An Analysis of the New Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Citizenship, Foreigners Act, NRC, Foreigners Tribunals, Constitutional and Statutory Bodies); Internal Security.
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Government policies and interventions; Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies (Foreigners Tribunals); Separation of powers; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections.
General Studies Paper 3 (Internal Security): Security challenges and their management in border areas; Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.
Key Highlights from the News
To regulate matters of foreigners and immigration, the government fully implemented the new law, Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, by merging four old laws.
Main New Provisions in the Act:
Gave statutory status to the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) to investigate immigration frauds, deport foreigners, and maintain databases.
Made it legally mandatory to record biometric information of all foreigners entering India.
Gave First Class Judicial Magistrate powers to Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), which were previously only in Assam. They can now issue arrest warrants and send people to detention centers.
Provided legal authority to border guarding forces to stop and send back illegal immigrants at the border itself.
Main Exemptions (Exemption Order):
Registered Sri Lankan Tamil refugees (Sri Lankan Tamil nationals) who arrived in India before January 9, 2015, are exempted from legal proceedings.
Exemption also given to six minority communities who came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan before December 31, 2024. They can apply for Long-Term Visas (LTVs), which are a precursor to citizenship. However, this LTV provision is not applicable to Sri Lankan Tamils.
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