What is CAA, Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, Who can apply, CAA Rules

CAA or Citizenship Amendment Act is currently the most talked about issue across the country. Although this law was implemented on March 11, 2024, many people still have many questions and doubts about this law. Why this doubt, what is CAA, for whom and how to apply is discussed in detail in this article.

What is CAA?

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is an amendment to the Citizenship Act of India. The act states that on or before 31st December 2014, Indian citizenship will be granted to minority communities ie Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis from only 3 countries Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively.

Now let’s see who illegal immigrants are and what are the provisions in that regard:

According to the law, an illegal immigrant is someone who—

• Entered the country without valid documents, such as passports and visas
Or
• Entered with valid documents, but overstayed in the country

By law, all these illegal immigrants are subject to imprisonment or deportation under the ‘Aliens Act, 1946’, and the ‘Passport Act, 1920’, but the Government of India has amended the Citizenship Act to facilitate the migrants to grant them Indian citizenship, provided that the migrants are provided with proper documents. have to do The government has not yet announced what will be done with those who do not have the proper documents, but 85% of migrants are said to have the proper documents.

Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Purpose and Details

Although the CAA was implemented in 2024, the Act was passed by Parliament on 11th December 2019 and the notification of the Act was issued the next day i.e. 12th December, but the Act could not be implemented as the Rules were not framed. The Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024 came into effect on March 11 this year.

Now let’s see what is the Citizenship Act in India:-

We know that in 1947 India was divided into three parts namely India, Pakistan and East Pakistan based on the two religions of Hinduism and Muslim, resulting in the migration of millions of people. Even now, the Citizenship Act has been amended to facilitate these displaced people.

We all know that our Constitution of India was first enacted on 26th January 1950. The second chapter of this constitution is about ‘Citizenship’ i.e. who will be given the citizenship of independent India, what will happen if they have to go to another country for the purpose of work, what will be done in case of those who have citizenship of another country or who want to come to India later. -11 is mentioned. However, with the passage of time, this constitutional law has been modified in some parts.

As this ‘Citizenship’ issue is under the ‘Union List’ in the Indian Constitution, only the Parliament has the right to amend this citizenship issue. The Citizenship Act was first amended in 1955 as ‘Citizenship Act 1955’, and since then the Act has been amended six times in 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2015 and 2019 till the present year 2024.

The CAA currently in force is the ‘Citizenship Amendment Act’ amended in 2019. The law states that Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis will be granted citizenship to minority immigrants from India’s neighboring countries Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who entered India by 31 December 2014.

CAA Purpose

Now let’s see why the Citizenship Amendment Act-2019 is needed! To know that, we first need to know that India is one of the top destinations in the world for international migrants.

According to the 2015 census, about 5.2 million migrants live in India, the 12th largest migrant population in the world, and the majority of India’s migrants are from neighboring Bangladesh (3.2 million) and Pakistan (1.1 million).

It is unfortunate that only a few decades ago these countries were part of both India and the country was divided into 3 parts based on religion. One of the doubts about the CAA-2019 is why Islam has not been included in the list of citizenship religions. The government has informed that this Citizenship Amendment Act has been made for the immigrants from oppressed minority communities of neighboring countries. But it has been implied that India gifted Muslims with two countries and there was no need for CAA-2019 in an undivided India.

CAA Rules (CAA Rules 2024)

The Central Government on March 11, 2024 issued the Rules to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, known as the ‘Citizenship Amendment Rules 2024’. These Rules state who can apply for citizenship under Section 6B.

The notification states that applications for registration for citizenship or proof of Indian status as normal will not be entertained unless-

• The person is of Indian origin.
• Person married to a citizen of India.
• The applicant is a minor child of a citizen of India.
• The person’s parents are registered as citizens of India.
• The individual or one of his parents was a citizen of independent India.
• The person is registered as a foreign national holding a card in India.

Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 Eligibility Criteria

• The individual must be a citizen of any of the following countries:
1. Pakistan
2. Afghanistan
3. Bangladesh
• The person must belong to any of the following minority communities in that country:
1. Hindu
2. Sikh
3. Jainism
4. Buddhist
5. Parsi
6. Christian
• The individual must have entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
• Individual must have resided in India for 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the date of application.
• Must have resided in India for at least 5 years out of fourteen years preceding the said 12 months.

CAA Documents

In order to apply under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, applicants must provide proof of their country, religion, date of entry into India and knowledge of any Indian language.

Proof of Foreigner’s Country of Origin:

The ‘CAA 2019’ Act clearly mentions that only foreigners from India’s neighbors Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh can apply under the Act and have their country of origin’s passport or their birth certificate, educational certificate, and any identity card issued by the country as proof. or can show any other official document.

Proof of date of entry into India:

Documents such as Visa, Immigration Stamp, Government Issued ID, Driving License, Aadhaar Card, Ration Card, Employment Record, Utility Bill, India School Certificate etc. can be provided as proof that the applicant entered India before 31st December 2014.

Proof of religious identity:

Applicants can show passports, birth certificates, government ID cards, school certificates, licenses issued by government authorities, land records, etc. as proof of their religious identity. Apart from this, the applicant can submit a sworn affidavit declaring his caste and religion before the judicial department or magistrate as evidence.

Proof of Language:

Applicant’s ability to speak or read or write in any language of India will be considered as having sufficient knowledge.

Citizenship Act, 1955

Now let us see what the Citizenship Act, 1955 has to say regarding acquisition and determination of Indian citizenship.

After the partition of India in 1947, there was such a massive migration of people that within 5 years of the constitution in 1955, the Indian Citizenship Act was amended in 1955, known as the ‘Citizenship Act, 1955’.

The Act clarifies that citizenship of India can be acquired in four ways namely birth, descent, registration and naturalization.

By birth:

• Every person born in India on or after 26.01.1950 but before 01.07.1987 is an Indian citizen irrespective of the nationality of his parents.
• Every person born in India between 01.07.1987 and 02.12.2004 is a citizen of India because one of his parents was a citizen of the country at the time of his birth.
• Every person born in India on or after 03.12.2004 is a citizen of the country because both his parents are Indians or at least one parent is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal immigrant at birth.

By genealogy:

• A person born outside India on or after 26th January, 1950 is also a citizen of India by descent if his father is a citizen of India by birth.
• If a person is born outside India on or after December 10, 1992 but before December 3, 2004, if one of his parents is a citizen of India by birth, he is also a citizen of India.
• For a person born outside India after December 3, 2004 to acquire citizenship, his parents must declare that the minor does not hold a passport of another country and be registered at an Indian consulate within one year of his birth.

By registration:

• A person of Indian origin who has been a resident of India for 7 years prior to applying for registration.
• A person of Indian origin who is a resident of any country outside undivided India.
• A person who is married to an Indian citizen and has resided in India for 7 years before applying for registration.
• Minor children of citizens of India.

By naturalization:

• A person can acquire citizenship by naturalization if he has been ordinarily resident in India for 12 years (12 months before the date of application and 11 years in total) and fulfills all the qualifications in the Third Schedule to the Citizenship Act.

CAA application

There are a total of 7 types of forms for the application of the ‘Citizenship Amendment Act 2019’. Individuals have to fill different forms for different conditions. But there is no need to submit offline form, government has provided online portal for convenience.

Below is the complete list of what forms you need to fill in which case:

CAA Online Application

• To apply online you need to visit indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in.
• Click on ‘Click to Submit Application for Indian Citizenship Under CAA, 2019’ on the home page.
• Then after logging in by filling mobile number and captcha, you have to submit the form by filling it properly and attaching the necessary documents.
• 50/- online payment along with the form.

CAA related Queries (FAQs):