CAA helpline soon: Home Ministry

March 13, 2024 10:04 pm | Updated 10:11 pm IST - NEW DELHI

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it would soon launch a helpline to assist applicants for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.

“Applicants can make free calls from anywhere in India and get information related to CAA-2019. Helpline to be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” the Ministry posted on social media platform X.

Users are required to register on the portal (https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in). A mobile application, ‘CAA-2019’, has also been readied. All documents, along with photographs are to be uploaded online, and applications will be processed after a background check by security agencies and the payment of ₹50.

On March 11, the MHA notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 that would enable the implementation of the CAA. The rules were notified four years after the legislation was passed.

The Act facilitates citizenship for undocumented people belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Christian and Jain communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014, and fast tracks the process by reducing eligibility to five years continuous stay instead of 12 years, as previously required.