Regulations Applicable To Foreigners In India

Registration of Foreigners in India | Regulations Applicable To Foreigners In India | Preserving Residence as a US Green Card Holder While Residing in India

Regulations Applicable To Foreigners In India
The extent Acts dealing with entry, stay and exit of foreign nationals in the country are:
i. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920
ii) Foreigners Act, 1946
iii) Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939

The Passport (Entry in India) Act, 1920

It prescribes specific authorization of foreign nationals on their valid travel documents/passports for allowing entry into the country. Under this Act and the Rules made there under, the foreigners coming to India are required to get visa from Indian Missions/Posts.

2 The Foreigners Act, 1946

It regulates the entry of foreigners into India, their presence therein and their departure there from.

3 The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992

It mandates that certain categories of foreigners whose intended stay in India is more than the specified period, or as provided in their visa authorization, are required to get themselves registered with the Registration officer.

Arrival Formalities:
Every person entering India by Air, Land or Sea is required to complete the Embarkation/Disembarkation card (D/E card) proforma (Form 'D' - Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992).

Residential Permit:
Residential permit is issued at the time of registration, its validity being the period of stay specified in the visa. Application for extension of the Residential Permit should be made at least TWO months before its expiry to the nearest Registration Officer in the prescribed form.

Report of absence from address:
If at any time a foreigner who is required to register as per para 179 above proposes to be absent from his/her registered address for a continuous period of eight weeks or more; or is changing the registered address; or is finally departing from India, he shall, before leaving, inform in person, or through an authrized representative, or by registered post to the jurisdictional Registration Officer of his/her intention to leave, either temporarily or permanently. In case he/she is moving to another address in India, the new address should also be intimaed to the Registration Officer.

Departure formalities:
Every registered foreigner who is about to depart finally from India shall surrender his/her certificate of registration either to the Registration Officer of the place where he/she is registered, or of the place from where he/she intends to depart, or to the Immigration Officer at the port/check post of exit from India. If the certificate is surrendered to any authority other than the Immigration Officer of the post or check post of exit, a receipt indicating such surrender of the document may be obtained and shown to the Immigration Officer. It is not necessary for a foreigner (except a citizen of Pakistan or Afghanistan) to seek exit/departure clearance from the Registration Officer of his/her place of registration.

Such a foreigner can straightaway depart from the Immigration Check Point. Those Afghan Nationals who enter India on a visa valid for 30 days or less are exempt from the requirement of exit permission provided the Afghan national concerned gives his/her local address in India to the Indian Mission/FRRO/FRO. The Afghan nationals who are issued visas with 'Exemption from Police reporting' are exempt from Police reporting as well as Exit permission provided they leave within the visa validity period. The Afghan nationals who are issued visas with 'Exemption from police reporting' are exempt from Police reporting as well as Exit permission provided they leave within the visa validity period.

Diplomats, Officials etc:
i. Foreign diplomatic and/or consular officers or officials assigned to India and their spouses and children are exempt from registration on a reciprocal basis. However, this exemption is not available to the members of the staff of the missions of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Syrian Arab Republic.

ii. Officials of the UN and its Specialized Agencies coming to India on duty, their spouses and dependent relatives, as well as experts under the UN and its Specialized Agencies holding UN Laissez - passer or any other document indicating their status with the UN, are exempted from registration. Such persons are also not issued a residential permit.

Stay at Hotels:
All foreigners who stay at hotels, guesthouses or place of such nature should furnish on arrival particulars for filling in the hotel register, sign therein, and also furnish the required particulars at the time of departure.

Prohibited places:
No foreigner can visit or reside in any prohibited place, declared as such under the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 without the permission of the jurisdictional authority. For a visit to a Protected/Restricted Area/Contonment Area, prior permission of the competent authority must be obtained by the foreigner.

Responsibility of the Indian Host/Sponsor

It is the responsibility of the Indian host/sponsor giving undertaking on behalf of the foreigner:
i. To ensure good conduct of the foreigner during his/her stay in India and to inform the FRRO/FRO office in case of termination of /Business contract to confirm the foreigner's departure from the country along with flight details and date of departure.

ii. To produce the foreigner in person at FRRO/FRO office within 24 hours in case of withdrawal of undertaking for the good conduct of the Foreigner. The Indian Host/Sponsor shall also inform the flight details and date of departure in the event the foreigner decides to leave the country for good.

S.No.	Acts	Description
1	The Passport (Entry in India) Act, 1920	It prescribes specific authorization of foreign nationals on their valid travel documents/passports for allowing entry into the country. Under this Act and the Rules made there under, the foreigners coming to India are required to get visa from Indian Missions/Posts.
2	The Foreigners Act, 1946	It regulates the entry of foreigners into India, their presence therein and their departure therefrom.
3	The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939 and the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992	It mandates that certain categories of foreigners whose intended stay in India is more than the specified period, or as provided in their visa authorization, are required to get themselves registered with the Registration officer.

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Immigration Laws in India:
Immigration Laws, provisions under the Constitution of India, The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, The Immigration (Carriers' liability) Act, 2000 and the complete procedure to be followed for immigration into India.

Certain US Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Processes:
The US Embassy in India, which has a visa section, is located in New Delhi. There are three additional consular posts at Mumbai (Bombay), Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai (Madras).

Want to Experience the India Story Firsthand?- Get the Appropriate Visa: Growing interest in doing business in India has seen a rise in the number of foreigners traveling to India.

Foreigners: Visa and Registration:
All foreigners desirous of visiting India should have a valid passport, all accredited travel documents.

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