India has enacted the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which aims to tighten passport and visa rules. The new law has also armed the Bureau of Immigration with enhanced powers to track, detain, and deport illegal migrants. While the law makes it mandatory for hotels, hospitals, and educational institutions to report foreigners to officials, it also enhances the powers of the Bureau of Immigration to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, every state government and Union territory administration will set up dedicated holding centres or detention camps to restrict the movement of foreigners until they are deported, according to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The MHA said every foreigner applying for any category of visa, including registration as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder, shall allow his or her biometric information to be taken by the authority issuing the visa or the authority granting the registration as an OCI cardholder before the grant of such visa or registration. It also said that in the case of illegal immigrants apprehended within India, they shall be subjected to restrictions on movement in a holding centre or camp pending deportation. The designated border-guarding forces or the Coast Guard shall take steps to prevent illegal immigrants from attempting to enter India by sending them back after capturing their biometric information and available demographic details on the designated portal of the central government.
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“A foreigner may be refused entry into or stay in India on the following grounds, namely — if he is convicted on charges of anti-national activities, espionage, rape and murder, crimes against humanity, terrorist and subversive activity, including arranging financial support, money-laundering, or hawala for such activities; trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances; human trafficking including child trafficking; racketeering in fake travel documents and currency (including cryptocurrency); cybercrime; child abuse; or is found involved in such offences,” the MHA order said. No foreigner who has a valid visa for taking up employment in India shall, without the permission of the civil authority, accept employment in an undertaking in the private sector engaged in the supply of power or water, or in the petroleum sector, it said.
“A foreigner shall produce, attempt to produce, or cause to be produced, feature films, documentary films, reality television and web shows or series, commercial television serials or shows, or any other mode or medium as may be specified by the central government from time to time, intended for public exhibition, only with written permission and subject to specific conditions,” the order said. Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech last month, announced the setting up of a high-powered demography. The Home Ministry notified rules of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, on September 1. The Bill was passed by Parliament during the Budget session, and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on April 4.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said in Parliament that the government was ready to welcome those who wished to come to India for tourism, education, healthcare, and business, but stressed that the country is not a “dharamshala” (a travelling inn). Anyone found using a forged passport or visa to enter India, stay in, or exit the country is liable to be punished with a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. The new law gives the Bureau of Immigration, established in 1971, enhanced powers amid India’s crackdown on illegal immigrants. The Bureau of Immigration, functioning under the supervision of the Intelligence Bureau, will coordinate with states, Union territories, and other agencies on the identification, detention, and deportation of foreigners, according to the gazette notification. The new law now gives the Immigration Bureau statutory backing to perform its assigned tasks. Though the agency earlier performed similar functions, its role was regulatory and not codified in law. Regarding mountaineering expeditions, the MHA said no foreigner or group of foreigners shall climb or attempt to climb any mountain peak in India without obtaining prior written permission from the central government, specifying the route to be followed, the attachment of a liaison officer, and the use of photographic and wireless communication equipment.
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Additionally, every foreigner shall be required to obtain a permit to enter or stay in any protected or restricted area. However, anyone originating from Afghanistan, China, or Pakistan will not be allowed to visit such restricted areas, it said. India’s restricted areas include the entire states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan, among others. The Bureau of Immigration will maintain an updated list of foreigners whose entry into India will be prohibited. Regarding the arrival of seamen and aircraft crew, the Home Ministry said a foreign seaman or crew member shall require a landing permit or shore leave pass for entry into India if he or she is not in possession of a valid Indian visa.
The MHA said people may be refused permission to leave the country if their presence is required in India by any court, if they are suffering from diseases dangerous to public health or safety, if their exit may adversely affect relations with a foreign state, or if they cannot be allowed to depart under specific orders of the central government or by an order issued by law enforcement authorities or other designated government agencies. The Bureau of Immigration shall maintain an updated list of persons who shall not be granted permission to depart from India. In a related development, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday issued a gazette notification clarifying the Registration of Foreigners (Exemption) Order for neighbouring countries. Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan entering India by land or air across their respective borders will not be required to hold a valid passport, travel document, or visa.
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The exemption also applies when they enter or exit India from locations other than Nepal or Bhutan, except from China, Macau, Hong Kong, or Pakistan. Under the recently introduced Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, every state and Union Territory administration is mandated to establish dedicated holding centres or detention camps to restrict the movement of illegal foreigners until their deportation, the MHA said. The notification, titled “Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025”, was issued by Nitesh Kumar Vyas, Additional Secretary. It replaces the earlier Registration of Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 1957, and Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Order, 2007, consolidating previously fragmented exemptions. Exemptions extend to members of India’s Naval, Military, and Air Forces entering or exiting on duty, and their accompanying family members traveling on government transport.
Tibetans already in India or entering after registration with the concerned officer are also exempt under specified entry permits issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. The order also covers minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan—including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—who entered India on or before December 31, 2024, due to religious persecution, regardless of the validity of their travel documents. Additionally, registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who sought shelter in India up to January 9, 2015, are exempt from certain provisions of the Act for their stay and exit from India. Registration is required with an officer designated by the central or state government. This consolidation aims to simplify the legal framework for foreigners entering or residing in India while outlining specific exemptions under the new Act.
Source – Millenniumpost
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