Govt received 732 visa applications from Pak nationals this year, granted 280

Questioned whether any families from Pakistan were granted citizenship based on affidavits and not passports or birth certificates, the government said the applications for Indian citizenship are processed only as per the “provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 read with citizenship rules 2009”

The government on Wednesday said it received 732 visa applications from Pakistani nationals until July 25 this year, and granted visas to over 280 Pakistani nationals.

A view of Parliament. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

“This year, till July 25, 2021, 732 visa applications were received from Pakistani nationals and 286 visas were granted, which includes visas for people travelling to India for social purposes, including weddings,” the government said in response to a question by MP Sukhram Singh and two others in Rajya Sabha.

The MPs also asked whether the government asked Pakistani nationals to pursue a visa via Dubai, a claim the government denied and said, “Pakistani families are being granted visas for travel or arranging marriages as per extant visa rules and guidelines.”

Questioned whether any families from Pakistan were granted citizenship based on affidavits and not passports or birth certificates, the government said the applications for Indian citizenship are processed only as per the “provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 read with citizenship rules 2009”.

As per the Indian Citizenship Act 1955, the government grants citizenship to people based on four causes--birth, descent, registration, naturalisation.

Answering another separate question by the same MPs, the government also said that 4046 citizenship applications of Hindu families were pending with state governments and 10 with the Central government as of July 30, 2021.