India, May 19 -- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a notification on Monday announcing amendments to the Citizenship Rules, 2009. According to the revised rules, applicants seeking Indian citizenship from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh will no longer be required to submit a declaration regarding the status of passports issued by their native countries.

The ministry has inserted a paragraph after Schedule IC of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, stating that the applicant must declare that he or she is "not in possession of a valid and/or expired passport" issued by the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh.

As per the gazette notification, if an individual is holding an active passport, the person must provide the...