MHA Transfers CAA Citizenship Application Processing to District Collectors in Eight States and UTs

24 August 2026National

The Ministry of Home Affairs has notified the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, shifting the processing of pending citizenship applications under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955 — inserted by the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 — to District Collectors. The change covers Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and the non-tribal areas of Assam and Tripura. Collectors may now verify documents, hold inquiries, administer the oath of allegiance and grant citizenship. This replaces the Empowered Committee and District Level Committee machinery created on 11 March 2024; two 2026 administrative orders stand rescinded, with completed actions preserved.

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The Citizenship Act, 1955 governs citizenship by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory | The CAA, 2019 inserted Section 6B, easing citizenship for specified minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before 31 December 2014 | Articles 5–11 of the Constitution deal with citizenship, and citizenship is a Union List subject

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