Proof of religion will be required for citizenship: Official

Minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will have to provide proof of their religious beliefs while applying for nationality under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, two officials aware of the matter said on Monday even as the government is in the process of framing rules for the new law. They added that the applicants will also have to furnish documents to prove that they entered India before 2015.

“Requirement of proof of their religious beliefs and their entry date will be included in the rules,” one of the officials said. “This will be useful so that random persons do not apply for Indian citizenship.” It was not immediately clear what the nature of the documentation required for applying for citizenship will be.

The government is also likely to give a relatively smaller window of three months to those, who want to apply for citizenship in Assam under the CAA, a second official said. Some Assam-specific provisions are expected to be incorporated into the rules.The CAA came into force on January 10 and the Union home ministry is framing the rules that will govern the law.