Consular, Passport and Visa Division
Visa Related Services Provided by FRROs/FROs
(i) Registration
(ii) Extension of visa
(iii) Renewal of registration
(iv) Conversion of visa
(v) Entry conversion (from single entry to multiple entry)
(vi) Exit permission
(vii) Change of address
(viii) Change of passport (only in the case of loss?)
(ix) Restricted/Protected Area Permit
(x) Return Visa/Additional Entry/NORI (No Objection to Return to India) in respect of Pakistan/Bangladesh nationals living in India on Long Term Visa (LTV) and also in respect of Tibetans living in India on Identity Certificate.
(xi) Additional places, change in mode of travel, change in port of exit, etc. (for Pakistan nationals)
(xii) Other services (this includes registration/grant of visa/exit permission for child born in India, grant of visa to those who have surrendered Indian passport consequent on acquiring foreign passport, registration by those who claim to be refugees etc.)
Registration of Foreign Nationals in India
Registration by foreign nationals is governed by the provisions in the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992 and instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs from time to time. The registration requirements are presently as follows:
(a) There is no requirement of registration for a foreign national (Other than Pakistan and Afghanistan nationals) who enters India on a visa valid for a stay in India for a period of 180 days or less.
(b) A foreign national who enters India on a visa valid for stay in India for a period of 180 days or less and who wishes to stay in India beyond the period of 180 days, is required to register with the FRRO/FRO concerned within 14 days after the expiry of 180 days of his arrival in India.
(c) A foreign national who enters India on a visa valid for a stay in India for a period of more than 180 days is required to register with the FRO/FRO concerned within 14 days of arrival in India.
(d) The registration requirements in respect of Pakistan and Afghanistan nationals are given below:
(i) Pakistan nationals (other than those granted Exemption from Police Reporting (EPR) visas and those coming on Medical visas) are required to register themselves with the DCP/FRO concerned within 24 hours of arrival. In the case of those coming on Medical Visa, they are required to register within 7 days of arrival.
(ii) Afghanistan nationals coming to India with a visa duration of 30 days or less, are exempt from the requirement of registration, provided the visa applicant gives the Indian Mission his/her local address in India. In all other cases, Afghanistan nationals are required to register with the FRRO/FRO concerned within 14 days of arrival irrespective of the duration of the visa
For all the visa related services mentioned in para 1 above, the foreign nationals are required to submit the online application forms to the FRROs/FROs concerned under the C-FRO module. Ministry of Home Affairs has circulated a list of mandatory documents to be submitted by the foreign nationals to FRROs/FROs for various visa related services. (This list of mandatory documents have also been placed on the MHA website.
After the submission of the application online, the foreign national is required to personally appear before the FRRO/FRO concerned with all requisite documents.
The visa related request for the foreign national is then processed by the FRRO/FRO concerned and in all cases which are within their delegated powers, final decision is taken by them and the same is intimated to the foreign national concerned. In cases which are not within the delegated powers, the requests along with the report of the FRRO/FRO concerned are forwarded online to the Home Department of the State Government/UT Administration or Ministry of Home Affairs and the final decision is communicated by the competent authority to the FRRO/FRO concerned.
Foreign nationals are then required to visit the office of the FRRO/FRO concerned for getting the Registration Certificate or Residential Permit/endorsement on the Passport with reference to their specific requests.
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