Shah noted that such persons, however, who arrived in India without valid documents could not apply for Indian citizenship under the earlier laws. To address this, the government brought two notifications in 2015 and 2016. "The Central Government exempted the said migrants from the adverse penal consequences of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946 and rules or orders made thereunder vide notifications, dated 07.09.2015 and dated 18.07.2016. Subsequently, the Central Government also made them eligible for long term visa to stay in India, vide, orders dated 08.01.2016 and 14.09.2016," said Shah.