Following the notification of rules to operationalize the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday launched a web portal. Through this portal, eligible non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, fleeing religious persecution, can apply for Indian citizenship.
A mobile app named ‘CAA-2019’ will be launched soon to facilitate the application process.
Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who entered India before December 31, 2014, are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship via the portal https:/indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in.
The application will be submitted to an empowered committee via the District Level Committee headed by a designated officer. Following submission, the application will be processed after a background check by security agencies.
As per the rules, applicants are required to appear in person and take an oath of allegiance. They will also have to produce an eligibility certificate issued by a “locally reputed community institution” confirming they belong to the “Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community and continue to be a member of the above mentioned community.”
The online application process provides multiple categories under which an applicant can seek Indian citizenship.
These categories include:
(i) a person of Indian origin
(ii) a person married to a citizen of India
(iii) a minor child of an Indian citizen
(iv) a person whose parents are Indian citizens
(v) a person who or either of parents was a citizen of Independent India
(vi) a person registered as Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder
(vii) a person seeking citizenship by naturalisation – an adult registered as an overseas citizen of India for five years, and who has been living in India for a year.
The applicant can submit any of the following documents while applying for Indian citizenship under CAA:
(i) Copy of passport issued by Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan government (ii) birth certificate issued by a government authority in these countries
(iii) educational certificate from a school/college/board or university in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan
(iv) identity document of any kind issued by government authorities in these countries
(v) residential permit issued by Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or Foreigners Registration Officer in India
(vi) any licence issued by government authorities in these three countries
(vii) land or tenancy records in these countries
(viii) Any document that shows that either of the parents or grandparents or great-grandparents of the applicant is or had been a citizen of these countries.
The applicant will also need to prove that he or she entered India before the cut-off date of December 31, 2014.
(Inputs from ANI)