Members of minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are granted an exemption by the Union Home Ministry, which permits them to stay in India without a valid passport or other travel documents.
Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Hindus who came to the nation on or before December 31, 2024, to avoid religious persecution are all exempt.
Many people, especially Hindus from Pakistan who came to India after 2014 and were worried about their legal status, are anticipated to receive significant relief from this new order, which was put into effect under the recently passed Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
The Ministry's order specifies that "a person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered the country on or before December 31, 2024 without valid documents, including a passport or other travel documents, or with valid documents, including a passport or other travel documents, and the validity of such documents have expired" will be exempt from the requirement of having a valid passport and visa.
It is important to note that this new directive complements the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which was put into effect last year. The CAA allows for Indian citizenship to be granted to members of these same persecuted minority groups who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
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