India adds document checks for travel to and from Nepal and Bhutan

India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) (Amendment) Order, 2026, tightening the document checks that apply when crossing India's borders with Nepal and Bhutan. The rules are effective immediately. Indian nationals, and citizens of Nepal and Bhutan, must now present an identity document listed in the visa manual to an immigration officer when travelling by land or air.

Key facts

• The amendment was notified by the MHA on 5 November 2026 and the rules are effective immediately.
• It affects Indian nationals travelling to or returning from Nepal or Bhutan by land or air, and Nepali and Bhutanese citizens entering or leaving India.
• Travellers must produce one identity document listed in the visa manual and give any information the immigration officer asks for.
• Indian citizens passing through the Indo-Nepal or Indo-Bhutan border on the way to or from a third country must hold a valid passport.
• Nepali and Bhutanese citizens travelling via China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan need both a valid passport and a valid visa.
• No fees or application procedures are set out in the amendment.

What is changing?

Under the amended order, Indian nationals travelling to or returning from Nepal or Bhutan by land or air must show any one of the identity documents specified in the visa manual before an immigration officer, and must provide any information the officer requests.

For Indian citizens, the exemption does not cover trips departing to or returning from countries other than Nepal or Bhutan through the Indo-Nepal or Indo-Bhutan border by land or air. Those travellers must hold a valid passport, and their exit from or entry into India must be through designated immigration posts.

What about Nepali and Bhutanese citizens?

Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan entering or leaving India by land or air must likewise present one identity document from the visa manual and answer any questions from the immigration officer.

The exemption does not apply to Nepali or Bhutanese citizens entering or leaving India from or to a country other than Nepal or Bhutan, or to anyone who has boarded a flight or transited through China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan. In those situations, travellers must hold both a valid passport and a valid visa.

Who is exempt?

The order lists categories of people exempt from the requirement to hold a valid passport or other travel document and a visa for entering, staying in or exiting India:

• Members of the Indian Navy, Army and Air Force travelling to or from India on official duty, along with family members accompanying them on government transport.
• Registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who took shelter in India on or before 9 January 2015 and are registered with an officer designated by the central or state government.
• Foreign crew of military vessels, including warships and non-commercial government ships, visiting India for repairs. They need a Military Ship Repair Permit issued by an immigration officer at a designated immigration post and valid military identity documents.
• Tibetans who entered India after 1959 but before 30 May 2003 with an Entry Permit issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, and those who entered after 30 May 2003 on a Special Entry Permit from the embassy through a designated immigration post on the India-Nepal border.
• Members of minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who sought shelter in India because of religious persecution or fear of persecution, provided they entered India on or before 31 December 2024.

What is the 'visa manual'?

The order defines the visa manual as a manual issued by the central government from time to time, containing instructions on visas, immigration and related matters.

What this means for travellers

Anyone crossing between India and Nepal or Bhutan by land or air should carry one of the identity documents listed in the visa manual, as it may be requested by an immigration officer. Indian passport holders heading beyond Nepal or Bhutan via these borders need a valid passport and must use designated immigration posts, while Nepali and Bhutanese citizens transiting through China, Macau, Hong Kong or Pakistan need both a valid passport and a valid visa.

The amendment took effect immediately; the order sets no further deadlines or transition period for travellers.