Government launches new portal for CAA; mobile app soon

The ministry said a mobile app ‘CAA-2019’ will also be launched shortly to facilitate applications through mobile

A day after notifying the rules for Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, the portal for six minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to apply for Indian citizenship was launched by Centre.

The online portal for CAA allows applicants to create a login and then submit their applications. (Representative file photo)

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Union home ministry said, “The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 under the CAA-2019 have been notified. A new portal has been launched; persons eligible under CAA-2019 can apply for citizenship on this portal”.

The ministry said a mobile app ‘CAA-2019’ will also be launched shortly to facilitate applications through mobile.

The online portal for CAA allows applicants to create a login and then submit their applications.

The CAA rules, notified after four years of passing the new law in December 2019, pave the way for granting citizenship to persecuted minorities belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

The rules say that the application will have to be submitted in electronic form to an empowered committee through the district-level committee, which may be notified by the central government, and be supported by documents such as copy of passport issued by Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh governments -- birth certificate, an identity document of any other kind, land or tenancy records, or any document that shows that either of the parents or grandparents or great grandparents of the applicant were a citizen of one of the three countries.

The rules state that these documents will be admissible even beyond their validity period.

Applicants also have to provide proof that they entered India before December 31, 2014, which can take the form of either a visa and immigration stamp, registration certificate from the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), or slip issued by the Census enumerators in India , government-issued licence or certificate or permit in India (including Driving License, Aadhaar number, ration card , or marriage certificate issued in India etc).

The rules also state the applicants will have to provide an eligibilty certificate issued by a locally reputed community institution confirming that he/she belongs to “Hindu/ Sikh/ Buddhist/ Jain/ Parsi/ Christian community and continues to be a member of the community.