Overview

• District commissioners and senior police officials can act on credible information, require proof of citizenship within 10 days, and issue reasoned orders if evidence is insufficient.
• Expulsion orders under Section 2(a) direct individuals to leave within 24 hours via a specified route, with biometrics recorded on the Foreigners Identification Portal.
• Non‑compliant individuals may be sent to holding centres or handed to the Border Security Force for removal, with immediate pushbacks allowed near the zero line or within 12 hours of entry.
• The SOP largely bypasses Foreigners’ Tribunals, which will handle only cases where officers cannot reach a prima facie decision; those already declared foreigners will receive direct expulsion orders.
• Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma cited the October 2024 Supreme Court directions and MHA guidance, noting about 30,126 past pushbacks and that Bangladesh accepted only 466 declared foreigners as its citizens.