CAA mandate continuous 1-yr stay in India

‘Cleared applicants shall have to take oath of allegiance to bear true faith in Constitution’

New Delhi, March 11: Those seeking Indian nationality under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 will become eligible to apply after spending at least 12 months in the country preceding the date of the application, according to the rules notified on Monday.

Also, during the eight years immediately preceding the 12 months, the applicants will have to spend not less than six years in the country to be eligible to get the India citizenship, the rules said.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 paves the way for granting Indian nationality to undocumented nonMuslim migrants — Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians — from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.

The applicants will also have to give a declaration that they “irrevocably” renounce the existing citizenship and that they want to make make “India as permanent home”, according to the rules.

“Every application made by the applicant under sub-rule (1) shall have a declaration to the effect that the citizenship of his country shall stand renounced irrevocably in the event of his application being approved and that he shall not raise any claim on it in future,” it said. The rules provide for separate application for these sub-categories: a person of Indian origin, a person who is married to an Indian citizen, minor child of an Indian citizen, a person having Indian parents, a person who or either of his parents was a citizen of independent India, a person who is registered as an “overseas citizen” of India cardholder and a person seeking citizenship by naturalisation.

Those seeking citizenship by naturalisation will have to submit an affidavit verifying the correctness of the statements made in the application along with an affidavit from an Indian citizen testifying the character of the applicant.

Such candidates will also have to furnish a declaration from the applicant that he has adequate knowledge of one of the languages as specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

All cleared applicants shall have to take an oath of allegiance affirming that they will “bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India” as by law established and that they would “faithfully observe the laws of India” and “fulfill” their duties as a citizen of India, the rules said.