CITIZENSHIP RULES, 2009
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 18 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:--
1. Short title and commencement—(1) These rules may be called the Citizenship Rules, 2009.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions—In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) "Collector" means the officer-in-charge of the revenue administration of a district and includes a Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate, wherever so functioning;
(b) "Form" means a Form appended to Schedule I to these rules;
(c) "Schedule" means a Schedule annexed to these rules;
(d) "section" means a section of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955).
3. Application for registration of birth under section 4—A person may submit an application for registration of birth of his minor child born outside India in terms of sub-section (1) of section 4 in Form I to the Indian consulate in the country, where such child was born, together with a declaration that the child does not hold the passport of any other country.
4. Application for registration under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 5—An application from a person of Indian origin for registration as a citizen of India under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 5 shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form II;
(b) he gives an undertaking in writing that he shall renounce the citizenship of his country in the event of his application being sanctioned;
(c) he is ordinarily resident in India for a period of at least seven years on the date of making application; and
(d) he makes the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
5. Application for registration under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 5—(1) An application from a person, who is married to a citizen of India, for registra-tion as a citizen of India under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 5 shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form III;
(b) he gives an undertaking in writing that he shall renounce the citizenship of his country in the event of his application being sanctioned;
(c) on the date of making the application he,--
(i) has been ordinarily a resident of India; or
(ii) has been in the service of the Government of India, at least for a period of seven years; and
(d) he makes the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Explanation.-In computing the period of seven y
6. Application for registration under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 5—An application for registration as a citizen of India under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 5, for a minor child of a person who is a citizen of India, shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form IV; and
(b) the parent of such minor child declares that he is the legal guardian of the child.
7. Application for registration under clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 5—An application from a person for registration as citizen of India under clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 5 shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form V;
(b) he gives an undertaking in writing that he shall renounce the citizenship of his country in the event of his application being sanctioned; and
(c) he makes the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
8. Application for registration under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 5—An application from a person for registration as a citizen of India under clause (f) of sub-section (1) of section 5 shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form VI;
(b) he gives an undertaking that he shall renounce the citizenship of his country in the event of his application being sanctioned;
[(c) he is ordinarily resident in India for a period of at least twelve months on the date of making application; and]
(d) he makes the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
[Provided that the period of twelve months referred to in clause (c) may, under special circumstances, be relaxed by the Central Government under sub-section (1A) of section 5 of the Citizenship Act, 1955.]
9. Application for registration under clause (g) of sub-section (1) of section 5—An application from a person registered as an [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder], for registration as a citizen of India under clause (g) of sub-section (1) of section 5, shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form VII;
(b) he gives an undertaking in writing that he shall renounce the citizenship of his country in the event of his application being sanctioned;
[(c) he has been an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder for a period of at least five years and is ordinarily resident in India for a period of twelve months on the date of making application; and]
(d) he makes the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
[Provided that the period of twelve months referred to in clause (c) may, und
10. Application for grant of citizenship by naturalisation under sub-section (1) of section 6—
An application from a person for naturalisation as a citizen of India under sub-section (1) of section 6 shall not be entertained unless--
(a) the application is made in Form VIII;
(b) he gives an undertaking in writing that he shall renounce the citizenship of his country in the event of his application being sanctioned; and
(c) the application is accompanied with--
(i) a duly stamped affidavit verifying the correctness of the statements made in the application alongwith two affidavits from Indian citizens testifying the character of the applicant; and
(ii) a certificate depicting that the applicant has adequate knowledge of one of the languages specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitu-tion of India.
11. Authority to which application may be made—(1) An application for registration under section 5 or naturalisation under section 6 shall be made to the Collector within whose jurisdiction the applicant is ordinarily resident.
(2) On the receipt of the application, the Collector shall issue an acknowledgement in Form IX.
(3) On being satisfied about the correctness of the particulars of application and before forwarding the application to the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, the Collector shall administer to the applicant, who has applied for grant of citizenship by registration, the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955.
[Provided that in respect of an application submitted by any person belonging to minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan (namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jai
12. Forwarding of applications to Central Government—(1) The Collector shall forward every application received by him under clauses (a) , (c) , (d) , (e) , (f) and (g) of sub-section (1) of section 5 or sub-section (1) of section 6 to the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, within a period of sixty days from the date of its receipt, along with a report as to whether the applicant--
(a) satisfies all the conditions laid down in the relevant clauses of section 5 or section 6;
(b) has an intention to make India his permanent home;
(c) has signed the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act, 1955; and
(d) is of good character and is a fit and proper person to be registered or naturalised, as the case may be, as a citizen of India.
