Immigration is an act of moving to a foreign country for long term settlement.
(Immigration must not be confused with migrants, which means people moving within the country)
Generally, immigration’s objective is to attain the citizenship of a foreign country. Immigration Laws in India govern the process of immigration and the acquisition of citizenship in India. They are determined on the basis of the political climate of the country and vary from country to country.
An individual might willingly or be forced into immigrating to a new country for different economic, social, and political reasons. The search for higher education or standard of living or natural disasters may direct people to immigrate. Immigrants are generally more skilled people than dwellers. As Forbes reported, in a letter signed by 40 business schools in the USA, said that they don’t have the skills that the immigrants provide. Immigrants not only take up jobs that natives are not interested in, but their skills and dynamism also help in developing the economy of the host country and contribute to the overall advancement of the world. The shortage of skilled labor in developed countries is provided by skilled laborers of the developing countries. 3% of the world’s population are immigrants, with India’s immigration rate being lower than 1%.
Immigration Laws in India
Immigration laws and regulations for obtaining citizenship in India are dealt with in Article 5 to 11 in Part-II of our constitution. Article 5 states that people with their domicile in India, from the commencement of the constitution, would be considered citizens of India :
- who was born in the territory of India; or
- either of the parents was born in the territory of India; or
- who had been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding from the commencement.
Article 6 and 7 deal with citizenship of migrants that were displaced after the Partition of India. Article 8 protects the right of citizenship of Indians residing outside India, while Article 9 protects the right of a person to give up Indian citizenship and voluntarily acquire a foreign state’s citizenship. Under Article 10, the right to continuance of all laws of the government to its citizens is provided.
The government’s authority to make provisions concerning any matter of citizenship is protected in Article 11.
Apart from these, the Citizenship Act 1995, is connected with citizenship in India, with Amendments brought up in 1986, 1992, 2003,2005, and the latest in 2019.
The Passport (Entry Into India) Rules
The Passport Act 1920 was enacted under the British rule acting to“ take power to require passports of persons entering”. It was superseded by The Passport Act (Entry into India) Rules 1950 ruling that every person needs to have a passport authorized by a “competent authority” to enter in India. It also mentioned the conditions, exemptions, and punishments for violating the law. Multiple amendments were made thereafter.
The Assam Accord 1985
Since the Partition, there was an illegal influx of Bangladeshis (then East Pakistan) in Assam. Illegal immigrants would possess a serious threat to Assamese culture heritage, social, economic, and political environments. Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 was passed to protect the Assamese and was repealed in 1957. Later, due to riots in East Pakistan, steering the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, there was another myriad of illegal immigrants. It resulted in 6 long years of horrible struggle of Assam Agitation (1979 – 1985) with the death of thousands of innocents.
Consequently, the Assam Accord was signed to end the Assam agitation and to prevent further illegal immigration, with March 25, 1971, set as a cut off date for granting citizenship to Bangladeshi migrants in Assam.
The Carrier Liability Act of 2000
This act made carriers like ships, airports liable to the offense for transporting illegal passengers in India. In case, found carrying illegal passengers, it provided the carrier to be heard and the penalty of 1lakh if proven guilty. It also allowed the government to sell their property in case the fine was unpaid.
Institutions and Officers Regulating Immigration Activities in India
The Bureau of Immigration, established in 1971, is a national government agency for administering immigration in the country and is responsible to the Ministry of Home affairs. It’s headed by the Commission of Immigration and Foreign Regional Registration Officers( FRROs) assisting its work. There are 13 FRROs in some major cities, and Foreign Registration Officers (FROs) in some other cities, with the Superintendent of Police responsible for registrations in the rest of the districts. All medical, student, research, and employment long term visas are required to register themselves with their responsible officer of the city, within 14 days of arrival.
Latest Changes in Immigration Laws
- Overseas Citizens of India and Persons of Indian Orignal cards were merged into one on January 9, 2015. The government said this would provide better facilities, and laws to people holding these cards.
- Indians can apply for Australian visas and citizenship online, and avail all online service by creating an ImmiAccount on their government site.
- The number of main visa categories is reduced to 21 from 26, and subcategories to 64 from 104, by clubbing together similar categories, to reduce the hassle and simplify the process. This increased tourist arrival in India with 1.3% in 2019.
- Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan.
This blog is written by Dharna Prasad, Hindu College.
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