CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Recently, sources in the government have indicated that the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Bill for which was cleared by Parliament in December 2019, will be notified well in advance of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019

• It amended: The act amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants eligible for citizenship of India. 
• Citizenship on the Basis of Religion: The CAA provides citizenship on the basis of religion to six undocumented non-Muslim communities (Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before 31st December, 2014.
• Definition: Under the Act, an illegal migrant is a foreigner who:

oEnters the country without valid travel documents like a passport and visa, or

oEnters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.

• Citizenship by Registration or Naturalisation: The Act allows a person to apply for citizenship by registration or naturalisation if the person meets certain qualifications.
• Citizenship by Registration or Naturalisation: The Act allows a person to apply for citizenship by registration or naturalisation if the person meets certain qualifications.
• Non-applicability: These provisions on citizenship for illegal migrants will not apply to the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.