Non-Muslims from Bangladesh , Pakistan and Afghanistan can live in India without valid documents.

Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan can live in India without valid documents. 

The central government has taken another decision. The home ministry’s directive states that Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India by 31 December 2024, due to religious persecution, will be allowed to live in India even without valid documents.

They will be granted refugee status. They will neither be detained nor deported.

 The Home Ministry’s notification particularly means that non-Muslims from Bangladesh who have moved to West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, or Meghalaya will be allowed to stay even without valid documents or papers.

Later, they will not face difficulties in obtaining citizenship. According to central government data, the number of refugees coming to India from Afghanistan and Pakistan is very few, while the largest number of refugees is Bangladeshi citizens.

This directive can be considered an amendment to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA provided for granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim citizens of those three neighbouring countries, with the cut-off date for their entry into India set as 31 December 2014.

With the new directive, the cutoff date has been extended by 10 years. Now, non-Muslims from these three countries who enter India up to 31 December 2024 will be able to stay without valid documents.