Collectors Empowered to Grant Citizenship Under CAA

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has empowered District Collectors to process pending citizenship applications under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 in eight States and Union Territories (UTs). The move shifts the responsibility from Central government-led Empowered Committees to district-level authorities. The change has been made through the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified on August 19, 2026, and applies to pending applications in the specified jurisdictions.

About Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026

Under Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 District Collectors have been authorised to receive, scrutinise, verify and dispose of applications for registration or naturalisation under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The process under the  Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 is as follows:

• Application: The applicant submits an application for registration or naturalisation under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act, 1955 through the prescribed process to the competent District Collector.
• Scrutiny: The District Collector examines the application and the documents submitted by the applicant.
• Verification: The Collector verifies the documents and may conduct the necessary enquiry to establish the applicant’s eligibility.
• Eligibility Check: Based on the verification, the Collector determines whether the applicant fulfils the requirements prescribed under Section 6B and the Citizenship Rules.
• Oath of Allegiance: The eligible applicant is required to subscribe to the prescribed Oath of Allegiance as part of the citizenship process.
• Decision: If satisfied that the applicant meets the prescribed requirements and is a “fit and proper person”, the competent authority can grant citizenship.
• States Covered: The new arrangement covers Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. 
  • All applications pending before the earlier Empowered Committees and District Level Committees in these jurisdictions will be transferred to the concerned District Collectors.
• Exceptions: Tribal areas of Assam and Tripura are excluded.

Why Were the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 Introduced?

The Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 were introduced to decentralise and simplify the processing of citizenship applications. The earlier system involved two levels of committees and officials from multiple Central government agencies. The new arrangement creates a more direct chain of responsibility at the district level.

Earlier system

The Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024 created the mechanism through which CAA applications were processed after the CAA, 2019.

• Applications were handled through District Level Committees and Empowered Committees, with officials from different Central government agencies involved in the process.
• The District Level Committee was responsible for the initial processing and verification of applicants, while the Empowered Committee handled the subsequent decision-making process.

This created a multi-agency mechanism for processing citizenship applications. The new Rules were therefore introduced to simplify this process by placing the responsibility with the District Collector, reducing administrative layers and enabling faster and more direct disposal of citizenship applications.

‹ ›