(2) The State Government or the Union
13. Scrutiny of applications by Central Government—The Central Government may,--
(a) on receipt of the applications from the State Government or the Union territory Administration, as the case may be, complete in all respects; and
(b) on being satisfied after making such inquiry as it considers necessary for ascertaining the suitability of the applicant, that he is a fit and proper person to be registered or naturalised, as the case may be, grant him the citizenship of India.
14. Grant of certificate of registration—(1) Every person who is registered as a citizen of India under clause (a) , (c) , (d) , (e) or (f) of sub-section (1) of section 5 shall be issued a certificate of registration in Form X signed by an officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India.
(2) Every person who is registered as a citizen of India under clause (g) of sub-section (1) of section 5 shall be issued a certificate of registration in Form XI signed by an officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India.
(3) A copy of the certificate of registration issued under this rule, shall be preserved for the purposes of record by the issuing authority.
15. Grant of certificate of naturalisation—(1) Every person who by naturalisation is made a citizen of India under sub-section (1) of section 6, shall be issued a certificate of naturalisation in Form XII signed by an officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India.
(2) A copy of the certificate of naturalisation issued under this rule, shall be preserved for the purposes of record by the issuing authority.
16. Oath of allegiance for naturalisation—(1) The oath of allegiance, under sub-section (2) of section 6 by a person to whom the certificate of naturalisation is granted, shall be subscribed in Form XII and the oath of allegiance so subscribed shall be endorsed on the certificate of naturalisation to which it relates.
(2) The oath of allegiance under sub-rule (1) shall be subscribed within a period of three months from the date of grant of certificate of naturalisation to which it relates, or within such extended period as the authority granting the certificate may permit, and in case the oath is not taken within the said period, the certificate shall be of no effect:
Provided that no permission shall be given under this sub-rule unless a state-ment to that effect is endorsed on the certificate and signed by the officer authorised under rule 15 to sign the certificate of naturalisation.
17. Register of citizens—The Central Government shall maintain a register containing the names and other details of the persons registered or naturalised as citizen of India--
(a) under clauses (a) , (e) and (f) of sub-section (1) of section 5, in Form XIII;
(b) under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 5, in Form XIV;
(c) under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 5, in Form XV;
(d) under clause (g) of sub-section (1) of section 5 in Form XVI; and
(e) under sub-section (1) of section 6 in Form XVII.
18. Maintenance of registers and connected papers—(1) Every entry made in the register maintained under rule 17 shall be numbered consecutively and each entry shall relate to one person only.
(2) Every entry made in the register maintained under rule 17 shall be authenticated by the officer authorised to issue the certificate after a person is registered or as the case may be, naturalised as a citizen of India.
(3) The register, all applications and papers connected therewith shall be preserved as permanent record.
19. Registering authority for the purpose of sub-section (3) of section 6-A and form for registration—(1) The Central Government may, for the purposes of sub-section (3) of section 6-A, appoint an officer not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate as the registering authority for every district of the State of Assam.
[(2) An application for registration under sub-section (3) of section 6A shall be made in Form XVIII, by the person to the registering authority for the district in which such person is ordinarily a resident within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of order of the Foreigners Tribunal declaring such person as a foreigner;
Provided that the registering authority may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the said period to such further period as may be justified in each case but not exceeding sixty days].
[(2A) A person who has been declared
20. Reference to Tribunals—Where, in case of a person seeking registration under sub-section (3) of section 6-A,--
(a) any question arises as to whether such person fulfils any requirement contained in the said sub-section; or
(b) the opinion of the Tribunal constituted under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 in relation to such person does not contain a finding with respect to any requirement contained in the said sub-section other than the question that he is a foreigner, then, the registering authority shall, within a period of fifteen days of the receipt of the application under sub-rule (2) of rule 19, make a fresh reference to the Tribunal in this regard.
21. Jurisdiction of Tribunal—The Tribunal constituted under the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 having jurisdiction over a district or part thereof in the State of Assam shall have jurisdiction to decide references, received from the registering authority of that district or part thereof in relation to all references made under sub-section (3) of section 6-A.
22. Declaration under sub-section (6) of section 6-A—The declaration under sub-section (6) of section 6-A shall be made in Form XXI to the District Magistrate of the area within whose jurisdiction such person is ordinarily resident.
23. Declaration of renunciation of citizenship—(1) A declaration of renunciation of citizenship of India under sub-section (1) of section 8 shall be made in Form XXII, and shall state--
(a) under which provisions of law, the applicant is an Indian citizen; and
(b) the circumstances in which the applicant intends to acquire foreign citizenship.
(2) On receipt of the declaration of renunciation of citizenship of India under sub-rule (1), an acknowledgement in Form XXIII shall be issued by an officer designated under rule 38.
(3) The declaration shall be registered in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
(4) The Central Government in the Ministry of Home Affairs shall maintain a register in Form XXIV containing the names of persons whose declaration of renuncia-tion of citizenship are registered under this rule.
