Freedom to move, live and work anywhere in India: rights and limits
Your right to travel, settle and work in any state, the permits and land rules that limit it, and what migrant workers can claim under the Labour Codes.
In short
- Every citizen may move freely across India (Art 19(1)(d)), live and settle anywhere (Art 19(1)(e)) and take up any lawful work or business (Art 19(1)(g)). No one needs a permit to shift states, with a few tribal-area exceptions.
- No shop, landlord, employer or official can discriminate against you for your place of birth (Arts 15, 16). "Go back to your state" has no legal basis.
- Limits exist: Inner Line Permits in four north-eastern states, land-purchase rules in some states, court-imposed bail conditions, and temporary curbs during epidemics or disasters.
- Migrant workers: register on e-Shram, use One Nation One Ration Card for rations anywhere, and claim the yearly travel allowance the OSH Code gives inter-state migrant workers.
- Emergency 112; wage disputes at the local labour office or samadhan.labour.gov.in; free legal aid 15100.
A young woman from Odisha takes a job in Bengaluru; a carpenter from Bihar works on a site in Punjab; a family from Kerala opens a shop in Delhi. None of them needs anyone's permission. This freedom is one of the ways the Constitution binds India into one country with one citizenship,.
What the Constitution guarantees
Three freedoms in Art 19 work together for every citizen: to move freely throughout the territory of India (Art 19(1)(d)), to reside and settle in any part of it (Art 19(1)(e)), and to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business (Art 19(1)(g)).
Two more provisions back them up. Art 15 forbids discrimination on grounds including place of birth in access to shops, restaurants, hotels and public places. Art 16 guarantees equal opportunity in public employment and bars discrimination on grounds including place of birth and residence; only Parliament, not a state, can make a law requiring residence in a state for particular public jobs there.
Travel abroad is also protected. In Satwant Singh Sawhney v. Assistant Passport Officer (1967) the Supreme Court held that the right to travel abroad is part of personal liberty under Art 21, and in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978) that a passport cannot be impounded without a fair procedure and a hearing.
The limits the law allows
Art 19(5) allows reasonable restrictions on movement and residence in the interests of the general public or to protect Scheduled Tribes; Art 19(6) allows the State to prescribe qualifications for professions and to regulate trades. In practice the main limits are:
- Inner Line Permit. Indian citizens from other states need an Inner Line Permit to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. Permits are issued online or at designated offices for a fixed period and can be renewed.
- Tribal and protected land. In Fifth and Sixth Schedule areas and some hill states, outsiders cannot buy tribal or agricultural land. Several states restrict purchase of agricultural land to farmers or residents. Check the state revenue department's rules before paying any advance.
- Health and disaster orders. Movement can be restricted temporarily under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, as happened during COVID-19.
- Court and police orders. A bail order may require you not to leave a district or the country without permission. Under some state police laws, a person with a record of violence can be "externed" from a district for a period after a hearing; such orders can be appealed.
What migrant workers can claim
The four Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) replaced the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 and defines an inter-state migrant worker more widely: a worker earning up to ₹18,000 a month who has moved to another state for work, whether recruited through a contractor or employer or on their own. Its migrant-worker provisions apply to establishments employing ten or more such workers. Under the Code, the employer must pay a lump-sum travel allowance once a year for a journey to the worker's home state and back, and migrant workers are entitled to the same wages, hours and benefits as local workers doing the same job.
Two portable benefits matter day to day. Under One Nation One Ration Card, a ration card holder can draw subsidised grain from any fair price shop in India using Aadhaar authentication. And any unorganised worker, including a migrant, can register free on the e-Shram portal to get a universal account number linked to social security schemes.
Step by step: moving to another state for work
- Carry ID and copies. Aadhaar, voter ID and a bank passbook; keep photos of them on your phone and with family.
- Get the job in writing. Ask for an appointment letter, or at least a message stating wages, hours and the employer's name and address. Keep every wage slip or payment screenshot.
- Register on e-Shram at eshram.gov.in or through a Common Service Centre. It is free and needs only Aadhaar and a mobile number.
- Check ration portability. Ask your home fair price shop to confirm that your card is Aadhaar-seeded; then you can draw rations at the destination.
- Know your local labour office. Note the address of the labour commissioner's office in the new district; it handles unpaid wages and complaints under the Codes.
- If told to "go back", do not argue on the street. Record it, note names, and complain to the police (112 if threatened) and, for a government official, to the department and pgportal.gov.in.
Birju, a mason from Jharkhand, worked eight months on a housing project in Gujarat with about forty other inter-state workers. When the contractor stopped paying and told the workers to "go home", Birju did not leave quietly. He photographed the site board with the builder's name, collected the group's payment screenshots, and filed a complaint at the district labour office naming both the contractor and the builder, who is also responsible for wages under the Codes. He also registered on e-Shram and used his Aadhaar-seeded ration card at a local fair price shop while the complaint was heard. The labour officer called the builder, and the dues and the yearly travel allowance were paid within a month.
Keep these ready
- Aadhaar, voter ID, ration card and bank passbook, with copies
- Appointment letter or written proof of the job, and all wage slips or payment records
- Employer's and contractor's names, addresses and phone numbers; a photo of the site board
- e-Shram registration card
- Rent agreement or any proof of your address in the new state
- For permit areas: your Inner Line Permit and its validity dates
The commonest trap is paying an advance for land or a house in a state whose rules bar you from registering it, or working for months without any written proof of wages. Verify land rules with the revenue office first, and never rely on a verbal wage promise.
Where to go
- Threats, violence or harassment: 112; women 181; children 1098.
- Unpaid wages or unsafe conditions: the district labour office; central-sphere complaints at samadhan.labour.gov.in.
- Registration and benefits: eshram.gov.in; ration portability through your fair price shop or state food department.
- Discrimination by an official: the department head, then pgportal.gov.in; the NHRC (hrcnet.nic.in, 14433) for serious abuse.
- Free legal aid: 15100, the District Legal Services Authority, nalsa.gov.in.
- Courts: High Court under Art 226; Supreme Court under Art 32.
Common questions
Do I need any permit or registration to live and work in another Indian state?
No, except for the Inner Line Permit needed to enter Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur. Some states ask landlords to submit tenant details to the police; that is a duty on the landlord, not a permission for you. Registering on e-Shram and updating your address on Aadhaar are helpful for benefits but are not conditions of living or working there.
Can a state reserve jobs for its own residents?
For government jobs, Art 16 lets only Parliament impose a residence requirement, and only for specified posts. States have tried to reserve private-sector jobs for locals; courts have examined such laws under Arts 14, 16 and 19, and the position varies by state and is still being litigated as of 2026. Take advice before assuming a quota either way.
Can I buy land or a house in any state?
A house or flat in most states, yes. Agricultural land is restricted in several states to farmers or residents, and land in Fifth and Sixth Schedule tribal areas and some hill states cannot be bought by outsiders at all. Check the state revenue rules and get the title verified before paying anything.
What can a migrant worker claim under the new Labour Codes?
Under the OSH Code an inter-state migrant worker earning up to ₹18,000 a month, in an establishment with ten or more such workers, is entitled to the same wages and conditions as local workers, a lump-sum travel allowance once a year to visit home, and coverage under the Code's safety and welfare rules. Registration on e-Shram links you to social security schemes, and One Nation One Ration Card lets you draw rations anywhere.
This article is general information for awareness, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an advocate or call free legal aid at 15100.
