Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 under the newly enacted Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. Read here to learn more.

This Order establishes a legal framework for regulating immigration while also specifying categories of persons exempt from the strict application of passport and visa requirements under the Act.

This is a significant policy step, aimed at balancing national security concerns with India’s humanitarian and historical obligations towards certain groups of people.

Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which recently came into effect, represents one of the most significant overhauls of India’s immigration regime in decades.

By consolidating and replacing four older laws: the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000, the new law provides a single, comprehensive legal framework to regulate immigration, entry, stay, and exit of foreigners in India.

Key provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act

1. Immigration Posts

The Act empowers the Central Government to notify designated immigration posts through which foreigners may enter or exit India. This allows better monitoring of cross-border movement and enhances border management.

2. Bureau of Immigration

A dedicated Bureau of Immigration will be established to perform key immigration functions.
Its responsibilities include:

• Issuing visas and permits.
• Regulating entry, transit, and stay of foreigners in India.
• Overseeing their movement within the country.

This institutional mechanism aims to bring efficiency, uniformity, and modernisation to immigration management.

3. Registration of Foreigners

Foreigners will now be required to register with a Registration Officer upon arrival in India. This registration will create a formal record, helping track individuals’ presence and stay duration, and ensuring national security compliance.

4. Reporting Obligations

The Act makes it mandatory for several entities to report details of foreigners:

• Carriers (airlines, shipping companies) must provide passenger data to authorities.
• Educational institutions must report admissions of foreign students.
• Medical institutions must notify authorities when they treat foreign patients.

These measures strengthen intelligence gathering and immigration monitoring.

5. Offences and Penalties

The Act introduces stringent penalties for violations:

• Foreigners entering India without a valid passport or travel document can face imprisonment up to five years, a fine up to ₹5 lakh, or both.
• Carriers or hosts failing to report required information may also face penalties.

6. Power of Arrest

The law empowers police officers (not below the rank of Head Constable) to arrest foreigners without a warrant for violations of the Act. This is aimed at quick action against illegal entry, overstays, or other breaches.

7. Control of Premises

The civil authority may order the closure of places frequented by foreigners or restrict their entry into certain areas if required for public safety, national security, or public order.

Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025

Exemptions from Passport and Visa Requirements

Certain categories of individuals are exempted from the requirement to hold a valid passport or visa for entering or staying in India:

• Indian Armed Forces Personnel: Armed forces personnel on duty who may cross borders during operational, peacekeeping, or humanitarian missions are exempt.
• Indian, Nepali, and Bhutanese Citizens: Facilitates free movement at specified borders, in line with India’s historical treaty obligations (e.g., India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950).
• Tibetans: Tibetans holding valid registration certificates or special permits are exempt, maintaining continuity with India’s long-standing policy of hosting Tibetan refugees.
• Specific Religious Minorities: Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2024, even without valid documents or with expired documents, are exempt.
  • This aligns with India’s humanitarian approach and partially operationalises the spirit of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), by providing relief to persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries.
• Sri Lankan Tamil Nationals: Those who took shelter in India on or before January 9, 2015 are covered, in line with India’s commitment to protect displaced Tamils after the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Visa Exemptions

In addition to passport exemptions, the Order provides visa exemptions for the following categories:

• Diplomatic/Official Passport Holders: Foreign nationals holding diplomatic or official passports, where visa waiver agreements exist between India and their respective countries.
• Visa-on-Arrival Eligible Nationals: Extends coverage to citizens of countries already eligible for visa-on-arrival schemes, to facilitate seamless entry.
• Foreign Military Personnel on Naval Visits: Foreign defence personnel visiting India as part of official goodwill missions or arriving on naval warships are exempted, promoting military diplomacy and strategic partnerships.

Significance of Immigration and Foreigners Order

• Humanitarian Considerations: This Order reflects India’s long-standing tradition of providing refuge to persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries. It ensures that such groups can live in India without fear of deportation or harassment.
• Regional Connectivity and Friendly Relations: By allowing free movement for Nepali and Bhutanese citizens, India reaffirms its commitment to regional integration and open borders with trusted neighbours.
• National Security and Legal Clarity: The Order establishes a clear legal framework for who is exempt, reducing ambiguities in enforcement at borders and ensuring that authorities can distinguish between legitimate refugees and illegal entrants.
• Diplomatic and Strategic Engagement: Visa exemptions for diplomats, officials, and military personnel strengthen India’s bilateral and multilateral engagements, particularly with partner nations in defence cooperation.

Significance of Including Sri Lankan Tamils

A notable feature of this order is the reference to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, many of whom have been living in Tamil Nadu since the early 1990s.

• Protection from Repatriation: The order safeguards these refugees from forcible repatriation to Sri Lanka.
• Welfare Focus: Over the last three decades, both the Union and Tamil Nadu governments have refrained from any unilateral plan to send them back, instead focusing on their welfare through education, housing, and livelihood measures.
• Historical Exclusion: Sri Lankan Tamils were excluded from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which granted citizenship to six persecuted religious minority groups from three neighbouring countries. The order now at least gives them legal relief, though not full citizenship.

Unresolved Issues and Policy Gaps

Despite its positive steps, the order leaves certain critical questions unanswered:

• Illegal Migrant Tag: Refugees may still carry the legal designation of “illegal migrants,” which continues to act as a hurdle to applying for Indian citizenship under Section 5 (registration) or Section 6 (naturalisation) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• Long-term Visas (LTVs): Refugees currently find it difficult to secure LTVs, which are essential for gainful employment, higher education, and access to certain welfare schemes. Without LTVs, their integration remains limited.
• Citizenship Pathway: While the MHA had earlier stated that those proving victimhood of oppression could be considered for LTVs, the process remains cumbersome and unclear.

Potential Challenges

• Security Concerns: Exemptions, especially at porous borders, may be exploited by anti-national elements. Strong vetting mechanisms will be essential.
• Demographic and Political Sensitivities: The inclusion of specific religious minorities could trigger debates about selectivity and exclusion of other groups, raising socio-political tensions.
• Administrative Capacity: Ensuring that exemptions are not misused will require robust digital tracking, documentation, and coordination between central and state agencies.

Way Forward

To ensure a sustainable solution, a multi-pronged approach is necessary:

• Liberalise Long-Term Visa Policy: The Centre could simplify and liberalise the process for granting LTVs to deserving Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, enabling their economic participation and education.
• Identity Certificates as a Model: The certificate of identity provided to Tibetan refugees could serve as a template for Tamil refugees, offering them a recognised legal status and access to services.
• Voluntary Repatriation with Assistance: India and Sri Lanka should work together on a voluntary repatriation framework, accompanied by financial and rehabilitation support to ensure safe and dignified return for those willing.
• Local Integration: For those unwilling or unable to return, a well-structured local integration plan can provide a permanent solution, balancing humanitarian concerns with host community interests.
• Humane and Inclusive Approach: Fundamentally, stakeholders must approach the issue with a humanitarian and rights-based perspective, ensuring that refugees are not left in a perpetual state of limbo.

Conclusion

The Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, marks a crucial step in codifying India’s immigration policy under the new Act.

It strikes a balance between security imperatives, international commitments, and humanitarian responsibilities.

Going forward, its effective implementation will require tight border management, digital verification systems, and coordinated refugee welfare measures to maintain national security while upholding India’s historic role as a refuge for the persecuted.

Related articles:

• Illegal immigration across the world
• Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955
• Domestic migration in India