Agencies | New Delhi:
The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday notified the Citizenship (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, empowering district collectors in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, as well as the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, to grant citizenship by registration or naturalisation to eligible applicants ordinarily residing in these areas.
Under the amended rules, district collectors will replace the Empowered Committees and Designated Officers that previously exercised these powers. The collectors have been authorised to receive, scrutinise and dispose of citizenship applications in accordance with the prescribed legal requirements.
The new rules designate the district collector as the “competent authority” for receiving applications electronically from eligible applicants seeking citizenship through registration or naturalisation. In Assam and Tripura, however, the provisions will not apply to tribal areas.
The Home Ministry has also directed that all applications pending before the previously authorised committees or District Level Committees in the specified regions be transferred immediately to the concerned district collector.
Once an application is submitted electronically, an automated acknowledgement will be generated. The collector will then verify the documents submitted by the applicant and conduct any inquiry considered necessary to determine the applicant’s eligibility and suitability.
According to the notification, the collector will also administer the prescribed oath of allegiance and satisfy himself that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements under Section 6B of the Citizenship Act.
If the collector is satisfied that the applicant is a “fit and proper person” and meets the prescribed conditions, the authority can grant Indian citizenship directly.
The rules, however, retain a requirement for applicants to appear personally during the process. The notification states that if an applicant fails to appear in person to subscribe to the application and take the oath of allegiance despite being given reasonable opportunities, the collector will reject the application.
The government has also rescinded earlier orders governing the process, while preserving actions already taken or omitted under those orders before their rescission.
The move effectively decentralises the citizenship application process in the specified states and Union Territories by placing greater decision-making authority with district-level administrations.
