For a foreign national in India, arrest and jail are among the most frightening experiences. Even minor offences or immigration-related charges can lead to custody. Families often discover that the bail process is more difficult for foreigners, with courts citing concerns that the person might abscond. The result is prolonged detention, sometimes lasting months, while […]

Security-based orders are not completely beyond review. Courts in India have examined such cases, and while they give wide discretion to the government, they have also said that the label of security cannot be used without any basis. Judicial review remains possible, even if the scope is limited. For many foreign nationals in India, the […]

Immigration detention in India is an abrupt loss of liberty. It begins suddenly, it restricts movement and contact, and it creates uncertainty about what will happen next. Families often do not know how long detention will continue or what steps are available. Detention is not always the same. In some cases it is custody while […]

For many foreign nationals in India, the first sign of trouble is not detention or deportation but an order cancelling their visa, placing their name on a blacklist, or revoking their OCI card. These measures can be life-altering. They stop people from travelling freely, from working or studying, and in many cases from returning to […]

For many foreign nationals, problems with Indian immigration do not begin in a courtroom or at an FRRO office. They begin at the airport. A traveller arrives with a valid visa, sometimes with family or friends waiting outside, only to be stopped at immigration. Instead of being allowed in, they are escorted to a holding […]

For many foreign nationals, the first sign that something is wrong with their immigration status in India is a document titled “Leave India Notice.” It arrives suddenly, often without explanation, and sets a strict deadline to exit the country. To the person who receives it, the message is blunt: you must leave or face consequences. […]

Immigration orders can be challenged before the High Courts in India through writ petitions. Judges have reviewed these cases many times and have granted relief where orders were arbitrary, unexplained, or disproportionate. The power of judicial review means that sudden administrative action is not always the last word. When a foreign national in India faces […]

When a foreign national in India is told to leave the country or is picked up by immigration authorities, the situation feels hopeless. Deportation orders are often short, with no reasons given, and detention can happen suddenly. For many people it feels like there is no way out. Indian law does not give unlimited power […]