News Analysis India

Tag: Indian citizenship

  • Home Ministry To Issue Helpline Numbers To Assist Applicants For Indian Citizenship Under CAA |

    NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Wednesday that it will soon launch helpline numbers to help people applying for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). Applicants can get information about the CAA-2019 for free by calling these numbers. The service will be available from 8 am to 8 pm. MHA posted about this on X. “Helpline number to assist applicants for Indian citizenship under CAA -2019 will be launched soon. Applicants will be able to get information related to CAA-2019 by calling free of cost from anywhere in India. The service will be available from 8 am to 8 pm,” MHA posted on X.

     

    Helpline Number to assist applicants of Indian citizenship under #CAA -2019 is being started soon. Applicants can make free calls from anywhere in India & get info. related to CAA-2019. Helpline to be available from 8 am to 8 pm.@HMOIndia @PIB_India @ddnewslive @airnewsalert pic.twitter.com/UR54yuTVIp
    — Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) March 13, 2024

     

    New Rules Aim To Aid Refugees

    The MHA recently notified the CAA Rules, 2024, which remove legal barriers for refugees seeking rehabilitation and citizenship under the act. This move aims to provide a better life for refugees who have faced hardship for many years.

    Web Portal And Mobile App To Facilitate Applications

    Previously, the MHA launched a web portal where eligible non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, fleeing religious persecution, could apply for Indian citizenship. Additionally, they will soon introduce a mobile app called ‘CAA-2019’ to make the application process more accessible.

    Who Can Apply?

    Persecuted individuals from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, belonging to six minority communities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—can apply for Indian citizenship if they sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014. The application process is entirely online through the “Indian Citizenship Online Portal.”

    Application Process

    Applicants must submit their applications to an Empowered Committee via a District Level Committee headed by a designated officer. All necessary documents and photographs are to be uploaded online, and applications undergo a security check. Additionally, applicants must appear in person to subscribe to the application and take an oath of allegiance.

    Documents Required 

    Applicants must provide various documents, including those issued by government authorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. These documents establish the applicant’s identity and their eligibility for citizenship under the CAA.

    Proof of Entry

    Applicants must prove that they entered India before December 31, 2014, to be eligible for citizenship. This initiative aims to streamline the citizenship application process for eligible individuals seeking refuge in India.

  • How To Apply For India Citizenship Under CAA Act 2019 On Online Portal? |

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  • Over 17.5 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship since 2011

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Over 17.50 lakh Indians have renounced their citizenship between 2011 and June 2023, according to data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs in the parliament.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that as many as 87,026 Indian nationals have renounced their citizenship till June this year.

    He also cited that 2.25 lakh Indians renounced their citizenships in 2022, 1.63 lakh in 2021, 85,256 in 2020; 1.44 lakh in 2019; 1.34 lakh in 2018; 1.33 lakh in 2017; 1.41 lakh in 2016; 1.31 lakh in 2015; 1.29 lakh in 2014; 1.31 lakh in 2013; 1.20 lakh in 2012 and 1.22 lakh in 2011.

    According to the minister, many of them have taken up foreign citizenship due to personal convenience. “The number of Indian nationals exploring the global workplace has been significant in the last two decades. Many of them have chosen to take up foreign citizenship for reasons of personal convenience,” the minister said.

    Recognising that the Indian community abroad is an asset to the nation, Jaishankar said, the government has brought about a transformational change in its engagement with the diaspora.

    “A successful, prosperous and influential diaspora is an advantage for India and our approach is to tap diaspora networks and utilise its reputation for national gain,” he said.

    “The government is cognizant of this development and has undertaken a range of initiatives around the ‘Make in India’ scheme that would harness their talents at home,” Jaishankar informed the House.

    Sharing the names of countries whose citizenship is being acquired by Indians, the minister further said that there are 135 countries wherein Indians are seeking citizenship. This includes the US, the UK, Australia, Belgium, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Canada, Denmark, Fiji, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, Poland, South Africa, Spain and the UAE among others.

