The Union Home Ministry has notified that a foreigner living in India shall hold a valid passport or any “other valid travel document”, which includes emergency certificate, certificate of identity and any other document issued by the government of a foreign country.
The Ministry through a gazette notification amended the Foreigners Orders, 1948 by inserting a new provision, paragraph 3B, stating “requirement of holding a valid passport or other valid travel document while living in India.”
The order assumes significance as many people from Afghanistan were not able to return or had decided to stay back in India after the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021. India issued 200 e-Emergency X-Miscellaneous visas, out of 60,000 applications, to Afghan nationals. The passports of many Afghans seem to have either expired and are not valid anymore. The Passport Act states that a foreigner unless exempted through a government order, needs to be in possession of a valid passport to continue to stay in India.
