Immigration, process through which individuals become permanent residents or citizens of

a new country. Historically, the process of immigration has been of great social, economic,
and cultural benefit to states. The immigration experience is long and varied and has in
many cases resulted in the development of multicultural societies; many modern states are
characterized by a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities that have derived from previous
periods of immigration......As globalization took place, people started migrating in large numbers
for better economic, political and social stability. India is a country of mixed races and culture, offers
a variety of attractions for immigrants from other countries. Immigration basically refers to the
movement of people from one country to another for the purpose of long-term settlement. The main
challenge for immigrants, however, is to acquire citizenship of the host country and avail the
fundamental rights to the country they have migrated to. These issues are usually addressed by
specifically formulated laws and policies for immigrants that lay out the process and restrictions for
getting the citizenship. But as far as the Indian subcontinent is concerned, the immigration laws are
governed by the provisions of the Constitution of India.....Articles 5 to 11 in Part-II of the
Constitution deals with citizenship and it defines a citizen as a person of Indian domicile or someone
with an Indian lineage in the family. Article 10 deals with the continuance of foreigners as Indian
citizens, subject to any laws enacted thereafter by the legislature. The Indian constitution only
recognizes single citizenship throughout the country and does not support dual citizenship. It also
declares that a foreign citizen can acquire Indian citizenship through the process of Naturalization
(ordinarily residing in India for 14 years) and registration of foreigners with the FRRO (Foreigners
Regional Registration Officer) or FRO (Foreigners Registration Officer). The Indian law follows jus
sanguinis (citizenship by blood) as opposed to jus soli (citizenship by birth)....Rules and regulations
for immigrants...There are certain acts that have been passed to regularize the process of availing
citizenship by foreigners, such as:1 The Passport (Entry in India) Act, 1920 – Under this act, the
foreigners entering India are required to get visa from India Missions. The act also prescribes specific
documents for submission during their valid travel for allowing into the country.2 The Foreigners
Act, 1946 – This act regulates the entry and the residence of the foreigners within the Indian borders
until their departure from the country.3 The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and The
Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992 – It mandates that certain foreigners who stay past their
specified visa period must register with the Registration OfficeASK FREE LEGAL
ADVICEIndian VisaAll foreign visitors require a visa for their legal entry into the Indian borders.
This is however not applicable to citizens of Nepal and Bhutan. The visas provide specific period of
stay not exceeding 180 days (6 months) within the country. However, if a visa for an extended period
(more than 180 days) of stay is required, the applicant must register themselves with the FRRO or
FRO.......The Indian government provides various types of visas such as Business visas, Employment
visas, Intern visas, Transit visas, Student visas, Film visas, etc., all of which can be applied as a
traditional visa or an E-visa. Besides, there are restricted areas within India which require a special
entry permit apart from the above-mentioned valid visas known as Protected Area Permit (PAP), that
grants visitors the permit to enter the restricted zones. This permit must be applied as an addition to
the standard mandatory visa. Foreigners registration in India:1. Foreigners (except from Pakistan
and Afghanistan) visiting for a long term (more than 180 days) on student visa, employment visa,
research visa and medical visa are required to get themselves registered with the Indian
Missions/FRRO/FRO within 14 days of arrival. This process has its restrictions laid for certain types
of nationals.2. Foreigners entering India on any visa other than the above-mentioned types, do not
have to register themselves unless they intend on staying in India for more than 180 days. In such
cases, the registration must be done well before the expiry of the 6 months period. 3. Foreigners above
the age of 16 are required to report in person or through an authorized representative to the
appropriate Registration Officer for registration. Minors below 16 years of age are not required to
register. 4. Foreigners visiting on Entry(X) visa; i.e. dependent visa and Business visas, who intend to
stay over a period of 180 days are required to register themselves as well. 5. Visitors on journalist
visas and other visas without any specified endorsements are required to register themselves with the
FRROS/FRO. All Indian Missions will stamp the visas applied for registration.Recent amendments
The government of India has come up with many significant changes to the Indian Immigration Law
such as: 1 Any visitor on an employment visa has the liberty to change his/her employer once they
have arrived in India by applying to the Ministry of Home Affairs. 2 A dependent visa or a (X) visa
can be converted into an employment visa considering the eligibility of the X visa holder and
employment status of the spouse.

