India has made it mandatory for members of six non-Muslim communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who entered the country without valid travel documents, citing religious persecution, to obtain visas to continue staying there.
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) amended the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, through a notification issued on Wednesday, reports The Hindu.
The amendment requires Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from the three countries who entered India on or before December 31, 2024, to obtain an appropriate visa for their continued stay.
The provision applies to those who entered India without valid travel documents or whose documents have since expired, after being compelled to seek shelter due to religious persecution or fear of persecution.
The amendment retains an exemption introduced through a September 2, 2025 notification, which allowed members of the six communities to enter and stay in India without valid passports or visas.
However, the latest notification states that they must obtain an appropriate category of visa after entering India to continue their stay.
The 2025 exemption was issued under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, consolidating earlier notifications that exempted members of the communities from prosecution under passport and foreigners laws.
The amendment also aligns the exempted categories with India's Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which provides a pathway to citizenship for members of the six non-Muslim communities from the three neighbouring countries who entered India before December 31, 2014.
Visa Manual
The amendment also revises provisions governing travel between India, Nepal and Bhutan, introduces a formal definition of the Visa Manual and reorganises several categories of exemptions for foreign nationals.
The Visa Manual is defined as a central government-issued document containing instructions on visas, immigration and related matters.
Indian citizens travelling to Nepal or Bhutan, as well as Nepali and Bhutanese citizens entering or leaving India, will now have to produce identity documents specified in the manual before immigration authorities.
The passport exemption will not apply to Indian citizens using the Indo-Nepal or Indo-Bhutan borders to travel to third countries. Such travellers must 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, must possess valid passports and visas.