NEW DELHI: Around 31,000 immigrants from minority communities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, granted long-term visa by India on grounds of 'religious persecution' and who have applied for citizenship, will be the immediate beneficiaries of the proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act. However, contrary to the perception that the bill will confer citizenship on a large number of Bangladeshi immigrants living in Assam, no more than 187 Bangladeshis were granted long-term visa from 2011 to January 8, 2019.The majority of the beneficiaries may be Pakistani immigrants, with as many as 34,817 issued long-term visas between 2011 and January 8. The religion-wise break-up of Pakistani long-term visa holders was not available, though as per the report of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on Citizenship Amendment Bill, there were 31,313 migrants - 25,447 Hindus, 5807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, two Buddhists and two Parsis - from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh staying on long-term visas.While 15,107 Pakistani long-term visa holders are living in Rajasthan, 1,560 are in Gujarat, 1,444 in Madhya Pradesh, 599 in Maharashtra, 581 in Delhi, 342 in Chhattisgarh and 101 in Uttar Pradesh.As per the JPC report laid in both Houses of Parliament on January 7, Intelligence Bureau in its deposition before the committee had said 31,313 minorities from the three countries, granted long-term visa based on claims of 'religious persecution' and who had applied for citizenship, would be the immediate beneficiaries of proposed changes in the Citizenship Act. However, it added that others who did not claim "religious persecution" at the time of their arrival in India would find it difficult to do so now. "Any future claim will be enquired into, including through RAW, before a decision (on grant of citizenship) is taken," the IB director had told the panel.He further hinted that even the 31,313 immigrants on long-term visa could be subjected to fresh security vetting. The purpose of such verification would be to establish if during the applicant's stay in India, anything adverse had come to notice of security agencies and if the applicant intended to or was noticed indulging in activities prejudicial to the nation.When asked by the JPC if only 31,313 persons would be benefited, the IB director had said, "Yes, because they have claimed, they have applied. There will be many others who might have come and they might have already taken citizenship by various means. They might have obtained passport, ration card... registered themselves in the voters list. So, for all practical purposes, they are already citizens of this country."