NEW DELHI: With an aim to further tighten national security by better regulating immigration into the country, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday issued a set of new rules under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which stipulates stricter norms for entry, stay and deportation of foreigners.
The order through a gazette notification said, foreigners may be denied entry or stay in India, if found to be “convicted of serious crimes such as terrorism, espionage, rape, murder, human trafficking, cybercrime, drug smuggling, or membership of a banned organisation”.
More to these offences, people found to be involved in cases relating to “fake travel documents, money laundering, hawala transactions, child abuse and racketeering” will also be barred from entering India.
Noting that India would continue to maintain “a strict zero-tolerance” toward individuals involved in “anti-national or subversive activities”, in order the MHA has advised the Bureau of Immigration to maintain and update a database of such individuals and prohibit their entry.
According to officials, all states and Union Territories (UT) have been asked to set up dedicated detention or holding centres for illegal immigrants until they are deported.
The centres will restrict the movement of foreign nationals found staying without valid documents. The Coast Guard and border security forces have also been instructed to capture biometric and demographic details of illegal entrants before their deportation, they said.
As per the MHA order, it is mandatory for every foreigner applying for a visa or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration to provide biometric details before approval and these include fingerprints, facial scans and other data, which will be stored on a central government portal.
Foreigners seeking employment in India cannot work in sensitive sectors such as power supply, petroleum or water distribution without explicit approval from civil authorities, it noted.
The new rules also tighten regulations on media and mountaineering expeditions, as in the order, the MHA said, “Foreigners wishing to shoot feature films, documentaries, web series or reality shows in India must obtain written permission from the central government.”
Foreigners must also secure special permits to enter protected or restricted regions, including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Nationals of Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan will not be allowed entry into these sensitive areas.
Notifying the conditions under which foreigners may be refused permission to leave India, the MHA said, “These include pending court cases, risks to public health, potential harm to diplomatic relations or orders from law enforcement agencies, and the Bureau of Immigration will maintain an updated list of individuals barred from departure.”
On the arrival of seamen and crew of aircraft, the MHA said a seaman or the crew of an aircraft, who is a foreigner, “shall require a landing permit or a shore leave pass for entry into India”, if not in possession of a valid Indian visa.