Violent protests have erupted across the country after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was notified. But how does one acquire Indian Citizenship? What does this amendment change? Here is an explainer. Violent protests haveerupted in different parts of India following the amendment made to the Citizenship Act of 1955. The Central Government stated that through this act, the persecuted religious minorities (Hindus,Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis & Christians) from three neighbouringcountries of Pakistan, Bangladesh & Afghanistan will be granted citizenshipunder certain conditions. But who is a citizen of India? How can one acquire Indiancitizenship? What is this amendment made in 2019, popularly known as the CAA,which has sparked a lot of controversy? Here is an explainer. Citizenship and rules for acquiring it are different in different countries Differentcountries have different rules pertaining to citizenship based on history,treaties and public international law. For instance, in the United States, a person acquires US Citizenshipjust by birth in the country. Being a permanent resident (authorised to liveand work in US) in the country for five years makes one eligible to apply forcitizenship by naturalisation. In India,citizenship and its acquisition has been defined in detail in the Citizenship Act of 1955. This act was originallypassed in 1955 and since then, has been amended five times- in 1986, 2003,2005, 2015 and 2019. The act defines who an Indian citizen is and how one can acquire the same.The Home Ministry is the sole authority for any issue pertaining to Indiancitizenship. As per the act, there are four ways to obtain Indian Citizenship- What about by Birth? Every person born in India on or after 26 January 1950 and before 01 July 1987 is an Indian citizen. An amendment made in 2003 granted citizenship to those born in India between 1 July 1987 till the date of notification of the ‘Citizenship Amendment Act of 2003’, provided at least one parent was an Indian citizen when the person was born. Since the amendment made in 2003, one will be an Indian citizen by birth only if at least one of the parents is an Indian citizen and the other is not an illegal migrant. Citizenship by descent, as the title suggests, refers to citizenship by virtue of Parentage A person who isborn outside India between 26 January 1950 and 10 December 1992 will be grantedIndian citizenship if his/her father was an Indian citizen by birth at the timeof the person’s birth. In case of persons born outside India between 10December 1992 and before 03 December 2004, citizenship will be granted only ifeither of their parents is an Indian citizen by birth. In both the cases,to acquire Indian citizenship, if the parent is an Indian citizen by descent,then the person’s birth should be registered in the concerned Indian Consulatewithin one year from the date of birth. As per the 2003amendment, post 03 December 2004, citizenship will be granted to those bornoutside the country only if the parents declare that the minor does not holdthe passport of any other country and the birth of the person should have alsobeen registered in the Indian Consulate within one year. The Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 has redefined illegal migrants The recent amendment act of 2019 defines illegal migrant as a foreigner in India who The latest amendment to the act states the following: In other words,those persons from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan belonging to Hindu,Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian religious communities, who enteredIndia on or before 31 December 2014 are no longer considered illegal migrants. What is Citizenship by Registration? Except for illegalmigrants, Indian citizenship can also be acquired by registration. Thosepersons of Indian origin, who have been residing in the country for seven yearsor are residents in countries outside undivided India are eligible to registerfor citizenship. Even those persons who have been registered as overseas citizensof India for five years can apply provided they have been living in India forone year before applying. Spouses of Indian citizens who have resided in Indiafor seven years and minor children of Indian citizens are also eligible toapply. However, the discretion/authority on whether or not to grant citizenshiplies with the Government of India. Foreigners can also apply for Indian citizenship through naturalisation The fourth mode ofacquiring citizenship is through naturalisation. Any foreigner, other thanillegal migrants, who has been living in India for 12 months before applyingfor citizenship and has lived in the country for at least 11 years of the 14years prior to the 12-month period mentioned above will be granted acertificate of naturalisation.