‘India is realistic,’ says Elon Musk after Irish guy mocks country’s citizenship, welfare rules

An Irish guy took to social media to question and perhaps expose India’s citizenship and welfare rules to his followers, but he was clapped back by none other than Elon Musk himself. India’s welfare as well as citizenship rules have been etched keeping India’s vast, diverse and complicated social fabric.

It is fair to say no other country has a social mix like India’s, let alone Ireland that has a population that is just a fraction of India’s.

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The post was put up by a user on X, Aidan Joyce, whose first post said he had landed in Kolkata, which he loves very much and wants to stay back. He asked Grok to clarify how long will it take him to become a citizen, to which Grok responded, “At least 12 years of lawful residence is required for naturalisation: 11 years aggregate in the 14 years before the final continuous 12 months. India does not allow dual citizenship, so Irish nationality must be renounced. Approval is discretionary by the government.”

He agreed that it was a bummer and asked if he could somehow get a welfare cheque till he finds a job as he has his wife and two kids to support. Grok responded by saying India has no unemployment payments or social welfare.

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The user then asked if he could buy a house with €100K so that he could leave the hotel. “No. As a newly arrived foreigner of non-Indian origin you cannot buy residential property without prior RBI permission. That takes time and is discretionary. You may lease for up to 5 years without approval,” said Grok, adding that he should rent a house instead.

Another user shared the thread, calling it hilarious. What’s next? Elon Musk replied: “India is realistic”.

While many spoke of India’s challenges, some pointed out that India already has the highest population and doesn’t need to welcome foreign nationals with welfare schemes. Some also joked that India has learnt its lesson about welcoming foreign nationals, and would not repeat it again. Some also pointed out that India already has an illegal immigrants problem and hence makes its rules stringent.