India tightens tracking rules for incoming citizenship seekers
New Delhi now requires individuals seeking Indian nationality from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to formally declare and surrender their original travel documents. According to a fresh gazette notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026, to modify existing 2009 regulations. This structural adjustment forces applicants to state whether they possess valid or expired foreign passports, creating a strict legal paper trail.
Verification Timelines
Applicants holding these documents must provide comprehensive data, including the booklet number, issuance location, and validity dates. Upon receiving nationality approval, individuals possess exactly fifteen days to hand over their foreign travel documents to designated postal authorities. This procedural tightening acts as an administrative clarification to bolster national record-keeping and eliminate duplicate identification trails. These measures run parallel to recent shifts toward digital identity management, such as electronic certificates for overseas residents.
This policy modification heavily influences minority groups who crossed regional borders to seek refuge over the past decades. Fast-tracked nationality pathways target non-Muslim migrants - specifically Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian communities - who entered India prior to December 31, 2014. Legal experts note that providing false baseline entry details or hiding previous passport status will result in immediate cancellation of Indian nationality.