    Interestingly, Indians are also taking up citizenship in countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Jordon, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Qatar, Serbia, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam.

    Yearwise data on Indians renouncing citizenship

    2022 – 2,25,6202021 – 1,63,3702020- 85,2562019- 1,44,0172018- 1,34,5612017- 1,33,0492016- 1,41,6032015 – 1,31,4892014- 1,29,3282013- 1,31,4052012 – 1,20,9232011 – 1,22,819

    NEW DELHI: Over 17.50 lakh Indians have renounced their citizenship between 2011 and June 2023, according to data tabled by the Ministry of External Affairs in the parliament.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that as many as 87,026 Indian nationals have renounced their citizenship till June this year.

    He also cited that 2.25 lakh Indians renounced their citizenships in 2022, 1.63 lakh in 2021, 85,256 in 2020; 1.44 lakh in 2019; 1.34 lakh in 2018; 1.33 lakh in 2017; 1.41 lakh in 2016; 1.31 lakh in 2015; 1.29 lakh in 2014; 1.31 lakh in 2013; 1.20 lakh in 2012 and 1.22 lakh in 2011.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    According to the minister, many of them have taken up foreign citizenship due to personal convenience. “The number of Indian nationals exploring the global workplace has been significant in the last two decades. Many of them have chosen to take up foreign citizenship for reasons of personal convenience,” the minister said.

    Recognising that the Indian community abroad is an asset to the nation, Jaishankar said, the government has brought about a transformational change in its engagement with the diaspora.

    “A successful, prosperous and influential diaspora is an advantage for India and our approach is to tap diaspora networks and utilise its reputation for national gain,” he said.

    “The government is cognizant of this development and has undertaken a range of initiatives around the ‘Make in India’ scheme that would harness their talents at home,” Jaishankar informed the House.

    Sharing the names of countries whose citizenship is being acquired by Indians, the minister further said that there are 135 countries wherein Indians are seeking citizenship. This includes the US, the UK, Australia, Belgium, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Canada, Denmark, Fiji, Ghana, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, Poland, South Africa, Spain and the UAE among others.

    Interestingly, Indians are also taking up citizenship in countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, Jordon, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Qatar, Serbia, Sudan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam.

    Yearwise data on Indians renouncing citizenship

    2022 – 2,25,620
    2021 – 1,63,370
    2020- 85,256
    2019- 1,44,017
    2018- 1,34,561
    2017- 1,33,049
    2016- 1,41,603
    2015 – 1,31,489
    2014- 1,29,328
    2013- 1,31,405
    2012 – 1,20,923
    2011 – 1,22,819

  • 4,046 applications of Hindus for citizenship still pending: Centre to Rajya Sabha

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A total of 4,046 applications for Indian citizenship from Hindus belonging to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh are pending with various state governments, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

    Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that 4,171 foreigners were given Indian nationality in the last five years – from 2016 to 2020.

    Of the pending applications for citizenship from Hindus, 1,541 are with the Rajasthan government, 849 with the Maharashtra government, 555 with Gujarat, 490 with Madhya Pradesh, 268 with Chhattisgarh and 123 with Delhi, he said.

    In addition, 10 applications of Hindus for citizenship are pending with the central government, Rai said in a written reply. Referring to those who were granted Indian citizenship in the last five years, the minister said 1,105 foreigners were given Indian nationality in 2016, 814 in 2017, 628 in 2018, 986 in 2019 and 638 in 2020.

    The Indian nationality has been given to these people under the Citizenship Act 1955. However, no one has been given Indian citizenship under the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act as the rules under the 2019 legislation were yet to be notified.

    Of those who were granted Indian citizenship in the last five years, 1,089 were in Gujarat, 751 in Rajasthan, 535 in Madhya Pradesh, 446 in Maharashtra, 303 in Haryana, 301 in Delhi, 146 in West Bengal, 145 in Uttar Pradesh, 75 in Uttarakhand, 73 in Tamil Nadu, 72 in Karnataka and 65 in Kerala.

