might be easier to become a Pakistani from Indian later than to switch to Indian after being a Pakistani especially if you are a Muslim.