This piece of the article is authored By: Muskan singh and Uday pratap singh.
It has been ages since India has been catering to the needs and ensuring the well being of everyone who sought shelter within its borders; however, it was high time for the nation to serve its ‘legal citizens’, those whose belonging is rightful and not forged in falsehood, however does that mean that now India will shut its doors for the refugees? Will the nation continue to accept all who seek shelter, or will it prioritize the well-being of its own citizens? The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 enacted by the government earlier this year tries to answer many of these questions.
The objectives of The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 are multifold, its foremost aim is to consolidate four loosely scattered, colonial era laws governing the immigration and border control system. Equally important, it aims to modernize the entire system, in response to globalization and India’s evolving status as a major destination for travel, education, and investment. These provisions also aimed towards digitalization of data and stricter enforcement mechanisms, including stricter punishments to prevent infiltration of undocumented individuals seeking residence within Indian jurisdiction through illegal means.
The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, is arguably one of the most comprehensive legislative enactment, it establishes the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) which is a central authority formed to control the immigration points, maintain digital records of the immigrants, and coordinate with state agencies. To compliment this, it also proposes for the establishment of the National Immigration and Registration System, a digital database which will keep the records of all the immigrants in the country making sure that their visa conditions are complied with. Additionally, it stipulates that any individual who enters the territory of India, resides in, or departs without valid authorization, valid travel documents, or duly endorsed visa, or which are procured through fraudulent or misrepresentative means shall be liable to penal action. The punishments range from minimum sentence of two years in prison, to maximum of seven years, and a monetary penalty of at least one lakh rupees with the possibility of ten lakh in case of major violation; another punishment would be that person will be declared persona non grata. Deportees who attempt illegal re-entry will get 10 years of imprisonment and a lifelong ban.
Moreover, under the newly enacted laws the verification and reporting procedures have also been made very stringent, as the immigration officers at the checkpoint are vested with authority to inspect the passports and visas and travel documents at any procedural stage of entry. They may seize and invalidate counterfeit or fraudulently procedure documentation. Hotels and lodges must report the details of any foreigner staying. Analogous obligations are imposed on educational institutions where institutions must report the details of foreign students, and hospitals are also required to furnish information of foreign nationals availing medical services .
The timing of the enactment of Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 is no coincidence, it is deeply rooted in the political and socio-economic problems faced by India, particularly the states situated on the eastern front of the country. The states like Assam, West Bangal and Tripura have for decades faced the problem of illegal immigrants from neighboring countries, the Assam Accord of 1985 and the NRC debate are outcomes of the problem of illegal immigrants. This has led to a condition where the local population has to face competition in employment and resource allocation, fueling the local discontent towards the government as well as the immigrants who are perceived to be using the limited resources. In 2016, the former minister of state for home, Kiran Rijiju, while replying to a written question in the parliament, referred to unofficial estimates and informed the parliament that approximately 20 million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are residing in India currently, even if the data of 20 million illegal immigrant is imprecise, it captures the growing anxiety of local population very well, as it is widely believed the resources which originally were used by the local population are now being stretched to the illegal migrants present in these regions.
Moreover, from the policy point of view, a large portion of the national assets intended for welfare of the legal populace was perceived to be being consumed by unauthorized entrants, hence with the enactment of the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, the government can ensure that the national resources are allocated to its lawful citizens and not unauthorized residents. The government can instead redirect this money in building public health centers, investing in educational institutions for the socio-economic gain of Indian citizens.
Although the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, is a forward looking, it has within itself a major lacuna and this lacuna is not in what this law contains but in what it does not. As of January 2022, over 46,000 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered with the UNHCR in India, and yet it is not a signatory to the 1951 refugee convention or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, and further, it does not have any dedicated legislation to govern the refugees’ rights and status. This gives rise to an ambiguity where a refugee fleeing persecution may be treated as an offender, contradicting the very ethos of India given in the principle of ‘Atithi devo bhava’. The newly enacted laws does not mention how the refugees will be governed and this leaves them in a vulnerable position where each refugee is left to administrative discretion. The new law might be an administrative reform but it is certainly not a humanitarian reform as it fails to distinguish between illegal immigrants and genuine refugees.
This legislation is a prudent statutory reform by the government; however, it is very important to safeguard the effective implementation of this act so that this well-thought ‘welfare’ legislation does not just remain confined to legislative text but is also translated into enforceable administrative practice. Unfortunately, India has seen many well-intentioned forward-looking legislative frameworks, but due to deficiencies in enforcement and corrupt practices of the executives, the effectiveness of these ideal laws has been greatly hampered, and hence the society failed to achieve the desired socio-legal outcomes from them. A prime example of such administrative vigilance can be seen in the enactment of the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, which provided for severe punishments for people using unfair means in public examination, this law choked down the ‘solver gang’ culture in Uttar Pradesh, and due to the excellent execution of this law there have been no confirmed cases of paper leaks since then in Uttar Pradesh. The central government should take a lesson from the zeal shown by the UP government in implementing the ‘anti-cheating laws’ and should likewise work towards the implementation of this law, making sure that corrupt officers do not defeat the very purpose of this law by ensuring stringent punishments for such corrupt officers.
Even though India has a long way to go before truly calling itself a welfare state but still the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, has marked a new phase in India’s governance, combining administrative efficiency and national security, it is an attempt to shield the country from unauthorized immigrations and its assets for the usage of its legal citizens. However, to be truly effective, the essence of such a reform has to be measured in how fair and humane it is, not just in how tightly it’s enforced. India is well known for its ability to merge sternness with compassion, and legality with sympathy, hence the hallmark of this bill would be whether it gives a fair opportunity to everyone.