Recommendations The Indian government has created an unequal document regime that has once more turned identity documentation for the Rohingyas into a tool of exclusion and repression. As the government has already collected biometric data of vulnerable refugee groups in the country and Aadhaar is expected to remain a key service-access ID technology well into the future, we make the following recommendations: All refugees must be provided with Long-Term Visas and the Aadhaar. Failing that, the government of India must recognise UNHCR Refugee Cards as eligible documents for refugees to access essential services and as key identification documents. These are fundamental steps for refugees to be able to access and claim basic facilities, services and rights in India. The government must reform its biometrics collection policy applicable to ‘non-citizens’, including refugees, stateless persons and migrants, to ensure that it is based on consent, transparency and underwritten by international human rights and protection standards. The proposed Personal Data Protection Bill must also regulate the collection of data for non-citizens, including refugees, stateless persons and migrants, and India should implement comprehensive data protection standards in line with international norms. In the context of India’s recent negative shifts in law and policy towards refugees, there is an urgent need for a humane, inclusive and progressive law for refugee recognition and protection, which is based on international standards. There must be wider education and sensitisation about digital IDs and fundamental human rights, to ensure that private citizens, corporations and government authorities, do not wrongly penalise Rohingya and other non-citizens, due to their incorrect understanding of the legal status attached to Aadhaar cards or perceptions that access to rights and essential services are linked to having an Aadhaar card. 15