India amends immigration rules for specified foreign nationals

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has amended immigration rules to exempt specified religious minorities who entered the country by December 31, 2024, from certain passport, travel-document and visa requirements. The measure applies to people who fled or feared religious persecution and entered without valid documents, or whose documents have since expired, but it does not grant citizenship or an unconditional right to remain. The amended Immigration and Foreigners Exemption Order, dated November 4, covers Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, according to the order’s descriptions in several reports. One account lists Pakistan and Afghanistan but not Bangladesh among the countries covered, leaving the Bangladesh provision in dispute in the reporting. The full text of the order was not reproduced in the accounts. People who qualify must obtain an appropriate visa category for continued stay in India. The relief addresses immigration documentation requirements; it does not automatically regularise every aspect of a person’s status or make them eligible for citizenship. The amendment leaves unchanged a separate cutoff...