District collectors empowered to grant citizenship under revised CAA rules

The Central Government has empowered district collectors to receive, scrutinise and decide applications for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), shifting final approval powers to the district level.

The change was introduced through the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the extraordinary edition of the Gazette of India on 19 August.

Under the earlier arrangement, applications seeking registration or naturalisation under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955, were processed through the district administration. Final decisions, however, were taken by empowered committees and designated officers.

The revised rules make the district collector — also referred to as the district magistrate or deputy commissioner — the competent authority for applications within the respective territorial jurisdiction. The closely watched move is being cited as a step to reduce administrative layers and potentially expedite the citizenship process.

The rules cover eligible applicants ordinarily residing in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and West Bengal, along with Assam and Tripura, excluding the tribal areas of the two northeastern states. They also apply to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

According to the notification, the collector may grant Indian citizenship through registration or naturalisation after being satisfied that the applicant is suitable and is a “fit and proper person”.

All applications must be submitted and processed electronically. The collector will verify the supporting documents, conduct necessary enquiries into the applicant’s suitability and administer the oath of allegiance prescribed in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act.

Applicants must appear in person to formally subscribe to their applications and take the oath. If an applicant fails to appear despite being given reasonable opportunities, the collector is required to reject the application.

All pending matters previously being handled by empowered committees and designated officers will now be transferred to the district collectors concerned. The amended rules came into effect upon their publication in the Official Gazette.

The Citizenship Amendment Act, enacted in 2019, provides an expedited route to Indian citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014.

For these communities, the law reduces the required period of residence for naturalisation from 11 years to five years. The special eligibility provision does not cover Muslims from the three countries.

With IANS inputs