Current legal position
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by creating a special route to registration or naturalisation for specified persons from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who satisfy the statutory conditions. The operative application procedure was prescribed through the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on 11 March 2024.
Further procedural amendments were made in 2026. The Ministry of Home Affairs now lists the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 and statutory order S.O. 4583(E), dated 19 August 2026. For applicants ordinarily residing in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam (excluding tribal areas), Tripura (excluding tribal areas), Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, the 2026 framework provides for electronic submission to the jurisdictional Collector, who functions as the competent authority for receiving, scrutinising and disposing of the specified Section 6B applications.
The 2026 procedural changes do not alter the 2019 Act's six specified communities, three specified countries, or the statutory entry cut-off of 31 December 2014.
Who is covered by the CAA 2019?
The special Section 6B route applies only where all statutory requirements are met. The principal eligibility elements include:
How applications are made under Section 6B
- Applications are submitted electronically through the official Indian Citizenship Online system under the category applicable to the applicant.
- The 2024 Rules prescribe forms for registration and naturalisation under Section 6B, including Forms IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, VIIA and VIIIA.
- Applicants must upload the prescribed documents and comply with verification and oath requirements.
- The competent authority examines eligibility and suitability in accordance with the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the applicable Citizenship Rules.
- For the States and Union territories covered by the 19 August 2026 changes, the jurisdictional Collector performs the functions specified in the amended procedural framework.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 - Act No. 47 of 2019
12 December 2019 - An Act further to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Seventieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:
1. Short title and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Amendment of section 2
In section 2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the following proviso was inserted:
Provided that any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before 31 December 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under section 3(2)(c) of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as an illegal migrant for the purposes of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
3. Insertion of section 6B - Special provisions as to citizenship
Section 6B(1): The Central Government or an authority specified by it may, subject to prescribed conditions, restrictions and manner, grant a certificate of registration or naturalisation to a person covered by the proviso to section 2(1)(b).
Section 6B(2): Subject to fulfilment of the conditions in section 5 or the qualifications for naturalisation under the Third Schedule, a person granted such certificate is deemed to be a citizen of India from the date of entry into India.
Section 6B(3): Proceedings pending in respect of illegal migration or citizenship stand abated on conferment of citizenship. A pending proceeding does not by itself disqualify an otherwise qualified applicant, and making the application does not deprive the applicant of existing rights and privileges merely because the application was made.
Section 6B(4): Section 6B does not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, or to areas covered by the "Inner Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873.
4. Amendment of section 7D - OCI Cardholders
The 2019 Act inserted clause (da), permitting cancellation of OCI registration where the OCI Cardholder has violated provisions of the Citizenship Act or another law specified by Central Government notification. It also added a safeguard that no cancellation order under section 7D may be passed without giving the OCI Cardholder a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
5. Amendment of section 18
Section 18(2) was amended to enable rules prescribing the conditions, restrictions and manner for granting registration or naturalisation under section 6B(1).
6. Amendment of the Third Schedule
For a person belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, the aggregate residence or Government service requirement specified in the relevant naturalisation qualification is read as not less than five years instead of not less than eleven years.