Why in news?

The Union Home Ministry has notified Rules, Order, and Exemption Order under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

This law regulates all matters on foreigners and immigration, replacing older legislations including the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Rationale Behind the New Immigration and Foreigners Act
• Key Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Rules
• Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025
• Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025

Rationale Behind the New Immigration and Foreigners Act

• The government introduced the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 to prevent overlap among multiple pre-Independence laws on passports, travel documents, visas, registration, and immigration.
• While most provisions existed in earlier notifications, new clauses and conditions have been added to address significant changes in travel, security, and immigration that have emerged since the old Acts were enacted.

Key Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Rules

• The new Rules formally empower the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) to investigate immigration fraud, coordinate with states on identifying and deporting foreigners, and maintain an immigration database.
• They also mandate biometric recording of all foreigners, previously limited to select visa categories.
• Educational institutions must now report details of all foreign students, including semester-wise attendance and conduct, to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
• Additionally, premises such as resorts or clubs can be shut down if frequented by illegal migrants, alongside earlier categories of undesirable foreigners or those linked to crime.
• The Rules also define “immigration officers” as Intelligence Bureau personnel.

Provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025

• The Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025 grants Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), earlier unique to Assam, the powers of a first-class judicial magistrate, enabling them to send individuals without proof of citizenship to detention or holding centres.
• FTs can now issue arrest warrants if contested individuals fail to appear, with membership capped at three, and ex-parte orders open for review within 30 days.
• Though applicable nationwide, FTs currently operate only in Assam, where 100 are functional after the NRC process excluded 19 lakh applicants.
• The Order also legalises the role of border forces like BSF and Assam Rifles in preventing illegal entry by recording biometric and demographic data before sending migrants back.
• Entry refusal now includes broader grounds such as anti-national activities, terrorism, espionage, human trafficking, cybercrime, narcotics trade, financial crimes like hawala, and crimes against humanity.

Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025

• The Exemption Order spares Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Tibetans from the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, while adding two new groups.
• Registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who sought shelter in India before January 9, 2015, are exempted from the passport/visa requirements under Section 3.
• Additionally, undocumented minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan — including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians — who entered India without valid documents or whose documents expired before December 31, 2024, are exempted from penal provisions and deportation.
• However, only these minorities can apply for long-term visas (LTVs) leading to citizenship, while the exemption for Sri Lankan Tamils does not extend to LTVs.