Government Announces Guidelines for Enforcing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
Government
Announces Guidelines for Enforcing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
On March 11,
2024, the Government officially released the guidelines for implementing the Citizenship
Amendment Act (CAA), marking a significant step in putting into effect this
contentious legislation, more than four years after its passage in Parliament
in December 2019. The CAA is aimed at granting citizenship to Hindu, Sikh,
Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and
Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014, and have been residing
in the country either illegally or on long-term visas (LTVs).
Eligibility
and Documentation Requirements for CAA Applicants
The newly established rules under the CAA detail the necessary information and paperwork required for prospective beneficiaries to seek Indian citizenship. Individuals from the designated countries must provide evidence of their country of origin, religious affiliation, date of entry into India, and proficiency in an Indian language. The law operates on the presumption that members of these communities encountered religious persecution in their countries of origin, thus reducing the period of naturalization for citizenship from 11 years to five.
Establishing
Country of Origin
The CAA
guidelines have considerably relaxed the criteria for establishing one's
country of origin. Instead of mandating a valid passport issued by Pakistan,
Bangladesh, or Afghanistan, accompanied by a copy of a valid Residential Permit
of India, applicants can now submit various documents such as birth
certificates, educational records, identity papers, licenses, land or property
records, or any other official document issued by the aforementioned countries
to substantiate their citizenship claims. Moreover, documents proving the
citizenship of the applicant's ancestors, including parents, grandparents, or
great-grandparents, from one of the three countries, are deemed acceptable,
irrespective of their validity period.
Verification
of Entry into India
To verify
the date of entry into India, the guidelines enumerate 20 permissible
documents, including valid visas or residential permits issued by the
Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO), census enumerator slips,
driving licenses, Aadhaar cards, ration cards, official government or court
correspondence, Indian birth certificates, land or property records, registered
lease agreements, PAN card issuance documents, and various other official
records.
Citizenship
Application Processing
The
Government has revised the procedure for granting citizenship to non-Muslim
migrants from the designated countries, minimizing the involvement of states in
the process. Applications will now be submitted electronically to a
District Level Committee (DLC) and adjudicated by an Empowered Committee,
both established by the Central Government. The Empowered Committee, led by a
Director (Census Operations), will comprise representatives from the Subsidiary
Intelligence Bureau, FRRO, National Informatics Centre, and State Postmaster
General.
Previous
Measures Addressing Refugee Concerns
The CAA
represents a continuation of efforts by successive governments to address the
predicament of refugees from neighboring countries. Beginning as early as 2002,
under the Vajpayee administration, amendments were made to The Citizenship
Rules to grant LTVs and citizenship to migrants in specific border districts of
Rajasthan and Gujarat. Subsequent administrations, led by Prime Ministers
Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, have issued notifications and amendments to
facilitate LTVs and citizenship for select categories of migrants from
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. The Citizenship (Amendment) bill was
cleared by the Union Cabinet in 2019 and later passed in the Lok Sabha.
Benefits
for LTV Holders
In 2018,
prior to the enactment of the CAA, the Government issued a notification making
Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian migrants from the designated
countries eligible for LTVs if they sought Indian citizenship. This
notification extended various privileges to LTV holders, including employment
opportunities in the private sector, entrepreneurship, access to education for
their children, freedom of movement within the state, banking services,
property ownership, and obtaining licenses such as PAN and Aadhaar.
Opposition
to CAA Implementation
Despite
efforts by the Central Government to streamline the citizenship process for
non-Muslim migrants from the designated countries, several states governed by
opposition parties, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, have
expressed their refusal to implement the CAA. Nonetheless, the new guidelines
aim to reduce the role of states in the citizenship application process, with
the Empowered Committee and DLC established directly by the Central Government.
India opposed the European Parliament's resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2020, and the United Nations Human Rights Commission took the matter of the Citizenship Amendment Act to the Supreme Court.
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