Citizenship for Rs 30,000? Report flags Mumbai as illegal immigration hub amid infiltration debate

In multiple city pockets, intermediaries allegedly supply full sets of documents for fees ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 30,000

• Illegal immigration in Mumbai rising, mainly Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar
• Researchers found 3,014 illegal infiltrators with Indian IDs in Mumbai
• The "Malvani Pattern" enables migrants to get documents and influence elections

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India’s border states including Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal often dominate headlines over illegal infiltration, a politically charged issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi underscored the issue in his Independence Day speech last year, calling for an “infiltration-free” India, a message later amplified by the BJP in the Bihar Assembly polls. The Prime Minister also announced a high-powered demographic mission to tackle the problem.

"These ghuspaithiyas (infiltrators) are snatching the bread and butter of our youth. These ghuspaithiyas are targeting our country's daughters and sisters. This will not be tolerated. These ghuspaithiyas are befooling innocent tribals and capturing their forest land. This country will not tolerate this," he said.

With elections now nearing in West Bengal and Assam, the issue continues to dominate political discourse.

Growing illegal immigration in Mumbai

Beyond the eastern borders of the country, India’s financial capital is increasingly being flagged as a hub for illegal immigrants -- especially Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

A special investigation by NDTV, drawing on research by Professor Medha Tapiwala of the Mumbai School of Economics and Public Policy (MSEPP) and Souvik Mondal, assistant professor at Galgotias University, Noida, and formerly with TISS -- has brought this shift into focus.

Although precise figures on Mumbai’s illegal immigrant population are unavailable, researchers identified 61 locations across the city and interviewed 3,014 Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar, the NDTV report said. The study found that a majority had entered India without valid visas and were in possession of Indian identity documents, including Aadhaar and Voter ID cards.

The study was first released as an interim TISS report in November 2024. Its expanded version, published by Mumbai University on December 22, 2025, builds on the earlier findings, with Mondal continuing as a key researcher on the project.

For the report, over 7,000 people were reportedly interviewed, with 3,014 of them identified as illegal infiltrators. Among them, 96 per cent were found to be Muslims from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"A poor individual leaves Bangladesh, enters India, obtains fraudulent identity documents, becomes a voter, and eventually participates in municipal, assembly, and national elections," Mondal was quoted in the NDTV report. "Their numbers are rising steadily due to continuous support from a 'grey religious network'," he added.

All about the ‘Malvani Pattern’

According to the findings, obtaining identity documents for these people is a largely hassle-free process. In multiple city pockets, intermediaries allegedly supply full sets of documents for fees ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 30,000, the NDTV report explained.

Mondal said the system has been functioning for over a decade, helping illegal migrants gain access to welfare schemes and informal protection networks.

With voter IDs in hand, many migrants are said to form organised “vote clusters,” delivering bloc votes to candidates who subsequently extend protection. Mondal said that nearly six assembly constituencies, one parliamentary seat and 56 municipal wards in Mumbai have been significantly affected by this demographic shift. The report adds that 73 per cent of those surveyed already hold voter ID cards.

This progression has been termed the “Malvani Pattern” -- beginning with illegal settlements in mangrove or swampy land, followed by makeshift huts, the construction of religious structures, intervention by local leaders, acquisition of forged documents and, eventually, lasting changes to electoral rolls.