India removes 14-day grace period for foreign visitor registration

Foreign nationals must now complete registration before their 180-day stay expires under a new amendment to India's immigration rules

Foreign travelers in India on visas valid for up to 180 days are now required to complete their registration before their permitted stay expires, under a newly published amendment to the country's immigration rules. The change eliminates a previous 14-day grace period that had allowed visitors to register after the 180-day window had already passed.

India's Union Home Ministry made the change by amending Rule 12 of the Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025. According to Gulf News, the official gazette notification replaced the earlier phrase requiring registration "within fourteen days after the expiry of 180 days of arrival in India" with a requirement to register "any time before the expiry of the said period of one hundred and eighty days."

The practical effect is straightforward: foreign nationals must now finish the registration process before reaching the 180-day threshold rather than being given a two-week buffer afterward. The amendment tightens the compliance deadline and strengthens the government's ability to monitor long-term foreign visitors.

How the rule applies to stays exceeding 180 days

The revised regulation also covers foreign nationals who hold visas valid for more than 180 days but are restricted to individual stays within that duration. These visitors must likewise complete their registration before hitting the 180-day mark if they plan to extend their stay or if their cumulative time in India within a single year would exceed that limit.

The Indian government has specified that approval for such extended stays will only be granted under emergency circumstances.

Relaxed reporting requirements for children born to foreign parents

One area where the updated framework eases requirements rather than tightening them involves children born in India to foreign nationals.

Under the previous rules, parents were required to report the birth through an online portal within 30 days. The amended rules now waive that obligation entirely if one parent is an Indian citizen and the child retains Indian nationality.

There is an important caveat, however. If the child later acquires foreign citizenship while still living in India, the parents are required to notify the authorities within 30 days of that change.

Updates to hospital and institutional reporting

The amendment also revises compliance obligations for hospitals, nursing homes, and medical institutions that provide lodging or sleeping facilities. While the core reporting responsibilities for these institutions remain in place, the specific procedures have been updated to align with the broader changes in the immigration framework.

India's push toward digital immigration monitoring

The registration changes are part of India's wider effort to digitize and expand its foreigner registration system. The country now manages much of this process through its FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) platform and integrated online visa services.

The Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025, replaced earlier regulations, and this amendment represents the first significant update since the new rules were introduced.