Indians likely to benefit as Trump unveils new immigration policy for merit-basedprofessionals
US President Donald Trump has unveiled a new merit and points-based immigration policy that
replaces the existing green cards with 'Build America' visa and substantially hikes the quota for
young and highly-skilled workers from 12 to 57 per cent, a move likely to benefit thousands of
Indian professionals. Trump said the current "broken" system of legal immigration has failed to
retain and attract brilliant talent from across the globe. The president said he was proposing a
merit-based immigration system wherein permanent legal residency would be given based on
points for age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense, besides passing English and civic
tests. Trump said he wanted to change that and unveiled a new proposal. "The biggest change we
make is to increase the proportion of highly-skilled immigration from 12 per cent to 57 per cent,
and we'd like to even see if we can go higher. This will bring us in line with other countries and
make us globally competitive," Trump said. The move is likely to benefit hundreds and thousands
of Indian professionals and skilled workers whose current waiting period for a Green Card on an
average is more than a decade.
Although human migration has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, immigration in the modern
sense refers to movement of people from one nation-state to another, where they are not citizens.
Immigration implies long-term permanent residence by the immigrants. Tourists and short-term visitors are
not considered immigrants. However, seasonal labour migration (typically for periods of less than a year)
is often treated as a form of immigration. The global volume of immigration is high in absolute terms, but
low in relative terms. The UN estimated 190 million international migrants in 2005, about 3% of global
population. The other 97% still live in the state in which they were born, or its successor state.

More often, people migrate due to economic reasons. Sometimes political, religious and personal factors
are also responsible. The reasons of attractive incentives for migration are known as Pull factors and the
compelling circumstances forcing Migration are known as Push factors which are mainly the reasons for
Emigration from the country of origin. The push factors may be war, poverty, natural disasters etc. And
pull factors may be political stability, higher incomes, family reasons.

Immigration Law is the law which exclusively governs immigration in a nation. So far as foreign citizens
are concerned, Immigration Law is related to Nationality Law of a nation governing the matters of
citizenship. International Law regulates Immigration Law concerning the citizens of a country. In this
regard the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is relevant. The
International Organization for Migration is the main intergovernmental organization in the field of
Migration. It was initially formed in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to
help the people displaced during the Second World War. This Organization is committed to the promotion
of humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all.

The objective of immigration is gaining citizenship or nationality in a different country. In India, the law
relating to citizenship or nationality is mainly governed by the provisions of the Constitution. The
Constitution of India provides for single citizenship for the entire country. The provisions relating to
citizenship are contained in Articles 5 to 11 in Part-II of the Constitution of India. Articles 5 to 9 of the
Constitution determine the status of persons as Indian citizens at the commencement of the Constitution.
Article 10 provides for their continuance as such citizens subject to the provisions of any law that may be
enacted by the legislature. Under Article 11, the Constitution expressly saves the power of Parliament "to
make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters
relating to citizenship". Article 5 states that at the commencement of this Constitution, every person
belonging to the following categories, who has his domicile in the territory of India, shall be a citizen of
India:

1) Who was born in the territory of India; or

2) Either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or
3) Who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately
preceding such commencement;
Article 6 of the Constitution provides for the rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to
India from Pakistan. Article 7 of the Constitution has made provisions for citizenship of certain migrants to
Pakistan and Article 8 of the Constitution provides for the rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian
origin residing outside India.

The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950 had been enacted to provide for the expulsion of
certain immigrants from Assam. The Act has empowered the central government to order expulsion of
certain immigrants. If the Central Government is of opinion that any person or class of persons, having
been ordinarily resident in any place outside India, has or have, whether before or after the commencement
of this Act, come into Assam and that the stay of such person or class of persons in Assam is detrimental to
the interests of the general public of India or of any section thereof or of any Schedule Tribe in Assam, the
Central Government may by order

a: direct such person or class of persons to remove himself or themselves from India or Assam within such
time and by such route as may be specified in the order; b: and give such further directions in regard to his
or their removal from India or Assam as it may consider necessary or expedient.
However these provisions of the Act shall not apply to any person who on account of civil disturbances or
the fear of such disturbances in any area now forming part of Pakistan has been displaced from or has left
his place of residence in such area and who has been subsequently residing in Assam.

