Home Ministry Amends Citizenship Rules, 2009, Applicants From Pakistan, Bangladesh & Afghanistan Must Declare Passport Status Under New Rules

New Delhi: Applicants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh seeking Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Rules, 2009, will now have to give a declaration about the status of their passport from their native country, according to a notification issued by the Home Ministry on Monday.

The ministry has amended the Citizenship Rules, 2009, introducing a paragraph under which the applicant should not be in possession of a valid and/or expired passport issued by the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh.

In case the applicant is carrying an active passport, the person will have to submit the passport number and other details such as date and place of issuance and date of expiry, the gazette notification said.

They will also have to give a declaration to surrender their valid and/or expired passport to the Senior Superintendent of Post or Superintendent of Post concerned within 15 days of approval of the citizenship application, it said.

The new addition will be inserted after Schedule IC of the rules which is for Afghan, Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities seeking Indian citizenship.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, paved the way for granting Indian nationality to undocumented non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. 

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