MHA warns states of foreigners obtaining Indian identity & docus

Time of India

7 hours ago

Thiruvananthapuram: A ministry of home affairs (MHA) communication to the states, including Kerala and Union Territories (accessed by TOI), has warned that foreigners are fraudulently obtaining Indian identity and beneficiary documents — from voter ID and Aadhaar to passports and ration cards — to claim benefits meant exclusively for citizens.
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Such access, the document says, "leads to illegal, criminal and anti-national activities by such foreigners using fake IDs." It also flags that these forged documents have been used to tap into govt welfare schemes, diverting resources from their intended beneficiaries.
On the basis of this MHA alarm, the state convened a high-level meeting of stakeholders to initiate the measures outlined in the directive. The note cites the Citizenship Act, 1955, which defines an "illegal migrant" as a foreigner who enters India without a valid passport or other travel documents, or one who enters with valid papers but stays beyond the permitted period.
Against this legal backdrop, the MHA called for an intensified nationwide drive to identify such individuals, capture their biometrics and demographic particulars, and deport them "without any delay.
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The MHA ordered that the district police module (DPM) and foreigners identification portal (FIP) be mandatorily used to record fingerprints, photographs and personal details of all detected illegal migrants — whether they are overstaying foreigners or those who entered without documents.
The DPM, rolled out in 2023, allows district police to instantly access visa records, immigration data, arrival and departure details, and stay information along with the capability to capture biometrics on the spot.
The FIP, initially created in 2018 for Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals, was upgraded in 2023 to cover all illegal migrants and now serves as a central repository accessible to police, immigration officials, border guarding forces and the ministry of external affairs.
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To close loopholes, the MHA has directed states to install live fingerprint scanners, computers and web cameras at police stations in identified hotspots, holding centres and border outposts, replacing earlier reliance on the national automated fingerprint identification system. "For capturing biometrics of such detected illegal migrants, live scanners on FIP portal may be used," the document said. These records will be fed into a central server shared with agencies like UIDAI, passport offices, election commissions and ration card authorities to prevent fraudulent claims.
The directive makes cross-verification mandatory before issuing any Indian document or extending social benefits, and also orders a review of past beneficiaries. If a match is found in the illegal migrants' database, the document or benefit is to be "de-activated/cancelled forthwith" and details shared with other agencies for similar action.
States have been told to appoint a nodal police officer of at least DSP rank in every district for FIP operations and to ensure that all relevant personnel are trained within three months. The Bureau of Immigration will oversee the system nationally, integrate it with other govt databases and ensure smooth migration of data between platforms.