The citizens of Nepal and Bhutan entering India by land or air will not be required to furnish a passport or visa, as earlier. Ministry of Home Affairs has notified the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, pointing out some major exemptions from requirements related to valid passports, travel documents, and visas for specific categories of individuals and carriers.
A person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered the country on or before 31st December, 2024 without valid documents, including a passport or other travel documents, and the validity of such documents have expired will be exempted from the rule of possessing a valid passport and visa.