Immigration Bill allows compounding of offences, replaces Passport Act

It creates a Bureau of Immigration to oversee these functions and grants the Central Government broad powers to control the movement and registration of non-citizens.

Who it concerns: The law affects all foreigners (non-citizens of India), carriers (air, water, or land transport entities), keepers of accommodation (hotels, etc.), universities and educational institutions, hospitals and medical institutions, and the Central Government.

What the bill does

• Mandates that no person may enter or exit India without a valid passport or other travel document, and foreigners must also possess a valid visa.
• Establishes a 'Bureau of Immigration' headed by a Commissioner to perform immigration functions under the supervision of the Central Government.
• Requires foreigners to register with a Registration Officer upon arrival in India.
• Grants the Central Government power to issue orders restricting or prohibiting the entry, stay, or departure of specific foreigners or classes of foreigners.
• Imposes obligations on accommodation keepers, universities, and hospitals to furnish particulars of foreigners in their care to authorities.
• Allows Immigration Officers to seize passports or travel documents that are lost, stolen, damaged, forged, or fraudulently obtained.
• Specifies penalties for entering without valid documents, using forged documents, and other contraventions of the Act.
• Grants power to arrest individuals for offences under the Act.

Also in the document

• The Bill includes provisions for the 'compounding' of certain offences, allowing them to be settled by payment.
• It includes a clause for the 'repeal and saving' of previous laws, indicating it replaces or amends existing legislation (specifically referencing the Passport Act, 1967).
• The decision of the Immigration Officer regarding the admissibility of a foreigner based on national security, public health, or other specified grounds is stated to be final and binding.