Naturalisation — CAA §6B expedited (six communities from AF/BD/PK)

As of 2026-07, eligibility under the §6B track has four cumulative statutory elements drawn from the §2(1)(b) proviso: (1) community — the applicant belongs to one of six enumerated communities: Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian; (2) country of origin — the applicant is from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan; (3) entry date — the applicant entered India on or before 31 December 2014; and (4) prior exemption — the applicant has been exempted by the Central Government under clause (c) of §3(2) of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, or from the Foreigners Act, 1946 (the precursor exemption notifications of 2015 and 2016 having placed the Bangladesh/Pakistan and then Afghanistan minority cohorts within that exemption). A person meeting all four elements 'shall not be treated as illegal migrant', which removes the §5(1)/§6(1) 'illegal migrant' bar that would otherwise disqualify them. Section 6B(4) then geographically excludes the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, and the areas covered under 'The Inner Line' notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873 — so an otherwise-eligible applicant resident in those carve-out areas falls outside the section. These are India-scoped statutory eligibility facts stated as enacted, without editorial characterisation.

As of 2026-07, an eligible person applies under §6B(1) for a certificate of registration or a certificate of naturalisation. The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 (G.S.R. 160(E), notified 11 March 2024) prescribe an online application processed through a District Level Committee (which verifies documents and administers the oath of allegiance) and a State-Level Empowered Committee (which scrutinises and grants). The Rules operate through the dedicated online portal. Section 6B(3) provides that, on and from the commencement of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, any proceeding pending against the applicant under this section in respect of illegal migration or citizenship stands abated on conferment of citizenship; a first proviso bars rejection or disqualification merely because such a proceeding is pending (if the person is otherwise found qualified), and a second proviso preserves the rights and privileges the person held on the date his application was received. The first §6B certificates were issued on 15 May 2024. Government-fee figures reported for the online application are operational and should be pinned to the official schedule before publication.

Section 6B — 'Special provisions as to citizenship of person covered by proviso to clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2' — was inserted by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 47 of 2019), with effect from 10 January 2020. It operates together with a proviso added to the §2(1)(b) definition of 'illegal migrant' by the same Act. As of 2026-07, the mechanism has two limbs. First, the §2(1)(b) proviso provides that a person belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered India on or before 31 December 2014, and who has been exempted by the Central Government under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, or from the application of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (or any rule/order thereunder), 'shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act'. Second, §6B(1) empowers the Central Government or an authority specified by it, subject to prescribed conditions, restrictions and manner, to grant on application a certificate of registration or a certificate of naturalisation to such a person. The implementing Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were notified as G.S.R. 160(E) on 11 March 2024, and the first §6B certificates were issued on 15 May 2024.