Passport, Visa Rules Eased for Sri Lankan Tamils, Tibetans, Others

The Ministry of Home Affairs has eased passport and visa requirements for several groups of foreign nationals living in India through the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) (Amendment) Order, 2026. The order, S.O. 6027(E), was signed on 4 November and published in the Gazette of India on 5 November under Section 33 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. It took effect on publication and amends the 2025 exemption order of 2 September 2025.

Who Gets Relief From Passport and Visa Rules

Registered Sri Lankan Tamils who took shelter in India up to 9 January 2015 are exempt from passport and visa requirements. So are certain Tibetans who entered between 1959 and 30 May 2003 on entry permits from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, and those who entered later on special entry permits and registered.

Members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered on or before 31 December 2024 to escape religious persecution are covered, with or without valid documents. They must obtain an appropriate visa after entry. Military personnel on duty, their families on government transport, and foreign crews of warships here for repairs under military ship repair permits also get exemptions.

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Pakistani Nationals Without CNIC and Indian-Origin Returnees

For continued stay, the order covers Pakistani citizens who entered on or before 31 December 2009 and could not renew passports because they lack a Pakistani Computerised National Identity Card, along with Indian-origin people who returned from Malaysia or Singapore by that date on expired passports. These groups must still obtain an appropriate visa, and the order lists conditions, including no adverse police or security reports.

New ID Rule for Travel to Nepal and Bhutan

Indian, Nepali and Bhutanese citizens travelling directly between India and Nepal or Bhutan by land or air may now show an identity document listed in the government’s Visa Manual instead of a passport. Indian citizens travelling to or from other countries through these borders still need a valid passport and must use designated immigration posts. Nepali and Bhutanese citizens who embarked at or transited through China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan need both a passport and a visa.

The Home Ministry has not said which identity documents the Visa Manual will list.

Source: Gazette of India notification S.O. 6027(E), Ministry of Home Affairs (copy of the order as published). Also based on reporting by The Tribune and Gulf News.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.