With immediate effect, India has halted the Free Movement Regime along the border with Myanmar. This would imply that visas would be necessary for residents of border regions who might go to India.
In order to protect the nation’s internal security and preserve the demographic makeup of India’s northeastern states that border Myanmar, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to terminate the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between that country and Myanmar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “MHA has advised the immediate suspension of the FMR as the Ministry of External Affairs is currently in the process of repealing it.
N. Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, also pleaded with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to finish fencing the India-Myanmar border and revoke the FMR. He blamed the unfettered flow of individuals across the border for the continued ethnic strife in the State.
A member of the hill tribes who is either an Indian or a Myanmar citizen and who resides within 16 km on either side of the border is permitted to cross the border upon production of a border pass, which is typically valid for a year, and may stay for up to two weeks per visit under the terms of the Free Movement Regime, which was established in the 1970s.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manipur government has halted the FMR since 2020.
Mr. Shah had declared on February 6 that a fence will be built by the government along the 1,643-kilometer border with Myanmar.