  • Madhya Pradesh: Five refugees from Pakistan get Indian citizenship at event in Indore

    By PTI
    INDORE: Five persons who had migrated from Pakistan to India, including a woman who came here along with her family when just a few months old some 40 years ago, were given citizenship certificates by Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra at a function in Indore on Friday.

    The woman, Gita, who was born in Jacobabad in Pakistan on January 31, 1981 and has been living in India since June 4 that year, said she was elated at getting citizenship, having applied for it at the collector’s office here on September 9, 2015.

    “I am feeling very good. I was trying to obtain citizenship, but it was not working out so far for some reasons. My sister and brother, however, are yet to get citizenship of this country,” she told reporters.

    Officials said that the five include a married Muslim woman. They said a large number of Hindu refugees from Sindh in Pakistan are staying in Indore, with some 2,000 having received citizenship in the last five years, and around 1,200 applications currently pending.

  • Citizenship to non-Muslim refugees: SC to hear IUML’s plea after two weeks 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear after two weeks a plea challenging the Centre’s notification inviting non-Muslims belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship.

    The matter came up for hearing before a vacation bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian.

    Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner, said the Centre had filed a counter-affidavit on the issue on Monday.

    “The Union of India has filed a counter-affidavit yesterday. We need two weeks to file reply,” Sibal told the bench.

    The apex court said it would hear the matter after two weeks.

    In its affidavit filed in the top court, the Centre has said that its notification does not relate to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and is a “mere delegation of power vested with the Central Government to local authorities.”

    The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said that similar delegation of power has been permitted by the Central government in 2004, 2005, 206, 2016 and 2018 also and no relaxation whatsoever has been made in respect of the eligibility criteria between different foreign nationals which are laid down in the Citizenship Act, 1955 and rules made thereunder.

    “It is submitted that the notification dated May 28, 2021, does not relate to the CAA which has been inserted into the Act as section 6B,” the MHA said in the affidavit and added that it seeks to merely delegate the power of the Central government to the local authorities in particular cases.

    “The said notification does not provide for any relaxations to foreigners and applies only to foreigners who have entered the country legally as the Central Government used its authority under Section 16 of the Citizenship Act and delegated its powers to grant citizenship by Registration or Naturalisation to District Collectors,” the MHA said.

    The affidavit, filed in response to a plea by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), said the May 28 notification is merely a process of decentralisation of decision making aimed at speedy disposal of the citizenship applications of such foreigners as the decision will now be taken at the district or state level itself after examining each case.

    The IUML had recently moved the top court challenging the Centre’s notification inviting non-Muslims belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship.

    The application claimed that the Centre is trying to circumvent the assurance given to the apex court in this regard in the pending petition filed by the IUML challenging the constitutional validity of the provisions of the CAA.

    The CAA grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities –Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian — who migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following persecution over their faith.

    IUML, in its plea, said that the Centre had during the course of hearing of its plea challenging the constitutional validity of CAA, submitted before the apex court and provided assurance that staying of the Amendment Act was not necessary since the rules of the Amendment Act had not been framed.

  • MHA invites citizenship applications for non-Muslim refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh in 13 districts

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has issued a notification under the 2009 rules of the Citizenship Act, 1955 asking non-Muslims belonging to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan and residing in 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab to apply for Indian citizenship.

    The fresh order is in no way connected to the Citizenship Amendment Act passed in 2019 as the rules under it are yet to be framed by the government.

    The Union home ministry on Friday night issued the notification for immediate implementation of the order under the Citizenship Act 1955 and Rules framed under the law in 2009.

    This benefit is extended to minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who fulfil all conditions applicable to any foreign citizen seeking citizenship by naturalisation after a minimum of 11 years of residency in India.

    Under the CAA, the period for this category was cut to five years.

    “In exercise of powers conferred under Section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the central government hereby directs that powers exercisable by it for registration as citizen of India under Section 5, or for grant of certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act 1955 in respect of any person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, residing in the districts mentioned and the states mentioned below,” the fresh notification said.

