Karnataka: PRCs will help identify illegal immigrants, says Dy CM Parameshwara

Deputy CM G Parameshwara on Tuesday said Karnataka's new Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) would help the government identify illegal immigrants, rejecting the BJP's charge that the initiative could enable illegal Bangladeshi nationals to get the document.

The BJP has repeatedly flagged the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. "PRCs will, in fact, help identify and exclude such persons," Parameshwara, who also holds the revenue portfolio, told reporters.

He stressed that a PRC is not a citizenship document. "Citizenship is granted only by the Union government. A residence certificate and citizenship are entirely different, and not everyone is eligible for a PRC," he said.


The Revenue Department has also clarified that persons who are permanent residents of another state or already hold a PRC or an equivalent certificate issued elsewhere will not be eligible for a Karnataka PRC.

The government has issued a detailed standard operating procedure (SoP) for issuing PRCs ahead of doorstep delivery of the certificates. Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Parameshwara launched the service on Monday amid the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The PRC is one of the 11 documents accepted by the ECI as proof of ordinary residence for voter enrolment.

Under the SoP, applicants may qualify if they were born in Karnataka, have lived in the state for at least 10 years, or moved to the state after marriage. Eligibility also extends to those whose parent served in the Karnataka government or a state public sector undertaking for at least seven years, and to spouses of eligible PRC holders.

The government said failure to meet any single criterion would not automatically disqualify an applicant. Revenue authorities have been empowered to assess applications based on the overall evidence, including local inquiries where documentary proof is inadequate, with every decision required to be backed by a reasoned order.