India Cancels Visa Waiver for Border Areas with Myanmar

India announced today, Thursday, that it will "stop the visa waiver policy in areas on both sides of the border with Myanmar that has been in place for decades, for national security reasons and to maintain the demographic composition of the border regions in the northeast." A government official, who requested anonymity, stated that "India will need to notify Myanmar about the decision to cancel the visa-free movement policy, but it may take effect immediately." This measure, revealed by the Interior Minister, follows his announcement that a fence will be erected along the 1,643-kilometer border. Currently, residents of an area extending about 16 kilometers on both sides of the border are allowed to move without a visa. Since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, thousands of civilians and hundreds of soldiers have fled to Indian states where border communities share ethnic and familial ties. This has raised concerns in New Delhi about the risk of sectarian tensions spilling over into India.