The Union Home Ministry has said that to avoid religious harassment, members of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christian communities who come to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan till 31 December 2024 will be allowed to stay in the country without passports or other travel documents.
According to the news agency PTI, according to the Act, 2025 (13 of 2025), these oppressed minorities who come to India on or before 31 December 2025 will be provided Indian citizenship. This important order will provide relief to a large number of people, especially those who came from Pakistan, who came to India after 2014 and were worried about their future.
What was said in the order?
According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, ‘Minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan- Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christians, who were forced to take shelter in India for religious harassment or fear and entered the country without valid documents on or before 31 December 2024, will be exempted from the rule of valid passports and visa.’
What are the rules for the citizens of Nepal and Bhutan?
It has been clarified in the order that citizens of Nepal and Bhutan will not need passports and visas to go to India or live here, provided they enter India by border route. This system will continue as before. However, if a Nepali or Bhutani citizen comes to India from China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan, then it will be mandatory for him to have a valid passport.
Similarly, Indian citizens also do not require passports or visas to go to India from the border of Nepal or Bhutan, but if they return to India from any other country other than Nepal or Bhutan (except China, Macau, Hongkong and Pakistan), they have to show valid passports. At the same time, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force personnel who are going to India on duty or out of duty, and their family members (if they are traveling with government transport) will not need passport or visa.
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