Visa must for undocumented six non-Muslim communities who entered India before December 31, 2024: Home Ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, making it mandatory for members of six non-Muslim communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who, fearing “religious persecution”, entered India on or before December 31, 2024, without valid travel documents, or whose documents have since expired, to obtain an “appropriate visa” for their continued stay in the country.The amendment, notified on Wednesday (November 4, 2026) through the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) (Amendment) Order, 2026, retains the exemption granted through a September 2, 2025 notification to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from the three countries from the requirement of possessing valid passports or visas at the time of entry and stay in India.The amended provision applies to persons belonging to the six minority communities who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered the country on or before December 31, 2024.“Provided that every such person shall be required to obtain an appropriate category of visa after their entry into India for their continued stay in India,” the notification said.The 2025 exemption order had been issued under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, consolidating several earlier notifications that exempted members of these minority communities from prosecution under passport and foreigners laws. The latest amendment aligns the exempted categories with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, which fast-tracked Indian citizenship for the six non-Muslim minorities from the three neighbouring countries who entered India before December 31, 2014.Visa ManualThe amendment also revises provisions governing travel by Indian, Nepali and Bhutanese citizens, introduces a definition of the “Visa Manual”, and reorganises several categories of exemptions covering Tibetan refugees, registered Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and certain other foreign nationals.The notification also introduced a formal definition of the “Visa Manual”, describing it as the manual issued by the Central government containing instructions relating to visas, immigration and associated matters.Indian citizens travelling to Nepal or Bhutan and Nepali and Bhutanese citizens entering or exiting India will now be required to produce identity documents specified in the Visa Manual before immigration authorities.The exemption from passport requirements will not apply to Indian citizens using the Indo-Nepal or Indo-Bhutan border to travel onward to third countries. Such travellers will be required to carry valid passports and use designated immigration checkpoints.Similarly, Nepali and Bhutanese citizens travelling to destinations other than India, Nepal or Bhutan, or those who have embarked from or transited through China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan, will be required to possess valid passports and visas.The amendment also reorganises several categories of exempted persons in other sections of the Order.The status of registered Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who took shelter in India up to January 9, 2015, exempting them from penal provisions if found to be without valid passports, travel documents or visa, remains the same. The exemption now also includes members of India’s armed forces travelling on duty and their accompanying family members on government transport, and foreign military personnel arriving on warships or government vessels undergoing repairs in India.Tibetans who entered India after 1959 but before the May 30, 2003 on the Entry Permit issued by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu or who entered India after May, 30 2003 on the Special Entry Permit issued by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu through a designated immigration post on the Indo-Nepal border will continue to be exempted from visa and passport requirements but they should be registered with the Registration Officer concerned and obtain a Certificate of Registration in accordance with the rules.The notification further provides relief to certain categories of long-term residents who face difficulties in renewing foreign passports. These include some Pakistani nationals who entered India before December 31, 2009, with the intention of permanent settlement, certain Partition-era migrants who returned from Pakistan and settled in Kerala, and persons of Indian origin who later acquired Malaysian or Singaporean citizenship but are unable to renew their passports. The amended order requires persons covered by these categories as well to obtain an appropriate visa for their continued stay in India.