Foreigners’ registration offices in all State Capitals by 2027: MHA

The Union government plans to establish Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs) in all State capitals by 2027, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday (November 2, 2026). Since 2025, five new FRROs have been established, including two this year. The move is part of a wider effort to strengthen the institutional framework for managing foreign nationals visiting India.

The decision follows directions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who has asked authorities to expand the FRRO network amid a rise in the number of foreigners arriving in India for tourism, medical treatment, and education. The Ministry said the expansion is intended to improve access to immigration and consular services, strengthen regulatory compliance, and support India’s efforts to attract international visitors.

Since 2025, FRROs have been opened in Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Guwahati, bringing regions previously administered by the Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata FRROs under local jurisdiction.

This year, two more FRROs have become operational in Aizawl in Mizoram and Amravati in Andhra Pradesh. Before their establishment, Aizawl fell under the Kolkata FRRO and Amravati under Hyderabad. The government has also recently notified new FRROs in Kohima, Agartala and Bhubaneswar. Kohima and Agartala were earlier under the Kolkata FRRO, while Bhubaneswar was administered by Hyderabad.

With these additions, the number of FRROs in the country has risen to 20. The offices are located in Ahmedabad, Amravati, Amritsar, Aizawl, Agartala, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kohima, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram.

“The government is also pursuing the establishment of FRROs in the remaining States that do not yet have one, including Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Meghalaya,” the Ministry said.

Officials said the expanded network would enable foreign nationals to access services such as visa extensions and conversions, immigration compliance support and legal clearances closer to their place of stay. The move is also expected to improve coordination between Central and State authorities while strengthening the enforcement of immigration laws and national security requirements.

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The expansion comes in the wake of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which consolidated four earlier laws dealing with immigration and foreign nationals into a single statutory framework governing the entry, stay, movement, and exit of foreigners in India.

Under the Act, the Bureau of Immigration is assisted by the FRROs authorised by the Central government. The FRROs are responsible for regulating and facilitating the lawful stay of foreign nationals in India, including post-arrival registration, issuance of Registration Certificates and Residential Permits, updating personal and travel details, granting permissions for visits to protected areas, and issuing exit permits in specific cases.