The Home Ministry has amended citizenship rules for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh — now requiring applicants to declare possession or surrender passports. Draft changes to the Citizenship Rules of 2009 were notified via gazette notification on Monday.
“The new provision obliges applicants to state whether they hold a valid or expired passport issued by any of the three neighbouring countries. Those who possess such passports must provide passport details – number, date and place of issue, and expiry – and agree to surrender the document to the Senior Superintendent of Post or Superintendent of Post concerned within 15 days of citizenship approval,” the notification explained.
Who will be affected?
The new clause has been inserted within Schedule IC of the Citizenship Rules. This section pertains to Afghan, Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who are seeking Indian citizenship.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 had paved the way for granting Indian nationality to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before the end of December 2014.
When will the change come into effect?
According to the notification issued on Monday, the updated rules will come into force on the date of publication in the official gazette.
Online applications, e-OCI cards, and stricter norms
The update also comes mere weeks after the Centre notified several changes to the Overseas Citizen of India scheme. The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules of 2026 digitises several services and revises provisions related to OCI applications. The revised framework also states that a minor cannot hold both Indian and foreign passports simultaneously.
According to the Ministry, OCI applications will now be required to be filed online, with provisions for both physical OCI cards and e-OCI documentation. The OCI cards offer multiple-entry, multi-purpose lifelong visas to persons of Indian origin and their spouses, along with certain economic and educational rights.
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