Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session, in New Delhi on March 11, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (March 11, 2025), is aimed at consolidating four existing inter-linked laws, add more teeth to the existing rules for visiting foreigners, and heighten the penalties for violations such as use of forged travel documents, non-adherence to visa conditions, overstay, and deliberately avoiding registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
“The objective of the Bill is to consolidate the existing Foreigners Act, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, the Registration of Foreigners Act, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act,” said Navneet Rajan Wasan, a former head of the National Investigation Agency, and a former Director-General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
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A retired senior intelligence official pointed out Section 16 of the Bill which provides that the burden of proof whether any person is or is not a foreigner, lies on that person.
“The provision is akin to those in legislations like the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, wherein the onus of proving that the alleged proceeds of crime are untainted assets; Prevention of Corruption Act, wherein the onus of proving that the assets in question are from legal sources of income; and the Customs Act, wherein the onus of proving that goods are legally acquired/transported is on the persons facing respective charges,” he said.
The official said a provision for registration of foreign tourists with the local FRRO already exists and, accordingly, a C-form comprising visa/passport and date-of-disembarkment details need to be furnished to the local FRRO office. However, those staying at places other than hotels or any similar accommodation are currently outside the ambit of C-form.
“The proposed law mandates that the host, who may also be the owner of a private home, must provide all these details to the FRRO, which can probably be done online. This provision will enable better monitoring of the foreigners entering the country,” said the official. It defines the obligations of entities such as universities/educational institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, and medical institutions admitting any foreigner.
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Carrier liability
Adding more teeth to the existing rules presently under the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, the Bill makes it mandatory for the carrier, in which any foreigner has entered the country, to remove the foreigner from India at its own expense if the person is found to have violated any provision of the proposed law.
The Bill introduces “threat to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India and relations with a foreign State” as one of the grounds to turn down requests for allowing entry or stay of a foreign national.
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The Bill also increases penalties for various violations, including of the carriers’ obligations. As per the proposed law, any foreigner entering India without a passport or travel document will face imprisonment up to a five-year term, or fine up to ₹5 lakh, or both. Using or supplying forged/ fraudulently obtained passport or any other travel document/visa will be punishable with an imprisonment for a term not less than two years and extendable to seven years, and fine of not less than ₹1 lakh, extendable to ₹10 lakh.
Staying beyond the visa limit will be punishable for up to three years of imprisonment, or a fine up to ₹3 lakh, or both.
Published – March 11, 2025 10:42 pm IST