Status of Tibetans in India
More than 80,000 Tibetans sought refuge in India along with the Dalai Lama in 1959 after the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The population of Tibetans in India according to CTA’s survey in 2009 is 94,203.
Stay permit for Tibetans
The Government of India grants a stay permit for Tibetans to live in India. The permit is stamped on a booklet or a paper called the Registration Certificate (RC) and renewed every year/five years. An Identity Certificate (Yellow Book), exit visa, and return visa are needed for traveling outside of India.
More information is on the Papers and Permits page on this website.
Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy 2014
In October 2014, the government of India adopted the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy 2014 to provide for the rehabilitation and welfare of Tibetan refugees living in India.
The Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC), under the Department of Home of the Central Tibetan Administration, coordinates relief and rehabilitation works for thousands of Tibetan refugees in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. CTRC works in association with individuals, aid agencies, and the Government of India.
More information on the Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy page. There you may also download PDF and image files of all pages of the 2014 Tibetan Rehabilitation Policy.
Indian Citizenship, Passport, and Voting Rights for Tibetans in India
Citizenship
Indian law provides automatic citizenship for Tibetans born in India between 26 January 1950 and 1 July 1987, and their descendants. This was confirmed in a judgement by the Delhi High Court on 22 September 2016.
View summary of Citizenship Act 1955 at IndianCitizenshipOnline.nic.in.
Passport
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a letter dated 17 March 2017, ordered all Indian passport issuing authorities in India and Indian missions abroad to issue passports to eligible Tibetans
View MEA letter (PDF) on this website.
Apply for Indian passport at PassportIndia.gov
Summary of passport process as of April 2017, at TibetSun.com
More information on the citizenship and passport page on this website. There you may see background info, history of passport law, and download PDFs of information.
Voting rights for Tibetans
The Election Commission of India on 7 February 2014 directed all Indian states to include Tibetans born in India and their offspring in the electoral rolls. This followed a 2013 court order that granted Indian citizenship to Tibetan refugees born in India after 26 January 1950 and before 1 July 1987. [Download the EC order]
More information on voting rights is on the citizenship and passport page on this website.
Non-Citizen and Refugee Papers and Permits
The Government of India grants a stay permit for Tibetans to live in India. The permit is issued on a paper called the Registration Certificate (RC). It is renewed every year. For travelling abroad, a document called Identity Certificate (aka Yellow Book) is issued in place of a passport. Exit Permit and Return Visa are needed for travelling outside of India. Waits are long for processing these documents, even though the application is done online.
More information is on the Papers and Permits page on this website.
Tibetan Settlements and offices
- List of Tibetan Settlements – at Tibet.net
- About Tibetan Settlements in India – at CentralTibetanReliefCommittee.org
Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
10-B, Ring Road, Lajpat Nagar IV
New Delhi 110024
India
p: +91-11-26474798, 26439745
e: info(at)tibetbureau.in
w:
TibetBureau.in
Other issues
- Land encroachment
- Tibetans in Himachal state allowed temporary occupation of homes built on forestland
28 February 2015 archived - Himachal Cabinet nod to Tibetan rehab policy
15 February 2015 archived - Tibet’s exiles in India confront an uncertain future
18 August 2016 archived
- Tibetans in Himachal state allowed temporary occupation of homes built on forestland