24. Declaration of intention to resume Indian citizenship—(1) A declaration of intention to resume citizenship under the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 8 shall be made in Form XXV, within a period of one year of attaining the full age and the oath of allegiance as specified in the Second Schedule to the Citizenship Act shall be subscribed and duly attested.
(2) Every such declaration shall be registered in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
(3) No such declaration shall be registered unless the declarant has taken the oath of allegiance given at the end of the Form.
(4) Every person who makes such declaration shall be issued a certificate of resumption of citizenship of India in Form XXVI, signed by an officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India, and where such a certificate is issued, a copy thereof shall be preserved for the purpose
25. Notice to be given before deprivation of citizenship—(1) When it is decided to make an order under section 10 depriving a person of his citizenship of India, a notice under sub-section (4) of that section shall be given--
(a) in a case where the person's whereabouts is known, by causing the notice to be delivered to him personally or by sending it to him by post; or
(b) in a case where the person's whereabouts is not known, by sending it to his last known address.
(2) On receipt of the notice under sub-rule (1), the effected person may make an application for referring his case to a Committee of Inquiry under sub-section (5) of section 10,--
(a) if that person is in India at the time when the notice is given to him, within a period of three months from the date of the notice; or
(b) in any other case, within such time being not less than
26. Committee to follow procedure specified in Schedule II in holding inquiry—A Committee of Inquiry appointed under section 10 shall, while holding the inquiry under sub-section (6) of that section, follow the procedure laid down in Schedule II.
27. Order depriving a person of citizenship of India to be published—Every order made under section 10, depriving a person of the citizenship of India, shall be published in the Official Gazette.
28. Surrender and cancellation of certificate in case of deprivation of citizenship—(1) Where an order has been made depriving a person registered or naturalised in India of his citizenship of India, the person so deprived or any other person in possession of the certificate of registration or naturalisation shall, when required by notice in writing given by the Central Government, deliver the said certificate to such person and within such period as may be specified in the notice.
(2) On the certificate being delivered, it shall be cancelled and in case the certificate is not delivered, then, the Central Government may direct that it shall, without prejudice to any action which may be taken under sub-rule (3), be treated as cancelled.
(3) If any person fails to comply with any notice given under sub-rule (1), he shall be liable to a fine, which may extend to one thousand rupees.
29. Application for registration under section 7-A—(1) An application for registration as an [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]under section 7-A shall be made in Form XXVIII.
(2) A family consisting of a spouse and upto two minor children may apply in the same Form.
[* * * * * *]
31. Authority to which applications are to be made—An application under rule 29 [* * * * * *]shall be made in duplicate--
[(a) in India--
(i) to the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) as may be specified by the Central Government; or
(ii) to the Foreigners Division, Ministry of Home Affairs;]
(b) outside India--
(i) to the Indian Mission or Post having jurisdiction over the country of which an applicant is a citizen; or
(ii) where he is not in the country of his citizenship, to the Indian Mission or Post having jurisdiction over the country of which the applicant is ordinarily resident.
32. Scrutiny of applications—(1) The Central Government may, after a preliminary inquiry and on being apparently satisfied that there is no adverse information available against the applicant, register the person as an [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]as soon as possible but not later than a period of thirty days and the case shall be placed for post verification of the antecedents.
[(1-A) In the case of a person referred to in clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, who is a spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or a spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, the registration as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder of such person shall be subject to prior security clearance from a competent authority in India as provided under the said clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.]
(2) The Central Governm
33. Certificate of registration and maintenance of register or persons under section 7-A—(1) Every person, who is registered as an [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]under section 7-A shall be issued a certificate of registration in Form XXIX, signed by an officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India.
(2) A copy of the certificate of [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder] issued under this rule, shall be preserved for the purposes of record by the issuing authority.
(3) The issuing authority shall maintain, a register containing names and other details of the persons registered as [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]under section 7-A in Form XXX and a copy thereof shall be forwarded to the Ministry of Home Affairs in the first week of every month.
[34. Declaration of renunciation of Overseas Citizen of India card - (1) A declaration of renunciation of the card registering a person as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder under section 7C shall be made in Form XXXI, accompanied with the original certificate of registration of Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, to the concerned Indian Mission or Post or the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, who in turn, shall forward the same to the authority which issued the said certificate of registration.
(2) On receipt of the declaration of renunciation of the card registering as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, the issuing authority shall issue an acknowledgement in Form XXXII and remove the name of the declarant from the register of Overseas Citizen of India cardholder.]
35. Cancellation of registration as [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]—(1) Where an order has been made cancelling the registration as an [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]of India, the person whose registration has been cancelled or any other person in possession of the certificate of registration shall, when required by notice in writing by the Central Government, deliver the said certificate to such person and within such period as may be specified in the notice.
