India Allows Persecuted Minorities Stay Till 2024
- By Thetripurapost Desk, New Delhi
- Sep 03, 2025
- 588
The Union Home Ministry has announced that religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2024, will be permitted to stay in the country even without valid passports or other travel documents.
The order, issued under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, applies to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who fled religious persecution in their home countries. It provides a temporary exemption from penal action, ensuring that these individuals will not face deportation or legal consequences due to expired or missing documents.
Officials clarified, however, that the directive does not grant citizenship. Citizenship for persecuted minorities remains governed by the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which applies only to those who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
The latest move offers relief to thousands who arrived after 2014 but before the 2024 deadline, protecting them from immediate legal action and allowing them to continue residing in India.
Observers note that the policy balances humanitarian concerns with regulatory control, while leaving the larger question of citizenship unresolved for post-2014 arrivals.