Guwahati: The Assam government has announced sweeping new restrictions on first-time Aadhaar card applications for individuals above 18 years, a move Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says is aimed at closing avenues for illegal immigrants to secure Indian identity documents.
Under the new policy, citizens above 18 years who have never enrolled for Aadhaar will have just one month — September 2025 — to apply.
After this period, fresh applications will be accepted only in “exceptional cases,” and only with the approval of district commissioners (DCs). The DCs will be mandated to seek verification from the Special Branch and even the Foreigners Tribunal before approving an Aadhaar card, which the chief minister described as a safeguard against infiltration.
“We want to ensure that no illegal foreigner can obtain an Aadhaar card in Assam and later claim Indian citizenship. We have completely closed that route,” Sarma told reporters after the cabinet meeting. He added that Assam has “continuously pushed back Bangladeshi nationals along the border” and that the Aadhaar policy was part of a larger strategy to prevent demographic shifts caused by illegal migration.
Recognising the vulnerability of certain groups, the government has extended Aadhaar enrollment for another year — without restrictions — for tea garden workers, Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes above 18 years of age. Sarma said this exemption was designed to protect disadvantaged communities who often face delays in accessing documentation.
Assam shares a 263-km international border with Bangladesh, making it particularly sensitive to cross-border migration. The state has witnessed repeated agitations and political upheavals over the issue, from the six-year-long Assam Agitation (1979–1985) that culminated in the Assam Accord, to the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in 2019, which left over 19 lakh applicants off the final list.
While Aadhaar is not a citizenship document, it has often been used as proof of residence, which officials fear could be misused by undocumented migrants to access welfare benefits or strengthen legal claims to citizenship. The latest restrictions, therefore, are seen as an attempt by the Assam government to plug potential loopholes that could undermine the state’s efforts to identify and deter illegal immigrants.
Under the revised system, DCs will play a pivotal role. “The DC will have to check SB report, Foreigners Tribunal report before issuing Aadhaar card,” Sarma said, stressing that fresh applications will be entertained only in the “rare and rarest” of cases. This measure effectively shifts Aadhaar issuance for adults from a routine enrollment process to a tightly monitored verification mechanism.
