Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees: New Legal Relief and the Unanswered Questions of Citizenship
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Citizenship - Citizenship Act 1955, CAA; Laws related to foreigners); International Relations (India's refugee policy, India-Sri Lanka relations).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity, Governance, IR): Indian Constitution—citizenship; Government policies and interventions and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections; India and its neighborhood- relations. The refugee issue is a key topic for GS2.
Key Highlights from the News
The Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, issued by the Union Home Ministry, exempts Sri Lankan Tamil refugees registered with the government who sought refuge in India before January 9, 2015, from legal proceedings.
This order protects them from forcible repatriation to Sri Lanka for not possessing valid travel documents.
However, there is still no clarity on whether this order removes the legal impediment of being considered "illegal migrants," which prevents them from applying for Indian citizenship.
The article urges the government to liberalize procedures for them to obtain Long Term Visas (LTVs), essential for employment and higher education.
It also suggests using the "certificate of identity" provided to Tibetan refugees as a model.
The article concludes by recommending that India and Sri Lanka jointly consider voluntary repatriation and local integration as means to find a permanent solution to this issue.
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