Members of six minority groups from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians – who entered India to escape religious persecution before the end of 2024 will be allowed to stay in the country without passports or other travel documents, the Union home ministry said on Monday.

The home ministry notification, issued under the recently implemented 2025 Immigration and Foreigners Act, will apply to persons from the six communities who crossed into India till December 31, 2024.

The Citizenship Amendment Act stipulates a cut-off date of December 31, 2014 for providing a fast track to citizenship to refugees from the six religious communities, on the condition that they have lived in India for six years.

The Act was passed by Parliament in December 2019. The Union government notified the rules under the Act in March 2024. The Citizenship Amendment Act has faced widespread criticism for discriminating against Muslims and had triggered massive nationwide protests in 2019 and 2020.

With the home ministry’s notification on Monday, persons who sought shelter in India without valid documents or whose passports and visas have since expired will be exempted from rules that otherwise require them to possess such papers.

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