Home Ministry designates border district collectors as authorities for CAA citizenship applications
The Ministry of Home Affairs has appointed collectors in several border states and union territories to receive, examine and decide on citizenship requests under the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a directive assigning district collectors across selected border states and union territories the role of "competent authority" for handling citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019. The designated regions include Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam (except tribal zones), Tripura (except tribal zones), Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Immigrants belonging to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan must file their petitions with the appropriate collector, who will assess suitability for registration or naturalisation and issue an electronic acknowledgment via Form IX.
This procedural change aims to streamline the review and disposal of such applications in India's frontier areas. The notification underscores the government's intent to manage CAA-related cases through existing administrative channels.
Why it matters
It centralises CAA citizenship processing in border regions, affecting how minority immigrants from neighboring countries are granted Indian citizenship.
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