The FRRO offices around India have introduced a new scheme where you must register on the Indian Bureau of Immigration website to book an appointment before you go to the FRRO.

This new scheme applies to anyone who needs to register themselves within 14 days of arriving in India and anyone looking to apply for a visa extenstion (such as an employment visa extension).

You will be given a document which you can print out and will need to hand it to the person on duty when you enter the FRRO.

Some people have reported that they are able to proceed with the registration without making the appointment but it’s advisable to do it just incase they become more strict in the future.

In September 2010 the Indian Interior Ministry changed the requirements for issuing Employment Visa’s to foreigners. All foreign workers must earn the equivalent of $25,000 per annum in order to be considered for an Employment Visa.

If an employment visa was issued prior to September 2010 it is still valid until it expires. However if you try to renew your Employment Visa and don’t meet the salary requirements then it will get rejected and you will be asked to leave India.

It does not matter how long you have already been here for and doesn’t matter what type of job you are doing, you must earn the equivalent of $25,000 to get a new, or renew an existing, Employment Visa.

If you are in India on a valid visa which hasn’t expired then you do not need to get an Exit Visa. However, if your visa has expired then you need to go to the local FRRO and apply for an Exit Visa. If you try and leave the country with a visa that has expired – even by a day – you will be turned away at Immigration and not allowed to leave.

To get an Exit Visa you need to go to the local FRRO office and apply. You will be charged a fee, which varies depending on which country you are from, it can range from a couple of hundred Rupees to thousands of Rupees if you are from the UK or Israel.

If you are on an Employment Visa and waiting for your Visa Extension to arrive (which never happens), you will need an Exit Visa when you leave the country for the last time or if you have used up your allowance of two Return Visa’s. To get an Exit Visa when you came on an Employment Visa you need to submit the same documents as for the Visa Extension and Return Visa’s.

Since you only pay for your Extension Visa when it arrives, if you apply for an Exit Visa you will be asked to pay the full cost of the Extension Visa.

Be warned, they are very particular about the tax and TDS statements so ensure they are all up to date for the most recent financial year. The documents you will need to submit are:

• Application Form
• Original Residence Certificate
• Contract extension letter from the company
• TDS Statement (for all years up to the previous financial year)
• Photocopies of passport photo page
• Photocopies of visa to be renewed
• Photocopies of PAN card
• Two passport sized photos
• Proof of residence

Exit Visa’s are usually processed the same day, regardless of the Visa type you are on.

A Return Visa allows you to leave India and come back again. They are normally issued when you have applied for an Employment Visa Extension but haven’t received the necessary paperwork back from yet. Even though an Employment Visa enables multiple entry, once it has expired, and until you get the Extension processed you can’t leave India unless you get a Return Visa.

This can be very expensive, depending on which country you are in, because you have to pay the same price for a Return Visa as you do for an Extension Visa so you could end up paying twice if you have to leave the country early. You can only get two Return Visa’s so you have to use them carefully because chances are you will never receive the Extension Visa that allows multiple entry. Once you have used both Return Visa’s, if you need to leave the country again you will only be able to get an Exit Visa.

To get a Return Visa you need to provide all the same paperwork as for the Employment Extension Visa. This includes (but isn’t limited to, depending on which office you go to since they all have their own interpretation of what documents are required):

• Application Form
• Original Residence Certificate
• Contract extension letter from the company
• TDS Statement (for all years up to the previous financial year)
• Photocopies of passport photo page
• Photocopies of visa to be renewed
• Photocopies of PAN card
• Two passport sized photos
• Proof of residence

Return Visa’s can usually be processed the same day if you go early enough. Remember to take the ORIGINAL India Residential Permit with you when you leave the country because you will not be allowed out, or back in, when you get to the airport.

The immigration rules for people coming in to India are pretty clear cut, although it’s not always obvious what type of visa you will require, especially what the difference is between a Business Visa and an Employment Visa.

If you are planning to stay for more than six months, then you must register with the local FRRO. Every major city in India has a FRRO and a lot of Tier II cities like Pune have an FRRO office.

If you are on a tourist visa or business visa, these are typically valid for 6 months and allow multiple entry and exit without the need to register with the FRRO.

On the other hand, if you have an employment visa, then no matter how long or short you plan to stay, you must register with the local FRRO within 14 days of arriving, if you don’t then you can get fined.

There are other types of visas for which you must register for such as a student visa and medical visa.

If you don’t register with the FRRO and you have one of these types of visa’s then you will not be allowed to leave the country since they require your Residence Permit when you pass through border control at the airport. If you don’t have this document you will not be able to leave the country and many people have found themselves in the position of not only having to pay the FRRO fine for not registering but also having to pay for another plane ticket.

Find out more about Foreigners Leaving India.

If you are on a Tourist Visa or Business Visa then you do not have to register with the local FRRO as these Visa’s are for just 6 months. However, if you are on a Visa that lasts for more than 6 months you need to register with the FRRO otherwise you will not be allowed to leave the country.

As a foreigner leaving India, you must go through the immigration where an official will check your passport and Visa. If you are on an Employment Visa or any other visa which is valid for more than 6 months you will be asked for your Residence Permit, an A4 sized piece of paper that has an official stamp from the Immigration office to say that you registered.

Even if you are on a multiple entry Employment visa and staying for less than 6 months you will need to register and have the Residence Permit in order to exit the country.

If you failed to register with the FRRO you will be turned away at the airport and asked to register. You can get a same day Exit Visa and pay a fine – although there is not any details on how much the fine is, it will be approximately Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

If you are turned away, you will not only have to pay the fine but also the additional plane ticket cost, so don’t put off registering with the local FRRO office.

The following documents are required if you wish to extend  your employment visa:

• Application Form
• Original Residence Certificate
• Contract extension letter from the company
• TDS Statement (for all years up to the previous financial year)
• Photocopies of passport photo page
• Photocopies of visa to be renewed
• Photocopies of PAN card
• Two passport sized photos
• Proof of residence

This list is not exhaustive and the immigration officials will probably find some other documents that are required – even if no other mention has been made of them.

It’s best to go armed with at least three copies of  each document because sometimes they ask for duplicates, sometimes they don’t.

Once you have submitted the documents you will get a receipt stating that you have submitted, but you won’t get anything else that says your stay in India is valid. Your documents have to be sent off to Delhi to be processed and they will tell you that you will get notification via post when you can come and pick up your extension and make the payment. However virtually no one has ever received their Employment Extension visa, reports from most Expats indicate that you will never receive your Employment Visa Extension – however if you have submitted the paperwork, this is enough, but keep hold of the receipt that says you have done this.