Government launches portal for those seeking citizenship under CAA, mobile app to be launched soon

Those seeking Indian nationality under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 will become eligible to apply after spending at least 12 months in the country preceding the date of the application, according to the rules notified on Monday.

New Delhi: A day after notifying rules for the contentious amendments to the citizenship law, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday launched a portal for people eligible to apply for Indian citizenship under the new provisions.

The government will also be launching a mobile app 'CAA-2019' shortly to facilitate applications. The portal provides FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for explaining the process of application as well as other issues.

According to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, persons belonging to Hindu or Sikh or Buddhist or Jain or Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan who entered into India before 31 December, 2014 and exempted from the provisions of laws related to passport and foreigners are eligible to apply.

Applications from these people will be accepted only via online. According to the FAQ, the applicant has to submit the application to the Empowered Committee through the District Level Committee (DLC). The applicant, who will have to deposit Rs 50 via online, will also have to provide six types of documents and specify the date of entry into India.

The application and documents submitted are scrutinised by the DLC, which will summon the applicant to produce original documents for verification at a later stage. If all documents are found to be in order, the designated officer will administer 'Oath of Allegiance' to the applicant under Section 5 or naturalisation under Section 6 of the Citizenship Act.

If there is any deficiency in documents, the DLC may ask the applicant to produce it and in case the applicant fails to appear in person despite reasonable opportunities, the DLC should forward such application to the Empowered Committee for consideration of refusal.

After the 'Oath of Allegiance', the DLC will intimate the Empowered Committee about it online and forward the documents. The Empowered Committee will then scrutinise the application and then will either approve or reject the application for citizenship.

The applicant will be given a digital certificate of citizenship if he has not specifically asked for an "ink signed copy" at the time of application. One will have to collect it from the office of the Empowered Committee, which is the Director of Census Operations in the state capital.

Those who are granted citizenship by registration or naturalisation under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act will be deemed to be a citizen of India from the date of their entry into India.