2026 | Vol 2(2) | February

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (Act No. 13 of 2025) represents the most significant overhaul of India’s border management and alien-regulation framework since independence. Coming into effect on September 1, 2025, the Act replaces four colonial and post-colonial era statutes with a single, unified, and digitally-oriented legal framework.

The legislation aims to balance the "generosity" of India’s growing global engagement—facilitating tourism, business, and education—with a "strictness" aimed at safeguarding national security, preventing illegal infiltration, and modernizing surveillance.

Legislative Background and Objectives

For decades, India’s immigration system was governed by a fragmented set of laws, some of which predated the Constitution. The 2025 Act was introduced to resolve overlapping jurisdictions and eliminate legal ambiguities.

Repealed Legislations

The Act repeals and consolidates the following four laws:

The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920: Originally designed for wartime control.

The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939: Focused on manual, paper-based tracking.

The Foreigners Act, 1946: The primary (and often criticized as overly broad) tool for deportation and stay-regulation.

The Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000: Focused on the responsibilities of airlines and shipping lines.

Core Objectives

Centralization: Establishing a unified command under the Bureau of Immigration (BoI).

Digital Transformation: Transitioning from manual records to real-time electronic monitoring via the Integrated Immigration Management System (IIMS).

National Security: Addressing modern threats like digital forgery, human trafficking, and transnational crime.

Ease of Compliance: Streamlining the experience for legitimate students, investors, and medical tourists.

Key Provisions and Structural Changes

The Act consists of 36 sections, combining 26 provisions retained from previous laws with 10 entirely new sections designed for the 21st century.

Entry and Exit Protocols

The Act mandates that entry into and exit from India can only occur through designated immigration posts (airports, seaports, land borders, and rail checkpoints).

Immigration Officers: These officers have been granted final authority to grant or deny entry. Decisions can be based on national security, sovereignty, public health, or relations with foreign states.

Mandatory Documentation: Every person entering India must possess a valid passport or travel document. Foreigners specifically require a valid visa unless exempted.

The IVFRT Legal Basis

The Immigration, Visa, Foreigners' Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) system, which previously operated under administrative orders, has now been given a statutory basis. This ensures that every foreign national is tracked from the moment of visa application to their final departure.

Biometric Surveillance

The Act empowers the government to collect biometric data (fingerprints, iris scans, and facial recognition) from foreign nationals upon arrival or at any point during their stay. This is mandatory for long-term visa holders and those applying for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration.

Mandatory Reporting: The Responsibility of Institutions

One of the most transformative aspects of the 2025 Act is the shift of the "burden of monitoring" from the police alone to the institutions that host foreigners.

1. Educational Institutions

Every university, school, or coaching center admitting a foreigner (including OCI cardholders) must report their enrollment electronically within 24 hours to the Registration Officer. This is aimed at ensuring students do not switch to unauthorized employment or disappear into the "informal" sector.

2. Accommodation Providers (Keepers of Accommodation)

Hotels, guesthouses, homestays, and even religious institutions (Dharamshalas/Ashrams) are legally bound to:

Maintain electronic records of foreign guests for at least one year.

Report arrival and departure details digitally via Form C (often through a centralized portal).

3. Medical Institutions

Hospitals and nursing homes must now report the admission and discharge of foreign patients, as well as any births or deaths of foreigners, within seven days via electronic submission.

4. Carriers (Airlines/Shipping)

Similar to the U.S. APIS system, carriers must submit a General Declaration and passenger manifests at least 45 minutes prior to departure. Failure to do so, or transporting individuals with forged documents that could have been detected, leads to heavy "Carriers' Liability" fines.

Penalties and Enforcement

The Act introduces a graduated penalty system, moving away from the discretionary fines of the old regime toward a structured framework.

Offence-------------------------------------------------Penalty / Imprisonment

Illegal Entry (No valid passport/visa)----------------Up to 5 years imprisonment + fine up to ₹5 lakh

Visa Overstaying--------------------------------------Up to 3 years imprisonment + fine up to ₹3 lakh

Forged Documents------------------------------------2 to 7 years imprisonment + fine up to ₹10 lakh

Assisting Illegal Entry (Middlemen/Agents)--------Up to 14 years imprisonment + heavy fine

Non-Registration (Long-term stay)------------------Monetary penalty + potential blacklisting

Compounding of Offences

To reduce the burden on courts, Section 25 allows for the compounding of certain minor offences. If a foreigner or a company violates a rule for the first time (and the offence is not a threat to national security), they may pay a specified sum to avoid prosecution. However, this "grace" cannot be used more than once every three years.

Exemptions and Humanitarian Orders

Under Section 33, the Central Government issued the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, which provides specialized treatment for certain groups:

Nepal and Bhutan: Citizens of these nations remain largely exempt from visa requirements when entering via land or air (excluding entry from China or Pakistan).

Tibetan Refugees: Specific provisions govern Tibetans who entered prior to 2003 and those arriving later, maintaining a structured tracking system.

Religious Minorities: In a continuation of policies similar to the CAA, the Act provides exemptions for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2024.

Military and Diplomats: Indian and foreign military personnel on duty, as well as diplomatic passport holders, are granted standard exemptions.

Power of Removal and Detention

The Act grants the Central Government (and delegated authorities like the FRRO) the power to deport or remove any foreigner found in violation of the Act.

Formalizing Detention: For the first time, the Ministry of Home Affairs has explicitly directed states to establish holding centers or detention camps. This formalizes the process for housing "illegal immigrants" pending their repatriation.

Appeals: While the Act provides a framework for appeals against penalties, the decision of an Immigration Officer regarding entry remains final in most security-related contexts.

Socio-Economic and Legal Impact Analysis

Economic Implications

By streamlining the visa process—specifically the 9 categories of e-visas (Tourist, Business, Medical, Ayush, Student, etc.)—the Act seeks to position India as a global hub for "R&D, sports excellence, and international arbitration." The "Sawagat-Fi" (Single Window Access for Trusted Foreign Investors) is a notable initiative under this framework to attract global capital.

Human Rights and Privacy Concerns

Despite its efficiency, the Act has faced criticism from legal scholars and human rights groups:

Selective Inclusion: Critics argue that the religion-based exemptions (favouring specific minorities from neighboring countries) create a "differential treatment" that may face constitutional challenges.

Data Privacy: The mass collection of biometric data and its integration with security databases raises concerns about surveillance and data protection in the absence of a comprehensive national data privacy law.

Broad Powers: The authority to shut down "premises frequented by foreigners" if deemed undesirable is seen by some as a potential tool for administrative overreach.

Conclusion

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 is a landmark piece of legislation that successfully drags India’s immigration framework into the digital age.

References

India Code: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/21918/1/A2025-13.pdf