NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to expand the country’s guidelines for blacklisting foreign nationals to explicitly include cybercrime, child abuse, child trafficking, cryptocurrency-related racketeering and financial support for terrorist or subversive activities and tightened the grounds on which foreigners can be denied entry or barred from staying in the India, sources said.
The revised framework retains the existing Grade A, B, and C classification system, with action determined by the nature and severity of the alleged violations, they added.
The updated guidelines consolidate existing provisions while specifically identifying a wider range of offences and financial activities that can trigger blacklisting. These include money laundering, hawala transactions and other forms of funding linked to terrorism or subversive activities, alongside human trafficking, including trafficking of children, the sources said.
“Several of these grounds are also covered under the Immigration and Foreigners Order, 2025, notified on September 1 last year. The order empowers authorities to refuse entry or stay to foreign natioGrade C deals with specified lower-level violations, including certain overstays and registration failures of up to 90 days, subject to exemptions and nationality-specific provisions.nals convicted of, or found involved in, specified offences such as espionage, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, child abuse and racketeering involving currency, including cryptocurrency,” a source said.
According to the sources, the guidelines also mandate the Bureau of Immigration to maintain an updated list of foreigners prohibited from entering India. Blacklisting decisions are subject to periodic review, while affected individuals can approach the MHA to seek reconsideration, they added.
Under the classification system, Grade A covers the most serious security and criminal cases. These include foreigners considered security threats, members of organisations declared unlawful under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, individuals covered by United Nations blacklisting requirements and specified cases involving forged or fraudulently obtained travel documents and visas. Such decisions require approval from an officer in the rank of Joint Secretary in the MHA or the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration.
Grade B applies to foreign nationals convicted of, or found involved in, offences punishable by imprisonment of less than three years, excluding offences under the Immigration and Foreigners Act. It also covers repeated violations of immigration rules, certain financial irregularities, illegal funding, tax evasion and violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
Grade C deals with specified lower-level violations, including certain overstays and registration failures of up to 90 days, subject to exemptions and nationality-specific provisions. The guidelines also provide for exemptions covering foreign children up to seven years of age in specified cases.
Meanwhile, action against foreigners accused of threatening, abusing or obstructing immigration officials is reserved for exceptional cases and requires documentary evidence and prior approval from the Bureau of Immigration Commissioner.