Members of minority communities who entered India without passports or other travel documents to escape religious persecution in Bangladesh will be allowed to stay in the country for an additional period. Under the Immigration and Foreigners Act-2025, which came into effect from Monday, these minorities will not face any punishment, the country's home ministry said.

It said that members of minority Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who entered India without passports or other travel documents by December 31 last year to escape religious persecution in Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be allowed to stay there. Even those whose documents expired after entering the country, no punitive action will be taken against them under the law that came into effect from Monday.

According to the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order 2025 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday, citizens of Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Tibetans, who entered India between 1959 and May 30, 2003 with a special entry permit issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and registered with the concerned Foreigners Registration Officer, have also been given a similar exemption.

However, if citizens of Nepal and Bhutan enter or exit India via China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan, they will not get the benefit of Section 21 of the Act. According to this section, entry into India without a valid passport or visa can be punished with a maximum imprisonment of five years or a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh. According to Section 23, staying in India after the expiry of the visa can be punished with a maximum imprisonment of three years or a maximum fine of Rs 3 lakh.

The order states that members of the three services of any country will not have to face any punishment even if they come and go to India with their family members for the purpose of performing their duties. Besides, foreign diplomatic passport holders do not need a visa.

The power to implement this law has been given to the states and union territories of the country. On Monday, the Home Ministry also announced the amount of fine for violating the provisions of the law. However, those who enter India without a valid passport or visa, except those exempted by the law, will have to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh to the concerned Foreigners Regional Registration Office.

Fines will be levied in stages for overstaying after the expiry of the visa. The law states that Buddhist monks from Tibet and Mongolia and long-term visa holders from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will have to pay a fine of Rs 50 to Rs 550 for overstaying.

• Fine Amount
* Rs 10,000 for overstaying up to 30 days
* Rs 20,000 for overstaying up to 31-90 days
* Rs 50,000 for overstaying up to 91-180 days
* Rs 1 lakh for overstaying up to 181 days and more than one year
* Rs 50,000 for overstaying up to one year. However, the maximum fine will be limited to Rs 3 lakh.