Domicile certificate issue is hanging like a sword over the heads of common people in Jammu and Kashmir. Although the government has cleared many doubts and has come with figures that most of the certificates issued so far have been given to the people living in Jammu and Kashmir and not to the outsiders, but common people have doubts.

The new domicile law allows Indian citizens who have lived in Jammu and Kashmir for 15 years to claim a “domicile certificate” for residency benefits, as well as those who have studied there for seven years. Children of central government officials who worked in Jammu and Kashmir for at least 10 years can also apply.

Recently in a press conference a senior bureaucrat said that 12.5 lakh domicile certificates have been issued so far and all the “permanent residents” of the erstwhile state with Permanent Resident Certificates issued before October 31, 2019, will be eligible for receiving their domicile certificates on the basis of PRCs alone, with no other additional document required.

However, for Kashmiri migrant pandits, the J&K government has said that they can get a domicile certificate on production of either a PRC or Certificate of registration of migrants.

In order to blunt the edge of criticism JK administration said that the new domicile certificate was only for applying for jobs and did not confer rights to own land in the region. The government further said that these are only rumours that such certificate holders would be included in the voters list.