The Immigration (Carriers' liability) Act, 2000 was enacted with the objective of confronting the
problem of arrival of large number of passengers without any valid travel documents by the carriers in
contravention of the Passport Act, 1920. Where the competent authority is of the opinion that any carrier
has brought a person in contravention of the provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and
rules made thereunder into India, he may by order impose a penalty of rupees one lakh on such carrier
subject to the provision that no order shall be passed without giving the carrier an opportunity of being
heard in the matter. The Act has been amended to meet the international obligation of exempting any
carrier or class from application of this Act.

The Immigration services at the major International Airports in India and the Foreigners' registration work
in five major cities, are handled by the Bureau of Immigration.

The field officers in charge of immigration and registration activities at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai
and Amritsar are called Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs). Apart from the FRROs who
look after the immigration/registration functions in the above mentioned five cities, the concerned Districts
Superintendents of Police function as Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs) in all the states in the
country.

All foreigners including foreigners of Indian origin visiting India on long term (more than 180 days)
Student visa (including those coming for study of Yoga, Vedic Culture, Indian system of dance and
Music), Research Visa, Employment Visa, Medical, Medical Attendant and Missionary Visa will be
required to get themselves registered with concerned Registration Officer within 14 days of his/her first
arrival, irrespective of the duration of their stay. Foreigners visiting India on other categories of long term
visa including business/Entry visa would not require registration with the concerned FRROs/FROs if
duration of his/her stay does not exceed 180 days on a single visit. In case a foreigner intends to stay for
more than 180 days on a single visit he should get himself registered well before the expiry of 180 days.

Pakistan Nationals are required to register within 24 hours and Afghanistan Nationals are required to
register within 7 days of their arrival in India.
Children below 16 years of age do not require registration, on any type of visa.

Such Foreign nationals, who are already holding long term Tourist Visas for 10/5 years with stay
stipulation of 180 days/90 days and with multiple entry facility, there should be gap of at least 2 months
between two visits to the country on Tourist Visa. In case of requirement to visit the country within two
months, permission should be sought from the Head of Mission concerned indicating the specific reasons
for another visit within a short period. In all such cases registration would be required within 14 days of
arrival. This includes foreigners holding Tourist Visa who after initial entry into India had gone out of the
country largely on account of neighbourhood tourism related travel and are re-entering India within two
months before their final exit from India. However, Immigration authorities in all Immigration Check
Posts may allow such foreign nationals on Tourist Visa to make two or three entries into the country (need
based) subject to production of an itinerary and supporting documentation (Ticket bookings).

Though no fee is required to be paid for registration, yet a penalty in Indian currency equivalent to US$
30/-(Rs.1395/-) in case of late registration is charged.

Every foreigner at the time of Registration, is required to furnish, such information in registration report, as
may be in his possession for the purpose of satisfying the Registration Officer and shall, on being required,
sign the registration report in the presence of the said officer and shall thereupon be entitled to receive
from the said officer a certificate of registration.

Every foreigner who is about to depart finally from India is required to surrender his certificate of
registration either to the Registration Officer of the place where he is registered or of the place from where
he intends to depart or to the Immigration Officer at the Port/Check post of exit at the time of final
departure from India. If the certificate is surrendered other than to the Immigration Officer of the port or
check post of exit, a receipt indicating such surrender of the document may be obtained and shown to the
Immigration Officer at the time of final departure.

Immigration check is conducted for all passengers, Indians or foreigners, both at the time of arrival and
departure. The passports are duly stamped at arrival as well as departure.

