Source-This post on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules 2024 notified is based on the article “Citizenship Amendment Act rules notified, four years after the law was passed” published in “The Hindu” on 11th March 2024.
Why in the News?
The Home Ministry has recently notified the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules, 2024. These rules enable the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Parliament in 2019.
What is Citizenship Amendment Act (2019): Key provisions?
About– The objective of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 is to modify the Citizenship Amendment Act of 1955. It provides Indian citizenship to particular categories of illegal migrants.
Eligible categories- It proposes that six minorities–Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan won’t be considered illegal immigrants if they enter India without proper documents on or before December 31, 2014.
Objective– The main goal is to help non-Muslim migrants from India’s neighboring Muslim-majority countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh) to obtain citizenship.
Residence requirement reduces– The amendment reduces the period of residency from 11 years to 5 years, for acquiring permanent citizenship through naturalization.
Exemption from criminal cases- Individuals belonging to specified communities are granted immunity from criminal prosecution under the Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Passport Act of 1920, provided they arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014.
Other Exceptions to the Act include: The provisions on citizenship for illegal migrants will not apply to two categories-
a. Regions protected by the ‘Inner Line Permit‘.
b. Areas covered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Online Process for applying
1. Empowered Committee– The citizenship application process will be conducted online, with an empowered committee overseeing the scrutiny of all applications through district-level committees.
2. Composition of empowered committee– Each state’s empowered committee will be chaired by the Director of Census Operations and will comprise officers from the Intelligence Bureau, Post Master General, State or National Informatics Centre, along with a representative each from the Department of Home and Divisional Railway Manager as invitees.
3. The district-level committee will be headed by the Senior Superintendent or Superintendent of Post.
| Documents required: a. Birth certificates, rental documents, identification papers, licenses, and educational certificates issued by government authorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. b. To qualify for citizenship under Section 6B of the CAA, applicants must show they entered India before December 31, 2014. They also need to provide documents like a passport copy, visa, Census enumerator slip, PAN card, electricity bill, or insurance policy. These documents must be issued by Indian authorities and remain valid even if expired. c. Applicants must provide an “eligibility certificate” from a respected local community institution confirming their membership in the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian community. |
| Read more– Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 |
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