The Indian government has announced that under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), citizenship applicants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh must disclose details of any valid or expired passports they possess.
According to the new regulations, individuals who are granted Indian citizenship will be required to surrender their previous passports within 15 days.
Based on a recent notification issued by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, religious minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh applying for Indian citizenship must provide full passport information.
Indian authorities said the measure was introduced after cases were identified in which some citizenship applicants continued to retain Afghan, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi passports. India does not allow dual citizenship.
Applicants have been instructed that if they hold a passport, they must submit complete details including the passport number, date of issuance, place of issuance, and expiry date, and hand the document over to the relevant authorities.
India’s parliament passed the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019.
Under this law, the government may grant Indian citizenship to nationals of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh who were victims of persecution.
Muslims are not included under this law. According to the CAA, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Christians who entered India before 2015 are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.