New Immigration and Foreigners Act Comes Into Effect

PTI, NEW DELHI, SEPT 1, 2025: A new Act that regulates matters related to foreigners and immigration, with provisions for heavy punishment for carrying a forged passport or visa, came into effect on Monday. The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, was passed by Parliament during the Budget session, and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on April 4, 2025.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (13 of 2025), the central government hereby appoints the 1st day of September, 2025, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force," said a notification issued by Nitesh Kumar Vyas, additional secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.

According to the law, henceforth, anyone found to be using a forged passport or visa for entering into India, staying in, or exiting from the country will be punishable with a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. The Act also provides for mandatory reporting of information about foreigners by hotels, universities and other educational institutions, hospitals, and nursing homes to enable tracking of overstaying foreigners.

All international airlines and ships will also be required to submit, at a port or place in India, the passenger and crew manifest, along with advance information of passengers and crew on board such aircraft, vessels, or other modes of transport to a civil authority or immigration officer.

"Whoever knowingly uses or supplies a forged or fraudulently obtained passport or other travel document or visa for entering into India, staying in, or exiting from India, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than two years, but may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to a fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees, but may extend to ten lakh rupees," according to the Act.

It also states that any foreigner who enters any area in India without a valid passport or other travel document, including a visa required for such entry, in contravention of the provisions of the law or any rule or order made in pursuance thereof, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees, or both.

The legislation empowers the central government to exert control over places frequented by any foreigner and requires the owner to close the premises, permit its use under specified conditions, or refuse admission to all or a "specified class" of foreigners.

This is a comprehensive piece of legislation that regulates all matters relating to foreigners and immigration, which were previously administered through four Acts: the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920; the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939; the Foreigners Act, 1946; and the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act, 2000. All these laws have now been repealed.