Who are Illegal Immigrants under the Citizenship Act, 1955?

 Chapter 3:

Who are Illegal Immigrants under the Citizenship Act, 1955?

According to Section 2(1)(b) of the Act, “illegal immigrant” means a foreigner who enters India:

Without a valid passport or other travel documents and such other document or authority as may be prescribed by or under any law in that behalf; or

With valid documents but stays in India beyond the permitted period of time.

Laws governing Illegal Immigrants

Illegal immigrants can be deported or imprisoned according to the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and Foreigners Act, 1946. These Acts provide for regulation regarding entry, exit and residence of foreigners by the Central Government.

Foreigners Act, 1946

Under Section 3(2)(c) of the Foreigners Act, the Central Government has the power to order the deportation of a foreign national. This power to deport or identify foreign nationals has also been given to State Governments, Union Territories and the Bureau of Immigration.

Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920

Section 5 of this Act says that the Central Government has the power to directly remove any person who has entered into India illegally. It covers such a person who has entered without a Passport or has not complied with the conditions of the Passport.

The Citizenship Amendment Act

The Parliament has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) on 11th December. In the amendment, persons belonging to minority communities of Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have entered into India on or before 31st December 2014 have been excluded from the definition of “illegal immigrants”, given in Section 2(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act. 

It has also reduced the period of acquisition required for getting Citizenship through Naturalisation from eleven years to five years for these communities. 

The amendment is facing several backlashes across India, majority being from the North-eastern States. The main objection is regarding the religious inclement of the amendment, as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to equality. 

Several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.