A Bill seeking to bring a comprehensive legislation to deal with foreigners, illegal immigrants, and stakeholders has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025 was piloted by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai amid protests from Opposition members who dubbed the Bill as violative of constitutional provisions.

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Rejecting the suggestions that Parliament lacked the legislative competence to bring the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, Minister Rai said the Central government has all the rights under the Union list to bring legislation on the subject. He asserted that while tourists were welcome in India, it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that peace and sovereignty of the nation remained intact.

The Bill seeks to streamline various services related to immigration and foreigners, including their entry, exit, and stay in the country.

The draft law introduces, for the first time, threats to national security and sovereignty as grounds to refuse entry or stay to a foreign national in the country. It also has the provisions to bar the entry of a foreigner on the basis of his/her relations with a foreign state.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the new Bill says, ”There is a necessity to repeal all the aforesaid four acts and to enact a new comprehensive legislation, namely the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025,”. The four acts in question are the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and The Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000. Three of these acts, which govern the entry of foreigners into India, are from the pre-Independence era, “brought into extraordinary times of first and second world wars”.

“While there is an underlying continuity and commonality of objectives among the four Acts, there are some overlapping provisions among them,” the Statement of Objects and Reason of the Bill said, explaining the “necessity” to repeal the four Acts and enact a new “comprehensive” legislation.

The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025 has penal provisions against those who help illegal migrants come to India. As per the proposed law, any person using or arranging a fake passport may face a jail term of up to seven years. Those using or supplying fake travel documents could face a jail term between two and seven years and a fine of Rs 1-10 lakh. At present, the punishment is 2-8 years and a fine of Rs 10-50,000.

According to the draft legislation, a foreigner exceeding his stay in India could get a jail term of three years and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh against the existing five years.

Any person entering India without a valid passport, visa, and other travel documents could face a jail term between two and five years or a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh as against the existing jail term of 2-8 years and a fine.

According to the Bill, the onus is on the carrier (aircraft or ship) to take back any foreigner whose entry has been refused. “Such foreigner shall be handed over to the carrier by the Immigration Officer and it shall be the responsibility of that carrier to ensure his removal from India without delay,” the Bill says.

The carrier that fails to comply can be seized, detained, and the goods on board sold.

According to the new Bill, the carriers landing or embarking at a port or place in the country will have to furnish passenger and crew manifests, advance passenger information, and passenger name record information of passengers. A carrier could be penalised up to Rs 50,000 for violating these provisions.

The new bill also has the provisions to direct universities, educational institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical institutions – admitting foreigners and their attendants – to submit their details to the registration officers.