NEW DELHI: A day after Citizenship (Amendment) Act Rules, 2024 were notified – easing the process for acquiring of
Indian citizenship
by Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh nationals belonging to their six minority faiths, who immigrated to India before Dec 31, 2014 – a dedicated portal was unveiled to allow them to file the application by filling the relevant form online, uploading required documents and paying a nominal Rs 50 fee via an e-payment gateway.
The application may alternatively be submitted via ‘CAA-2019’ mobile application. A set of frequently asked questions have been uploaded on the portal/app to break down CAA rules for prospective
applicants
in simple language.
The applicant first needs to register himself on the portal indiancitizenshiponline.in or CAA-2019
app
with his email or phone number. After logging in, he will be directed to a set of questions; based on his replies, the portal will indicate the relevant application form.
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The applicant must upload scanned copies of supporting papers and pay the fee through SBI e-pay gateway before submitting the application. An acknowledgment would be auto-generated electronically.
Though the process till here is online, the applicant must physically present the original documents before district level committee (DLC) for verification, at a time to be intimated by DLC via SMS or email. Once the documents are found in order, the designated officer of DLC will administer the oath of allegiance to the applicant. Where the documents are inadequate, DLC may give the applicant an opportunity to provide the same.
The applicant can check the status of his application on the portal or app and will also be duly intimated via SMS or email.
EC, which is the final authority to decide on citizenship, will scrutinise the applications . If satisfied, it will grant citizenship by issuing a digital certificate. If the applicant opted for a physical certificate, he must collect it from the office of director of census operations of the state/UT.
