The Indian government has issued the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, a landmark move exempting certain refugees from penal action under the new Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 starting this week. This order grants safe haven to six minority religious groups Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Bangladesh on or before December 31, 2024, regardless of the status or expiration of their travel documents such as passports or visas.

This policy extends protections previously limited under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, which granted citizenship to migrants from these groups who arrived by December 31, 2014 but this new order significantly broadens relief to undocumented migrants entering up to 2024, shielding them from deportation or imprisonment.

This legislation underscores India’s evolving humanitarian approach, offering legal security and stability to persecuted religious minorities seeking refuge from neighboring countries without requiring them to navigate complex or punitive immigration hurdles.