NEW DELHI: The Centre has amended the Citizenship Rules, 2009, making it mandatory for applicants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh seeking Indian citizenship to declare the status of passports issued by their home countries, according to a Home Ministry notification issued on Monday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs introduced a new provision under which applicants must declare that they are not in possession of a valid and/or expired passport issued by the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh.
If an applicant possesses an active passport, the person will have to provide details including the passport number, date and place of issue, and date of expiry, the gazette notification said.
Applicants will also have to declare that they will surrender their valid and/or expired passport to the concerned Senior Superintendent of Post or Superintendent of Post within 15 days of approval of their citizenship application.
The new provision will be inserted after Schedule IC of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, which applies to Afghan, Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities seeking Indian citizenship.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, provides a pathway to Indian citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants, Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.
(With inputs from PTI)