All passengers, Foreigners as well as Indians, coming to India or departing from India are required to fill-
up D (Disembarkation) Card and E (Embarkation) Cards at arrival and departure respectively. The
following information is required to be provided by the passengers in these cards: -

1. Name and Sex

2. Date of Birth, Nationality
3. Passport Details viz. Number, Dates of Issue
4. Address in India
5. Occupation
6. Flight Number, Date of Arrival / Date of boarding & port of final destination
7. Countries visited during last six days for arriving Indians
8. Purpose to Visit abroad

Generally specific powers of Visa conversions and extensions to foreigners residing in India, vests with the
Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi. The change of Visa status from one category to another category is
normally not allowed. It can be considered by the Ministry of Home Affairs only in extraordinary
circumstances. However, for the convenience of the foreigners, the FRROs/District Superintendents of
Police (ex-officio FROs) are empowered to make some conversions/extensions for certain types of Visas
without referring the same to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Fee Structure for Visa Services

Type of Visa US Nationals Other Nationals
Transit Visa (Single/Double Entry) Validity 15
$ 30 $ 10
days only
All types of Visa other than transit Visa valid up to
$ 60 $ 40
6 months (Multiple Entry)
Student Visa (Valid for over 1 year to 5 years)
$ 95 $75
Multiple Entry

All type of Visa other than transit Visa valid for

$ 85 $ 65
over 6 months and up to 1 year (Multiple Entry)

All types of Visa other than transit Visa valid for

$ 150 $ 130
over 1 year and up to 5 years (Multiple Entry)

Tourist/Business Visa – (for US Nationals only)

$ 150 N/A
valid for over 5 years and up to 10 years

Transfer of Visa to New Passport $ 25 $5

Non-US Nationals, holding US tourist or short term visa should submit an additional $ 20/- for
reference to be made with the Indian mission in their country of origin/permanent residence
(Processing time: 5 – 7 working days)
Visa fee schedule applicable to Sri Lankan Citizens
Type of Visa Period of Validity No. of Entries Visa fee
Transit Visa 15 days Single/Double $3

6 months

Single $3
Business Visa 6 months/1 year Multiple $9
Multiple $ 75
5 years (effective from
December 1,2002)

6 months

Single $3
6 months
Employment Visa Multiple $6
Multiple $9
1 year

6 months
All other Visas including Single Entry $3
Tourist/Student Visa 6 months/1 year Multiple Entry $6

In addition to above charges, an additional processing fee of US $ 20 is required with each

application. Processing time: 10 days
Visa fee schedule for Japanese Nationals
Type of Visa Fee
Transit Visa (Valid for 15 days only) $1
All other kinds of visa $8
Visa fee for:
a) Pakistani Nationals: $ 2/- (In addition to the above, an additional processing fee of US $ 20/- is required
with each application.)
b) Russian Nationals: $ 40
c) Romanian Nationals: $ 6
d) Bangladesh Nationals: Gratis Visa
(However, an additional processing fee of US $ 20/- is required to be submitted with each application)

Nationals of following countries are granted Gratis (Free of charge) Visa:

Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Jamaica, Mauritius, Mongolia, Maldives, North Korea (DPRK),
Poland, Slovak Republic, South Africa and Uruguay.

No visa is required for nationals of Nepal & Bhutan.

There are certain health regulations for entering into India. Any person, Foreigner or Indian, (excluding
infants below six months) arriving by air or sea without a vaccination certificate of yellow fever will be
kept in quarantine isolation for a period up to 6 days if:

1. He arrives in India within 6 days of departure/transit from a yellow fever endemic area.
2. Has come on a ship which has started from or transited at any port in a yellow fever endemic country
within 30 days of its arrival in India provided such ship has not been disinfected in accordance with the
procedure laid down by WHO.

Certain countries in Africa and South America are regarded as yellow countries.

In 2003, India passed a bill that allows certain persons of Indian origin in sixteen countries (subsequently
extended to almost all countries), including the United States, to apply for a form of dual citizenship
known as “Overseas Citizenship of India” (OCI). On January 7, 2006, the Government of India issued the
first OCI certificate and released the regulations governing applications for OCI status. Persons with OCI
status may not vote in Indian elections, hold most government jobs, or purchase certain types of real estate.
However, they are free from most visa and registration requirements and receive other rights