Adnan Sami opens up about his 18-year journey to acquire Indian citizenship: ‘For one-and-a-half years, I was stateless’

Adnan Sami said that the public doesn't understand the struggle that went into acquiring Indian citizenship.

New Delhi | Updated: January 1, 2023 10:09 AM IST

2 min read

Adnan Sami was recently honoured with the Padma Shri (Photo: Instagram/adnansami).

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Singer Adnan Sami said that he has had such a ‘crazy’ life, that if he told his story to a group of Bollywood writers, they’d laugh and tell him that he was making things up. In a new interview, he spoke about his 18-year journey to acquire Indian citizenship, and revealed that the public doesn’t know the half of it.

Appearing on Mashable India’s The Bombay Journey series, Adnan Sami said that the journey was marked by twists and turns, and setbacks. On two occasions, he said, he was rejected. And for over a year, he was ‘stateless’.

Also read | Adnan Sami says US immigration officer did not allow him to enter the country after his 130 kg weight loss

“People think that it must’ve been easy because I’m a celebrity. But it wasn’t easy,” the singer said. “There’s no such thing as an easy solution. You have to work towards everything. It’s just that you (the public) found out overnight. You woke up one fine morning, and discovered through the newspapers that I’ve received Indian citizenship.”

He continued, “It took me 18 years, but what I’m trying to say here is this, in those 18 years, I didn’t say anything to the world about this. I was rejected twice. I had to give up my original citizenship, and for a while, I was stateless. For a year and a half, I didn’t belong to any country. A passport is just a document, but I was not owned by any country, and in that state, I could not travel, I could not do anything.”

Born in England, Adnan Sami originally held Pakistani citizenship. He moved to India in 2001, and was granted citizenship in 2016.

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