India Announces Major Immigration Exemptions Under New 2025 Order

India has also provided immunity on immigration to religious minorities and specific categories through the newly established Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, which was enacted on September 1, 2025. This historic order offers much-needed relief to thousands of people living in the wrong without documentation supporting their claims.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced these exemptions in the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which provides immunity against detention and deportation processes to various vulnerable populations.

Also Read: Fast Track Immigration: India's New Travel Programme

Religious Minorities Get Major Relief

The most notable amendment of the new order provides exemptions to religious minorities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who are persecuted. They are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2024.

The exemption relates to persons who:

• Illegally entered India without valid documents such as a passport or travel papers.

• This comes with valid documents that have expired since then.

• Had to find refuge from religious persecution or persecution of religion.

This is one of the few situations that offer protection past the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which only applied to arrivals until December 31, 2014, by extending to those who arrived until the close of 2024.

Key Exempted Groups Under the New Order

Here’s a table showing the key exempted groups under the new order:

Comprehensive Immigration Framework

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, consolidates several existing laws into one system, harmonising the processes associated with the entry, stay, and exit of foreigners in India. The Act grants greater authority to the Bureau of Immigration to find and deport unauthorised immigrants and grants certain exemptions to vulnerable communities.

Border Entry Exemptions

The new order treats citizens of Nepal and Bhutan with special consideration:

• Absolute freedom to bypass passport and visa regulations when entering their borders, either by road or air.

• Entry exemption through other routes in case of carrying valid passports (except in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Pakistan)

Military and Official Exemptions

The order gives blanket exemptions to:

• Indian Armed Forces are on duty, and the families of the Armed Forces are on government transport.

• Foreigners with diplomatic or official passports for whom the visa is waived by treaty.

• Military officers who are foreigners and come to see the navy warships.

Also Read: Immigration To Australia: Everything You Need To Know

Enhanced Security and Documentation Requirements

As the new Act aims to offer relief to the vulnerable groups, it also subjects all foreigners to stricter security measures:

Biometric Requirements

Every foreigner seeking a visa or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration has to provide biometric data such as fingerprints and iris scans.

Mandatory Reporting System

The Act creates a comprehensive tracking system that requires:

• Hotels, universities and schools to give information about foreigners.

• Nursing homes and hospitals to furnish guest information.

• Ships and airlines to file passenger and crew lists.

Severe Penalties for Violations

The new legislation imposes heavy penalties for immigration violations:

Digital Infrastructure and Modern Systems

Technological improvements have been used to support the new structure by the Ministry, too:

• Introduction of the Indian Visa Su-Swagatam mobile app.

• Special registration and visa portal on the Web.

• Compulsory electronic registration of foreigners who have been in residence for more than 180 days.

Government's Humanitarian Approach

Union Home Minister Amit Shah underscored India’s desire to stand by minority communities and religions being persecuted, citing the cultural ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). Those who are fleeing religious violence will be ensured protection and dignity without the red tape of bureaucracy, said a spokesperson of the Home Ministry.

To justify this policy, the government has cited India's history of protecting persecuted minorities and ensuring that the country is open to legitimate visitors regarding tourism, education, health, and business.

Impact on Existing Refugee Communities

This order instantly gave thousands of people who have been living as undocumented aliens some relief. However, this is only temporary and does not grant citizenship or permanent residence.

The exception relates to the situation of people who fled hostile environments where formal documentation was unavailable and will not be punished because of factors beyond their control.

Also Read: Immigration To Canada From India: All Different Pathways

Implementation and Enforcement

The Bureau of Immigration has now been brought under the supervision of the Intelligence Bureau with the added mandates of:

• Management of information technologies.

• Immigration and foreigner data custody.

• Advisory duties to the government.

Those illegal immigrants who are spotted in India will be kept in holding centres or detention camps awaiting deportation.

Conclusion

The new 2025 order on India immigration exemptions reflects a compromise between humanitarian and national security. Though the legislation provides the long-awaited relief to the vulnerable religious minorities and other special groups, it also places strict limits and supplementary protection to regulate immigration in general.

It is a comprehensive system that fights the past problems of persecuted people and creates new, technologically improved systems for the effective management of immigration. The order reflects the ongoing intention of India to help those who escape religious persecution and enhance border control alongside documentation standards. Contact TerraTern for more information!