India relaxes passport and visa requirements for long-term Pakistani residents, persecuted minority refugees and Tibetans

Key facts

• The Union Home Ministry has relaxed passport and visa requirements for certain categories of foreign nationals in India, including some long-term Pakistani residents, minority refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Sri Lankan Tamils and Tibetans.
• The changes were notified through the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) (Amendment) Order, 2026, published in the Gazette on Thursday.
• Pakistani nationals who entered India on or before December 31, 2009 with the intention of settling permanently can be exempted from the passport renewal requirement if they cannot renew their documents because they lack Pakistan's Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC).
• The exemption for Pakistani residents is conditional on applicants not having married in Pakistan or acquired immovable property there, having left behind Indian citizen family members, undertaking not to return to Pakistan, and having no adverse reports from police or security agencies.
• Members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2024 after fleeing religious persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution are exempted, including those who entered without valid documents or with expired ones, though they must still obtain an appropriate visa to continue their stay.
• For Tibetans, the notification covers those who entered India using permits issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu between 1959 and May 30, 2003.
• Indian, Nepalese and Bhutanese citizens travelling directly between the three countries by land or air may present identity documents specified in the government's official Visa Manual instead of standard passports.
• Nepalese and Bhutanese citizens entering or exiting India after embarking from or transiting through mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan must hold both a valid passport and a valid visa, and Indian citizens travelling to or returning from countries other than Nepal and Bhutan through the India-Nepal or India-Bhutan borders need valid passports and must use designated immigration posts.
• The government has not framed the changes as a general immigration amnesty; they are designed to regularise documentation for long-standing resident groups whose passports, permits or identity papers may no longer be renewable or valid.