India allows minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan to stay without passports
The Indian government has announced that members of minority communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who fled to India by December 31, 2024, citing religious persecution, will be permitted to remain in the country even if they lack passports or other valid travel documents.
According to an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the exemption applies to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who either entered India without documents or whose passports and visas have since expired. The directive provides legal cover for those who crossed the border in fear of persecution but were left in limbo due to their irregular status.
The notification was issued under the new Immigration and Foreigners Act of 2025, which came into effect on September 1. Officials say the measure is expected to ease the situation for thousands of undocumented migrants, particularly those who arrived after 2014 and were previously excluded from legal protections.
This order builds upon the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), implemented in 2024, which grants a path to Indian citizenship for religious minorities from the three neighboring countries who arrived on or before December 31, 2014. The latest directive effectively extends relief for more recent arrivals, though it does not itself grant citizenship.
Analysts note that the decision reflects New Delhi’s broader approach of positioning itself as a refuge for minorities facing persecution in the region. However, the move is also expected to spark political debate at home, as critics of the CAA have long argued that such policies discriminate on religious lines and could marginalize Muslim communities.
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