As the Parliament passed the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 on Wednesday (2nd April), the Opposition parties staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha to protest against the Bill. The Opposition demanded that the Bill, which was cleared in the Lower House last week, be sent to a Parliamentary panel for review.
During the discussion over the Bill in the Upper House, Congress MP and Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi vehemently opposed the Bill and alleged that the legislation sends a message that all foreigners are “potential criminals”. “I oppose this bill and seek substantial changes in its pernicious character. It is clearly designed for ulterior motives by a control freak government bent upon sending out a message of fear through the architecture of omniscient, Orwellian surveillance for foreigners,” said Singhvi.
Defending the Bill, Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, said that the law was introduced by the government after a three-year study. He said that the legislation welcomes foreigners coming to the country for education, tourism, development work or research, etc. “We will not stop or oppose experts coming to India… If anyone is studying here or undergoing medical procedures, they have to provide information online. We must know where they are staying…we did not know the whereabouts of people earlier, as no records were maintained in the past,” explained Rai.
During the discussion on the Bill in the Lower House on 28th March, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserted that the country is not a ‘Dharamshala’. He said that the Bill will allow the government to track the whereabouts of foreigners entering the country and will help in strengthening national security. “To bolster national security and economy, to make our universities global, to lay the foundation for R&D, and to make this country the best in 2047, this Bill is very important… Whoever enters our territory, when, for what time period, and with what intent, it is important for us to know. We will track in detail the entry of each foreigner in India,” the Union Home Minister said.
Categories of visa, application process and the concerned authorities
The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, has repealed the Passport (Entry Into India) Act of 1920, the 1939 Registration of Foreigners Act, the Foreigners Act of 1946, and the 2000 Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000. The Bill regulates the entry, immigration, stay, and exit of foreigners in India. It has streamlined the visa system and has simplified the application process for tourists, students and skilled professionals. It classifies visas based on the purpose of visit, viz., tourist, student, employment, business, medical, research, religious, journalist, refugee/asylum and transit. The rules for visa requirements, duration of stay and visa renewal conditions differ for each category.
The application for an Indian visa can be made online or through Indian embassies or consulates. All the visa applicants are required to undergo a criminal record check. An additional security clearance is needed for high-risk applicants.
Under the new law, foreigners arriving in the country will be required to report their presence to the Registration Officer. Earlier, the foreigners were required to report to an authority prescribed by the central government. The Act also envisages a Bureau of Immigration, which will perform immigration functions. The composition of the Bureau of Immigration will be decided by the Central government.
Foreigners staying in India beyond 180 days will be required to register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) within 14 days of arrival. Also, if information furnished by foreigners upon their arrival in India, like address, employment status, etc, needs to be changed, they must report to the FRRO.
The Bill empowers the Central government to make provisions for prohibiting, regulating and restricting the entry or departure of foreigners in certain situations. It also ensures the accountability of the keepers of accommodations where foreigners are residing by making it mandatory for them to furnish the information regarding such foreigners to the Registration Officer.
Provisions for punishments
Any activity undertaken by a foreigner in violation of the visa conditions may attract punitive action or deportation. The punitive measures for visa violations or trying to enter India illegally include fines, visa cancellaions, deportation, and blacklisting. The law has introduced more stringent penalties for overstaying a visa. Any foreigner trying to enter India without a valid passport will face imprisonment up to five years or a fine, or both. In certain cases, including serious criminals activities, the authorities can deport or blacklist an illegal immigrant. Deportees who try to gain illegal entry into India will face 10 10-year jail term and a lifelong ban.
The central government instituted operations against illegal immigrants
The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, comes at a time when the central government has intensified its operations against illegal immigrants across the country. The government has been creating a database by identifying the illegal immigrants, including Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, who entered the country illegally or overstayed their visas. In February this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah directed authorities to speed up their operations against the entire network assisting Bangladeshi and Rohingya illegal immigrants in entering and staying in the country through forged documents. Hundreds of illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have been nabbed by the authorities over the last three months across the country for illegally entering and residing in the country. Several of these illegal immigrants have been found indulging in serious criminal activities, causing a law and order situation in the country. The authorities are also cracking down on the human traffickers or agents who assist these illegal immigrants in illegally entering the country. The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, is a step in the direction of strengthening law and order and national security.
