The CAA law came into force on March 11 and according to Home Minister Amit Shah, the new regulations will make it possible for minorities who are oppressed in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan due to their religious beliefs to become citizens.
A few weeks before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the government on Monday night released a notification about the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA.
In December 2019, the Parliament approved the CAA despite protests from opposition MPs and activists.
Since the announcement, non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution, may now apply for citizenship from the central government.
What is CAA?
The CAA was passed to offer citizenship to undocumented immigrants who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014, despite their lack of paperwork. The Act was passed in order to accommodate immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who practiced six different religions, including Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Hindus.
Who are eligible?
- Someone who is Indian and wants to register as an Indian citizen.
- Someone who got married to an Indian national.
- The individual is a minor child of an Indian citizen.
- Someone whose parents were Indian citizens during the independence period.
- An individual whose parents are officially enrolled as Indian citizens.
What documents are required for registration?
When someone meets the requirements for naturalization under the terms of the Third Schedule, they can apply for citizenship by naturalization. Their application is filed on Form VIIIA, which includes:
- The applicant needs to submit Form VIIIA, which contains all of the personal information and data needed to complete the naturalization procedure.
- A declaration attesting to the accuracy of the information provided in the application and a character reference from an Indian national attesting to the applicant's qualities.
- The candidate has to prove that they are proficient in one of the languages listed in the English Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
- The applicant must also carry a declaration stating that, should his application be accepted, he will irrevocably abandon his nationality.
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