India-Bangladesh spar over illegal immigration. New Delhi mum on Dhaka request for consular meeting

India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 2,862 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, some unresolved for over five years,...

What Happened

India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that 2,862 cases of nationality verification are pending with Bangladesh, some unresolved for over five years, pertaining to individuals allegedly in India illegally.
India has called on Bangladesh to expedite verification of these cases to enable smooth repatriation of confirmed Bangladeshi nationals.
Bangladesh pointed to an absence of consolidated lists from India and procedural delays as reasons for the backlog, and indicated it has not received a clear, actionable repatriation request.
Dhaka has separately identified 2,479 incidents of "pushing-in" — the practice of pushing individuals across the border — between May 2025 and January 2026, and claims that at least 120 of those individuals are Indian nationals.
Bangladesh summoned India's acting high commissioner in Dhaka on April 30, 2026, in protest against comments made by Indian officials on the immigration issue.
India has not responded to Bangladesh's request for a consular meeting to discuss the cases jointly, leaving the diplomatic channel effectively stalled.

Static Topic Bridges

Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025: India's Updated Legal Framework

India's legal framework governing foreigners and illegal immigration was consolidated and modernised through the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which came into force on September 1, 2025. The Act replaced four previous laws: The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920; The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939; The Foreigners Act, 1946; and The Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act, 2000.

Under the previous Foreigners Act, 1946 (and now continued under the 2025 Act), the burden of proving citizenship lies on the individual, not the state — Section 9 of the 1946 Act established this reverse burden of proof, which was upheld by the Supreme Court.
The 2025 Act establishes a Bureau of Immigration headed by a Commissioner appointed by the central government to centralise immigration functions.
The Act mandates foreigners to register with a Registration Officer on arrival and imposes reporting obligations on educational and medical institutions.
Deportation requires confirmation of nationality by the country of origin — without Bangladesh completing its nationality verification, India cannot legally repatriate individuals to Bangladesh.

Connection to this news: The 2,862 pending nationality verifications are a direct bottleneck created by the legal requirement that deportation can only proceed after the receiving country confirms a person's citizenship — making Bangladesh's cooperation essential for any resolution.

India-Bangladesh Bilateral Relations: Historical Context

India and Bangladesh share a 4,156-kilometre border — the fifth-longest land border in the world — with multiple river systems, shared ecology, and intertwined migration histories. The two countries' modern bilateral relationship was forged during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, when India provided military, logistical, and diplomatic support that enabled Bangladesh's independence. The Indo-Bangladesh Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace signed on March 19, 1972 — also known as the Indira-Mujib Treaty — formalised the partnership.

Bangladesh-India relations tend to be warmer when Dhaka is governed by the Awami League and cooler during periods when other political forces hold power — a pattern rooted in the differing historiographies of 1971.
From 2009 to 2024, during the Awami League's tenure in power, bilateral ties reached their warmest point since the 1970s, with cooperation on connectivity, security, power, and trade.
The post-2024 political transition in Bangladesh has introduced new strains, including differing narratives on the 1971 liberation war and India's role in it.
Bangladesh and India have a Joint Working Group on illegal migration that is supposed to meet periodically; the current standoff is partly a breakdown of this mechanism.

Connection to this news: The immigration dispute is one symptom of broader bilateral tensions following Bangladesh's political transition; the historically close relationship has created both the institutional framework and the expectation of cooperation, making the current impasse diplomatically significant.

"Pushing-In" and the Legality of Border Expulsions

"Pushing-in" refers to the practice by border security forces of pushing individuals across an international border without due process — effectively an extrajudicial expulsion. It differs from formal deportation, which involves legal proceedings, nationality verification, and notification to the receiving country. International human rights law and the principle of non-refoulement (the obligation not to return a person to a country where they face serious harm) impose limits on such practices, though these principles apply primarily to refugees and asylum seekers.

The Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) operate under a bilateral coordination framework, with periodic flag meetings and hotlines to address border incidents.
Bangladesh has documented 2,479 pushing-in incidents between May 2025 and January 2026, claiming that among those pushed in are Indian nationals — a charge India disputes.
India maintains that it is seeking the repatriation of confirmed illegal migrants through lawful channels and that the core issue is Bangladesh's delay in completing nationality verification.
Consular access to detainees is governed by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), which India and Bangladesh have both ratified.

Connection to this news: Bangladesh's request for a consular meeting — to which India has not responded — relates to the right of consular officers to visit and assist nationals detained in the other country, a right embedded in the Vienna Convention; India's silence on this request has added a legal dimension to the diplomatic standoff.

Key Facts & Data

2,862 nationality verification cases pending with Bangladesh as of May 2026, some for over five years.
2,479 "pushing-in" incidents recorded by Bangladesh between May 2025 and January 2026; at least 120 claimed to be Indian nationals.
Bangladesh summoned India's acting high commissioner on April 30, 2026.
India-Bangladesh border length: 4,156 km — fifth-longest land border in the world.
Indo-Bangladesh Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace signed March 19, 1972 (Indira-Mujib Treaty).
Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 replaced the Foreigners Act, 1946 and three other laws; came into force September 1, 2025.
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) governs consular access to detained foreign nationals; both India and Bangladesh are signatories.