Applicants seeking Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Rules, 2009 and belonging to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh will now be required to declare the status of passports issued by their native
countries and surrender them after being granted Indian citizenship, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday.
This means applicants will have to disclose whether they possess or have surrendered passports issued by Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh.
As per the MHA’s gazette notification, applicants must submit details of any valid or expired passports issued by the governments of the three neighbouring countries.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a notification announcing amendments to the Citizenship Rules, 2009, introducing new provisions related to passport disclosure for applicants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. pic.twitter.com/rA8tHQVhnb
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2026
Officials familiar with the matter said the decision was taken after some applicants were found to be in possession of expired or invalid foreign passports, which is not permitted under Indian law.
According to the revised rules, applicants must declare that “they are not in possession of a valid and/or expired passport (s) issued by the government of Pakistan/Afghanistan/Bangladesh”.
If an applicant holds such a document, they must disclose details including the passport number, place of issue, date of issue and expiry date.
The notification further stated that applicants holding these passports will have to surrender them within 15 days of being granted Indian citizenship.
In the gazette notification, the ministry said the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026, published under Section 18 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, have inserted a new paragraph into Schedule IC of the 2009 rules.
“The new provision, paragraph (iiiA), obliges applicants to state whether they hold a valid or expired passport issued by any of the three neighbouring countries. Those who possess such passports must provide passport details – number, date and place of issue, and expiry – and agree to surrender the document to the Senior Superintendent of Post or Superintendent of Post concerned within 15 days of citizenship approval,” the notification read.
As per the notification, the citizenship rules will come into force from the date of publication in the official gazette.
Earlier this month, the Union Home Ministry had notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026, introducing electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) cards, stricter rules on dual passports for minors and fully online applications.
“The rules introduce a fully digital OCI framework, mandating online applications, electronic records and acknowledgements, while phasing out duplicative physical processes. A new provision allows issuance of electronic OCI (e-OCI) alongside physical cards, signalling a shift toward paperless identity for overseas Indians. Applicants must now consent to sharing biometric data for integration with fast-track immigration programmes, enabling possible automatic enrolment in the future,” an MHA official stated.
The fresh notification introduces changes to the citizenship framework brought in last year for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), enacted by Parliament in 2019.
The CAA eases the path to Indian citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who came to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh after facing religious persecution.
