The Foreigners Act, 1946 has been enacted to confer upon the Central Government certain powers in respect of foreigners, entry of foreigners into India, their presence in and their departure from India. A foreigner means a person who is not a citizen of India. Under the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may by order make provision, either generally or with respect to all foreigners or with respect to any particular foreigner or any prescribed class or description of foreigner, for prohibiting, regulating or restricting the entry of foreigners into India or, their departure therefrom or their presence or continued presence therein. The Central Government has been empowered under this Act to exempt citizens of Commonwealth countries and other persons from application of Act in certain cases.
