The Centre has issued a notice announcing amendments to the Citizenship Rules, 2009. As per the modification to the existing rules, the new norms require passport disclosure for applicants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The new regulations will be effective from the date of publication of the notification in the Official Gazette, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
As part of the changes, a new clause has been inserted in “Schedule IC of the Citizenship Rules,” which mandates that applicants declare whether they possess a valid or expired passport issued by the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh.
Under the revised provision, “applicants must either confirm that they do not hold such a passport or provide detailed information if they do, including passport number, date and place of issue, and date of expiry”.
The notification issued by the Ministry on 18 May states, “(1) These rules may be called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026. (2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.”
The circular asked for the inclusion of the following paragraph under the amended Citizenship Rules:
"I am not in possession of a valid and/or expired passport(s) issued by the Government of Pakistan/Aghanistan/Bangladesh.
I am in possession of a valid and/or expired passport(s) issued by the Government of Pakistan/Afghanistan/Bangladesh with the following details:- Passport No. :.. Date of issue, Place of Issue, Date of expiry. I hereby agree to surrender my valid and/or expired Pakistani/Afghanistani/Bangladeshi passport to the Senior Superintendent of Post or the Superintendent of Post concerned within 15 days of approval of the citizenship application.'
What happens if an individual possesses such passports?
If an individual possesses such passports, he/she must surrender them to the concerned postal authorities within 15 days of approval of his/her citizenship application. According to officials, the amendment aims to streamline documentation and strengthen procedural clarity in citizenship applications involving individuals from these countries.
This latest modification to the Citizenship Rules comes 2 years after they were last amended on 25 February 2009. Meanwhile, the principal Citizenship Rules were originally notified on 25 February 2009.
In December 2019, the Parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019. During this time, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities a new ray of hope who migrated to India after facing persecution on the grounds of religion in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
According to the Home Minister, citizenship will be granted from the date and year of entry into India, and all cases and legal proceedings against them will be closed. He also declared that their business and trade interests will be protected on an equal footing.
