MHA eases passport and visa rules for certain foreigners in India

9 November 2026 · English Polity & Governance

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Topics: Governance & Schemes · UPSC Prelims · TNPSC · SSC · Current Affairs

Current affairs of 9 November 2026 (Shanmugam IAS Academy) – explained for UPSC, TNPSC and other competitive exams

News

The Union Home Ministry published the 'Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) (Amendment) Order, 2026' in the Gazette on 5 November 2026. It exempts certain categories of foreigners living in India from passport and visa requirements. Registered Sri Lankan Tamils who took shelter in India on or before 9 January 2015 are exempt from the general passport and visa requirements. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who came due to religious persecution on or before 31 December 2024 are exempt from the passport rule, but must obtain an appropriate visa to stay. Also covered are Tibetans who entered on Indian Embassy (Kathmandu) permits between 1959 and 30 May 2003, certain Pakistani nationals unable to renew passports for want of a Pakistani CNIC, and persons of Indian origin holding expired Malaysian/Singaporean passports. Indian, Nepalese and Bhutanese citizens travelling directly between these countries may use an identity document listed in the 'Visa Manual'; armed forces personnel on duty are also exempt.

Key facts for the exam

Background

• Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025: passed in the Budget session, it received Presidential assent on 4 April 2025 and came into force on 1 September 2025. It replaced the Passport (Entry into India) Act 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act 1939, the Foreigners Act 1946 and the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 2000. Forged passports/visas attract 2–7 years' jail and a fine of Rs 1–10 lakh.
• Constitution: Part II (Articles 5–11) deals with citizenship; Article 11 empowers Parliament to regulate citizenship by law. In the Seventh Schedule's Union List, Entry 17 is 'citizenship, naturalisation and aliens' and Entry 19 is 'admission into, and emigration and expulsion from, India; passports and visas'.
• Comparison: the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA) offers fast-track citizenship to the same six communities who arrived by 31 December 2014. This order does not grant citizenship; it only gives passport/visa exemption for staying in India (cut-off 31 Dec 2024).
• Tibetans: the Dalai Lama took refuge in India in 1959; the Central Tibetan Administration functions from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. Nepalese and Bhutanese citizens may enter India without a visa owing to special ties such as the 1950 India–Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

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Sources: News On AIR; ThePrint/PTI; Business Standard; Millennium Post; Deccan Herald; Constitution of India. Compiled by Shanmugam IAS Academy.

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