Indian expats ‘not eligible for Aadhaar IDs’

Abu Dhabi: Millions of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living across the world do not need to bother about their Aadhaar identity card as it is not applicable to them, a top Indian official said.

“According to Aadhar Act, only residents of India are entitled to get an Aadhaar number. NRIs cannot get an Aadhaar because they are not entitled to get it,” Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said.

The authority is responsible for the processes of enrollment and authentication of data for India’s unique identification system — Aadhaar — and maintaining India’s Central Identities Data Repository.

Pandey was referring to Section 3.1 of the Aadhaar Act 2016, which says that only a resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number.

Although the act does not specifically and explicitly exempt NRIs from the enrolment, the official was referring to the fact that an Indian would be treated as non-resident if he or she did not stay for at least 182 days in India in the preceding year as per other relevant laws, including Income Tax Act. As the Aadhaar act or any government notifications or orders never specifically exempted NRIs from Aadhaar enrolment, there was a widespread impression that NRIs also had to get the card.

Dr Pandey explained that the authority was not supposed to issue Aadhaar card to NRIs. “They [NRIs] cannot get a [Aadhar card].”

While applying for Aadhaar card, he explained, Indians have to make a declaration in the application stating that he/she is a resident (not an NRI).
The declaration reads: “I confirm that I have been residing in India for at least 182 days in the preceding 12 months.”

However, when it was pointed out that NRIs have already obtained the card, Dr Pandey said: “The legal position is that they were not supposed to apply for the card. [Moreover] they have given a declaration that they have stayed in India for 182 days [in the preceding year].”

Asked whether Indian expatriates would face any legal action for “illegally obtaining the card”, he said : “I am not sure. But technically there is a violation; they should not have taken it,” Dr Pandey said.