In a major relief for persecuted minorities, India has extended the window for citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) by a full decade.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan can now apply for Indian citizenship if they entered the country on or before December 31, 2024.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has extended the cut-off date for entry into India for applying under CAA till 31st December 2024!
— Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) September 3, 2025
Grateful to Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah ji and the Central Government for this historic… pic.twitter.com/ZfVIKHhPKe
Earlier, the CAA limited eligibility to those who arrived by December 31, 2014. With this fresh notification, thousands more who sought refuge in India over the last ten years will now be able to seek legal recognition and permanent citizenship.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act was passed in December 2019 and signed into law by then-President Ram Nath Kovind. It was framed to provide a safe haven and a dignified future to non-Muslim minorities who faced systematic persecution in India’s neighbourhood.
