Relief for refugees: on the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025  

The formulation of the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, notified by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on September 1, provides greater clarity on certain issues concerning India’s immigration framework. It exempts a set of people from the requirement of a valid passport or other valid travel document and valid visa to enter, stay and exit the country. Apart from specified sets of Indian citizens, it covers nationals of Nepal and Bhutan; Tibetan refugees; six religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and Sri Lankan Tamils. A significant aspect is the reference to the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, with many living in Tamil Nadu since 1990. The order protects them from forcible repatriation to Sri Lanka, the stipulations being that they should have taken shelter in the country as on January 9, 2015 and registered themselves. In the last 30-odd years, neither the Union government nor the Tamil Nadu government had drawn up any unilateral plan to send them back. In fact, after the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009, both the governments have been doing their bit to ensure their welfare. Yet, Sri Lankan Tamils were not included when the Union government amended the Citizenship Act six years ago to provide citizenship to the six non-Muslim groups from three Muslim-majority countries. Thus, the order gives Tamil refugees some relief.

However, there are unanswered questions. It is not clear whether the refugees will be able to shake off their “illegal migrants” tag. A hurdle in their applying for Indian citizenship — by registration under Section 5 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 or by naturalisation under Section 6 of the Act is that they are ‘illegal migrants’ as per the law. When the refugees are not considered eligible to apply for a Long Term Visa (LTV) it is doubtful whether they will be able to seek citizenship. LTVs will enable their gainful employment and higher education. In the run-up to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2009, the Ministry had justified their exclusion and had taken the stand that they were among those eligible for LTVs if they could prove that they had been “victims of oppression in their countries of origin….” The Centre would do well if it liberalised its stand on LTVs for the deserving among the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. The certificate of identity for Tibetan refugees can be a model. It is also time that India and Sri Lanka took early steps for voluntary repatriation along with a scheme of structured assistance. Local integration is also an option to sort out the issue. Fundamentally, the stakeholders should adopt a humane approach.