43-year-old Christian man from Pakistan has become the second resident of Goa to obtain Indian citizenship through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
43-year-old Christian man from Pakistan has become the second resident of Goa to obtain Indian citizenship through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of Goa presented the Indian citizenship certificate to Pereira at the Secretariat. The certificate indicated that Pereira has been recognized as a citizen of India in accordance with section 6B and has met the requirements outlined in section 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, effective from the date he entered India.
Shane Sebastian Pereira, born on August 4, 1981, in Karachi, Pakistan, hails from a family rooted in Demello Vaddo, located in Anjuna, North Goa.
His family relocated to Goa shortly after he was born. In 2012, he married Maria Gloria Fernandes, who is an Indian citizen. He moved to his ancestral village in Goa just four months after his birth. However, it took him 43 years to finally secure Indian citizenship.
“I have done my schooling and education here. I married an Indian and heard in the news that if one gets married to an Indian, they can get citizenship faster. I had applied for citizenship, but it was under process for long. It was very tough since I had been staying here on a visit visa. Every year, I had to go to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to renew it. In 2019, I heard of CAA, but I was not sure whether it has been implemented. Through media reports, I recently read about the case of another Pakistani citizen, Joseph Pereira, who was granted Indian citizenship. So, I applied through this route,” says Pereira.
“He [Shane] is the second Goan to receive this certificate. Many others have applied and their applications are currently under process. I also take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their visionary leadership in enacting and implementing this significant legislation ensuring justice,” says CM Sawant.