(2) On the certificate being delivered, it shall be cancelled and in case the certificate is not delivered, then the Central Government may direct that it shall be treated as cancelled.
(3) The issuing authority shall make an appropriate entry in the register maintained under sub-rule (3) of rule 33 stating the cancellation of registration as [Overseas Citizen of India cardholder]and a copy thereof shall be submitted to the Ministry of Hom
36. Variation in Form of application or declaration—Where a person wishes to make an application or declaration under any of these rules and the form referred to in the rule is, in the opinion of the Central Government or other authority to whom the application is to be sent for registration, unsuitable to the particular case, the Central Government or that other authority, as the case may be, may authorise the application or declaration being made in some other form.
37. Certificate of citizenship in case of doubt—A certificate of citizenship in case of doubt under section 13 may be issued in Form XXXIII and shall be signed by an officer not below the rank of Under Secretary to the Government of India.
38. Authority before whom application or declaration may be made or by whom the oath of allegiance may be administered—(1) An application or declaration made in accordance with these rules shall not be accepted or registered and the oath of allegiance required by sub-section (2) of section 5 or sub-section (2) of section 6 shall be of no effect, unless it is signed in the presence of, or administered by,--
(i) the Collector, Deputy Commissioner, or the District Magistrate in India;
(ii) any Consular officer as defined in clause (d) of rule 2 of the Citizens (Registration at Indian Consulates) Rules, 1956 outside India:
Provided that if the applicant or declarant is serving in India in the naval, military or air forces of the Union, the application or declaration may be signed in the presence of, or the oath administered by, any officer holding a Commission in any of these forces.
39. Certificate of documents—A document may be certified to be a true copy of a document by means of a statement in writing to that effect signed by any of the persons before whom the application or declaration may be made or whom the oath of allegiance may be administered or by any officer now below the rank of an Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
40. Authority to determine acquisition of citizenship of another country—(1) For the purpose of sub-section (2) of section 9, the Central Government may determine the issues as to whether, when or how any citizen of India had acquired the citizenship of another country.
(2) The Central Government while determining any such issues shall have due regard to the rules of procedure specified in Schedule III.
41. Fees—The fees specified under column (3) or, as the case may be, under column (4) of the Schedule IV shall be levied and collected in respect of the matters referred to under column (2) of that Schedule.
42. Authority for revision of an order made under the Act by prescribed authority—If an application is made by a person aggrieved by an order made under the provisions of the Act, the application shall be disposed off after giving a reasonable opportunity to the person affected to present his case, by an authority one rank higher than the authority specified for disposal of application against the order of which revision is sought.
43. Repeal and saving—The Citizenship Rules, 1956 is hereby repealed:
Provided that such repeal shall not affect--
(a) the previous operation of the said rules or anything duly done or suffered thereunder; or
(b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the said rules; or
(c) any penalty, forfeiture or punishment incurred in respect of any offence committed against the said rules; or
(d) any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid, and any such investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced any such penalty, forfeiture, or punishment, may be imposed as if the said rules had not been repealed.
[Refer rule 2(c)]
FORM I
(Refer rule 3)
THE CITIZENSHIP RULES, 2009
Application for registration of birth of a minor child at an Indian consulate under section
[Refer rule 26]
THE CITIZENSHIP RULES, 2009
1. (1) When the Central Government refers the case of a citizen of India to a Committee of Inquiry under sub-section (3) of section 10 (which relates to deprivation of citizenship of India), the Committee of Inquiry (in this Schedule referred to as "the Committee") shall before holding the inquiry, cause notice to be given to the person to whom the inquiry relates, stating the time and the place where it will be held and the nature thereof and informing him that he will be entitled to be present and/or to be represented by counsel or solicitor, or if the Committee think fit, by some other person approved by them.
(2) A notice under this rule may be given, -
(a) in a case where the address of the person concerned is known, by causing the notice to be delivered to him personally or by sending it to him to the a
[Refer rule 40(2)]
THE CITIZENSHIP RULES, 2009
1. Where it appears to the Central Government that a citizen of India has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any other country, it may require him to prove within such period as may be fixed by it in this behalf, that he has not voluntarily acquired the citizenship of that country; and the burden of proving that he has not so acquired such citizenship shall be on him.
2. For the purpose of determining any question relating to the acquisition by an Indian citizen of the citizenship of any other country, the Central Government may make such reference as it thinks fit in respect of that question or of any matter relating thereto, to its Embassy in that country or to the Government of that country and act on any report or information received in pursuance of such reference.
3. The fact that a citizen of I
(Refer rule 41)
THE CITIZENSHIP RULES, 2009
TABLES OF FEES
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