India has eased residency rules for persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan by extending the cut-off for entry eligibility to 31 December 2024, allowing Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians who arrived without valid passports or whose documents expired to remain in the country, a move issued under newly implemented immigration provisions and framed alongside the Citizenship (Amendment) Act’s naturalisation pathway for those who came by 31 December 2014. Announced this week by the Home Ministry, the order offers immediate relief to post-2014 arrivals facing legal limbo, particularly Hindu families from Pakistan, while reinforcing India’s role as a regional refuge for victims of religious persecution amid continued cross-border flows. Strategically, the decision signals policy continuity on humanitarian protection with managed security oversight, potentially easing local law-and-order burdens from undocumented stay while sharpening geopolitical messaging toward neighbours on minority rights and bilateral accountability