Citizenship Act, 1955
Methods of Acquiring Citizenship
The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides five ways to acquire Indian citizenship: by birth, by descent, by registration, by naturalization, and by incorporation of territory. The CAA amends the naturalization and registration pathways for the specified communities.
- Naturalization (regular): 11 years of residency (1 year immediately before + 10 out of 14 preceding years)
- Naturalization (CAA pathway): reduced to 5 years for eligible non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan
- Registration: available for persons of Indian origin, spouses of citizens, persons of full age and capacity who have been ordinary residents for 7 years
- By birth: right of citizenship by birth was amended by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1987 and 2003 — persons born after July 1, 1987 require at least one citizen parent; those born after December 3, 2004 require both parents to be citizens or one parent to be citizen and the other not an illegal migrant
● Tracked since March 02, 2026 · last seen July 19, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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