    People who are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship are those currently living in the districts of Morbi, Rajkot, Patan and Vadodara of Gujarat, Durg and Balodabazar in Chhattisgarh, Jalore, Udaipur, Pali, Barmer and Sirohi in Rajasthan, Faridabad in Haryana and Jalandhar in Punjab.

    “The application for registration as citizen of India or grant of certificate of naturalisation as citizen of India under the said rules (Citizenship Rules, 2009) shall be made by the applicant online,” the notification said.

    In 2016, the central government had in a similar step sought applications from members of these minority communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh living in 16 districts in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

    The district magistrates of the districts and home secretaries of the seven states were allowed to receive and process the applications of these refugees for two years by the home ministry.

    In 2018, the said notification was extended for an indefinite period or till further order.

    With Friday night’s order, the total number of districts where such facility is available has gone up to 29 districts in nine states.

    The home ministry said the verification of the application is to be done simultaneously by the collector or Secretary (Home) at the district-level and the state-level and the application and the reports thereon shall be made accessible simultaneously to the Centre on an online portal.

    The collector or the secretary will make enquiries as considered necessary for ascertaining the suitability of the applicant and for that purpose forward the application online to such agencies for verification and comments.

    The instructions issued by the Centre from time-to-time in this regard shall be strictly complied with by state or union territory and district concerned, it said.

    “The comments of the agencies referred to in clause (C) are uploaded online by such agencies and accessible to the collector or the secretary, as the case may be, and the central government,” it said.

    The collector or the secretary on being satisfied with the suitability of the applicant, will grant him the citizenship of India by registration or naturalisation and issue a certificate of registration or naturalisation, as the case may be, duly printed from an online portal and signed by the collector or the secretary in the form as prescribed in the said rules, the notification said.

    The collector or the secretary shall maintain an online as well as physical register, in accordance with the said rules, containing the details of the person registered or naturalised as a citizen of India and furnish a copy thereof to the central government within seven days of such registration or naturalisation, it said.

    “This order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette and shall remain valid until further orders,” the notification said.

    When the CAA was passed in 2019, there were widespread protests in different parts of the country and communal riots erupted in Northeast Delhi in early 2020 after clashes between those opposing and supporting the law.

    According to the CAA, Indian citizenship will be given to non-Muslim persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan — Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian — who had come to India till December 31, 2014.

  • Foreigners covered under CAA can submit application for citizenship after appropriate rules notified: Govt

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday said that the foreigners covered under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) may submit applications for grant of Indian citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the Central Government.

    “The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) has been notified on December 12, 2019, and has come into force from January 10, 2020. The foreigners covered under this Amendment Act may submit applications for grant of Indian citizenship after appropriate rules are notified by the Central Government,” said Nityanand Rai replying to Congress MP VK Sreekandan’s question whether the process of granting Indian citizenship to refugees under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will begin once the process of COVID-19 vaccination ends.

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    MoS Home further added that the Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have granted time up to April 9, 2021, and July 9, 2021, respectively to frame these rules.

    The CAA was passed by the parliament in December 2019. The law grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and came to India before 2015.

    The NRC for Assam is a record maintained by the Central Government for the people of Assam. It contains names and certain relevant information for the identification of citizens in the state. Currently, the register exists only for Assam. However, on November 20, 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah declared during a parliamentary session that the register would be extended to the entire country soon. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India.

  • Over 6.76 lakh people gave up Indian citizenship in 5 years

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Over 6.76 lakh Indians gave up Indian nationality between 2015 and 2019 and took up citizenship of other countries, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

    Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai also said that as per information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, a total number of 1,24,99,395 Indian nationals are living in foreign countries.

    Rai said 1,41,656 Indians gave up Indian citizenship in 2015, 1,44,942 in 2016, 1,27,905 in 2017, 1,25,130 in 2018 and 1,36,441 Indians gave up Indian nationality in 2019.