Foreigners Registration Office, FRO, Goa: Procedures for foreigners’ registration and extension of Visas

Goa attracts thousands of tourists every year who come here to for beautiful beaches, happening nightlife, beach parties and good sea food. Many foreigners visit Goa on business also as the place offers good opportunities for tourism related business.

The foreigners who require registration, extension or miscellaneous services as per their visa types and stipulations should approach Foreigners Registration office (FRO) Goa located at Panaji (also called Panjim). The FRO Goa exercises jurisdiction over the entire state of Goa. The FRO Goa is situated on the ground floor of the Goa Police Head Quarters Building, Opp. Azad Maidan at Panaji Goa. The FRO at Goa is not a full FRRO so it reports to the State Home Department located at Porvorim, Goa.

(For more information about difference between FRRO and FRO, please visit: http://indianimmigration-law.blogspot.com/2010/01/foreigner-registration-office-fro.html)

Extension of Business and Employment Visas at FRO Goa:

If you wish to apply for an extension of business or employment visa at FRO Goa, please submit your application at least 90 days before the expiry of your visa. The FRO Goa will not accept your extension application if you apply late and you will be required to apply at the Goa State Home Department at Porvorim, Goa.

Otherwise, for extension of Business or Employment visas, you may apply directly at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at New Delhi. If your extension application is accepted at MHA, they will give you a three months temporary extension and ask for local report from FRO Goa. On receipt of satisfactory report from FRO Goa, the MHA can provide the balance nine months (or less if requested). After approval of extension, your residential permit will be stamped by the FRO Goa while the visa stamp in the passport will be stamped by the Goa State Home Department at Porvorim.

For extensions, the fee (exact amount dependent on type and duration of extension) in cash has to be deposited at the State Home Department at Porvorim. The Goa State home department is located at the new Secretariat building at Porvorim. You can find it on right side, soon after crossing the river bridge over the river Mandovi, on the highway from Panjim to Mapusa.

Tourist visas to India can not be extended beyond 180 days except in emergent situations.

For registrations at Goa FRO, a fee of Rs. 100 per applicant is charged which you can pay in cash at FRO.

Address and timings of Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) at Goa:

Goa Police Head Quarters Building, Ground floor

Opp. Azad Maidan

Panaji Goa

Timings: 9:30 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:30, Monday to Friday.

After submission of all documents and payment of fees for registration at the Goa FRO, it takes about one week for the issuance of Registration certificate and Residential Permit to the foreign national applicant.

You may take an appointment with Ms. Rina Tarcato, Deputy SP, FRO if you have any questions or concerns about your visa.

Address and timings at Goa State Home Department:

Under Secretary (Home)

Goa State Home Department,

Foreigners Division

Secretariat, Porvorim, Goa

Timings: 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday.

Foreigner Registration Office (FRO) Bangalore elevated to full FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) status

Foreigner Registration Office (FRO) Bangalore has been elevated to FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) status with effect from 11 January, 2010. In view of increased number of foreign workers and business persons traveling to Bangalore every year, the government of India elevated the status of the Bangalore FRO to full FRRO.

In India, the FROs are the smaller offices within the district Police offices to provide services to foreigners within their jurisdiction. They deal with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at New Delhi through the State Home departments located in the capitals of various states.

The FRROs are bigger offices working mostly in the metropolitan areas and report directly to the Ministry of Home Affairs without the intervention of the State Home departments. The FRROs in India are located at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata Amritsar and now at Bangalore.

In practical terms, it will not make much difference for the foreigners applying for the services like registration, extensions and other miscellaneous services at the Bangalore FRRO. The new timings for filing the applications are from 9:30 to 13:00. Under the old timings, the applications could be filed from 10:30 till 17:00 in the evening. So the applicants can expect longer queues at the window. However, the FRRO is expected to be shifted to a new bigger facility (probably at Indira Nagar in Bangalore) and get additional staff from the month of March and that should greatly reduce the waiting times for the applicants to submit their applications.

Regarding the procedural part, the FRRO will deal directly with the MHA at New Delhi. This will provide for faster turn around times for the applications which require approval from MHA. For example, earlier, an application for the first extension of an employment or Business Visa, filed at FRO Bangalore was sent to State Registration office at Police headquarters and from there it was forwarded to the State Home Department (located at Vidhan Soudha, Bangalore) which forwarded it to the MHA at New Delhi. Now, the FRRO Bangalore will directly send all such applications to the MHA and act directly after receiving appropriate instructions from the MHA, New Delhi.

In the long run, it is expected that FRRO Bangalore will streamline the procedures and provide better services and faster turnaround times for the foreigners applying for various services at the FRRO Bangalore.

Ensure correct name of employer and actual work location on Indian work visa before traveling: Foreign Nationals on Indian Employment Visas

The foreign nationals traveling to India on Employment visas (E visas) should ensure that their visas have been annotated with the correct name of employer and location (city in India). There have been many cases where the Indian Employment visa in annotated with the location of company’s registered address in India and not the actual work location. A company in India is required to have one registered office anywhere in India but can have numerous other offices in various cities across India. A foreigner in India on E visa is required to get registered within fourteen days of arrival with the local FRO (Foreigner Registration Office) of the city where he/she intends to work in India. The local FRO will not register the foreigner unless the location (city or District) of the employment as annotated on the E visa comes under the jurisdiction of that FRO. Thus where the correct location of the employment is not annotated on the E visa, the foreign national will not be able to register himself in India, unless he gets a letter from the visa issuing Indian consulate stating the correct work location in India. The process of obtaining this letter can lead to delays in registration and thereby frustration for the foreign national unable to go about his daily life in India without the registration certificate and residential permit.

In some instances, the E visas are inadvertently stamped with name of the employer only and the location in India is not mentioned at all. In these cases also, a letter from the visa issuing Indian consulate stating the correct work location in India will be needed before registration in India.

Two months rule for Indian Tourist Visas is not applicable to non-tourist visa holders

The government of India instructions about “two months rule” regarding foreigners traveling to India on Tourist visas state that this rule is not applicable to the holders of other classes of visa. So the holders of Business visas, Employment Visas, Entry(X) Visas, Student visas, Medical Visas, PIO/OCI card holders and other categories of non-tourist visas are not subject to the “two months rule”. Thus the foreigners coming to seek medical treatment in India should come on medical visas and not on tourist visas. This will help them to make frequent short trips to India for various consultations and medical procedures. There have been many instances of foreigners who are engaged in volunteer work in India on Tourist visas. They should apply for X visa which is the appropriate visa for doing volunteer work in India. The volunteers present in India on X visa can also make frequent trips outside India in relation to their work as they are not subject to “two months rule” applicable to tourist visa holders.

For official notification regarding details of “two months rule”, please see: http://indianimmigration-law.blogspot.com/2010/01/government-of-india-issued.html