New Delhi:
Tackling the problem of illegal migration into India and tracking the movement of overstaying foreigners would be simplified with the new Immigration and Foreigners Bill, officials said on Wednesday. The bill was introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
In recent years, Delhi alone has seen a four-fold rise in the number of foreigners overstaying their welcome. But with new laws, strict penalties would be imposed, and officials hope that the process of sending these illegal migrants would be simplified. “The compliance burden is going to be reduced with this bill,” the official said.
As per the MHA, the bill introduces strict penalties for violations and usage of forged documents. “Overstaying or violating visa conditions would attract imprisonment up to three years and a fine of three lakhs,” the official added.
“If anyone arrives without valid documents a person can get upto five years in prison and would have to pay fine of Rs 5 lakh,” explained the official, adding that if law enforcement agencies notice that forged documents are being used for travel then a person would have to undergo jail term of two-seven years and also pay fine ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
“This bill is in line with the Government of India’s policy of simplification of laws, ease of doing business and minimising compliance burden,” the MHA official explained.
Key provisions in the bill include mandatory requirement of valid travel documents for entry into, stay in and exit from India, constitution of a Bureau of Immigration, power for deportation of illegal foreigners from India, mandatory reporting of information about foreigners by Hotels, universities and educational institutions and hospitals, nursing homes etc. to enable tracking of overstaying foreigners, obligation of carriers to share information on passengers as per international practices, compounding of certain offences to enable ease of compliance burden.
“The simplified language in the Bill will help in smooth administration of the provisions and ensure better compliance of foreigners with the immigration laws. It will provide adequate legal backing to immigration functions, its agencies and functionaries,” a top-ranking MHA official said.
In fact, the new bill seeks to balance the requirements of national security and related issues of immigration of foreigners with the need to promote economic growth and tourism in the country, the official said.
The MHA also clarified that this bill is not connected with any matters related to the grant of citizenship, and foreigners with dual citizenship will be treated as citizens of the country whose passport they used to enter India.
