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MHA tells refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh living in 13 districts to apply for citizenship

The gazette order says that if the applicant meets the criteria, the Collector or the Secretary shall grant the individual citizenship and issue a signed certificate printed from the online portal.

MHA tells Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh refugees in 13 districts to apply for citizenship-VPN
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New Delhi, First Published May 29, 2021, 9:02 AM IST

The Union Home Ministry has called upon people belonging to the minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jain, Parsis & Christians residing in 13 districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, to apply for Indian citizenship.

In a May 28 gazette notification, the MHA said: "In exercise of the powers conferred by section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the central government directs for registration as a citizen of India under section 5, or for grant of certificate of naturalisation under section 6, of the Citizenship Act, 1955, in respect of any person belonging to the minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, residing in the districts and states mentioned, shall also be exercisable by the Collector, within whose jurisdiction the applicant is ordinarily resident."

The areas mentioned in the Gazette notification are Morbi, Rajkot, Patan and Vadodara in Gujarat; Faridabad in Haryana; Jalore, Udaipur, Pali, Barmer and Sirohi in Rajasthan; Durg and Balodabazar in Chhattisgarh; and Jalandhar in Punjab.

The MHA order states the citizenship application shall be filed online, following which the Collector will verify it at the district level or the secretary at the state level. The verifying officers will have to submit their reports to the central government on the online portal.

The gazette order says that if the applicant meets the criteria, the Collector or the Secretary shall grant the individual citizenship and issue a signed certificate printed from the online portal. The Collector or the Secretary shall maintain an online and physical register with the details of the person granted citizenship and furnish a copy thereof to the Central Government within seven days of such registration or naturalisation.

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