The Centre is all set to ease the citizenship process for minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on valid documents, but whose passports and visas have since expired.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is expected to rejig the citizenship portal to accept expired passports and visas as supporting documents to process the citizenship application for members of six minority communities — Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain — from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, according to a government source.
The Centre is all set to ease the citizenship process for minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on valid documents, but whose passports and visas have since expired.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is expected to rejig the citizenship portal to accept expired passports and visas as supporting documents to process the citizenship application for members of six minority communities — Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain — from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, according to a government source.
Facing hurdles
According to Hindu Singh Sodha, president of the Seemant Lok Sanghathan (SLS), an organisation that works for the rights of Pakistani minorities in India, the portal does not accept expired Pakistani passports for people who came on or after January 1, 2010.
“For a Pakistani Hindu who entered India in 2010, the online system does not accept the expired passport, leading to the application not being accepted. The person or family has to then rush to the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi who charge a hefty sum to renew the passports and sometimes reject it on flimsy grounds. Even though the person is eligible to get Indian citizenship under the 1955 Act, as he or she has spent around 12 years in India, they face hurdles,” Mr. Singh said.
Exempt from criminal charges
In 2015, MHA amended the Citizenship Rules and legalised the stay of foreign migrants belonging to these six communities who entered India on or before December 31, 2014 due to religious persecution, by exempting them from the provisions of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act even as their passports expired. Though they were exempt from facing any criminal action for illegally staying in India, the online portal still does not accept the expired documents to process their citizenship applications.
“Changes will be made to the online portal so that foreign passports and visa that have passed their validity can be accepted as a supporting document to apply for citizenship,” the source said.
People seeking Indian citizenship either come on long term visas (LTV) or pilgrim visas. LTVs given for five years are considered a precursor to citizenship.
This story was originally published in thehindu.com . Read the full story here