FRRO Registration for Over Stay of Visa

[Prabhas]

Hi,

I need an expert advice on this current situation that we are facing.

My son along with my family traveled to India on Oct 30th, 2013 and were supposed to come back on Feb 22nd,2014. The trip occurred just after three months my younger kid was born and I wanted my older son to experience the festival season of Deepavali and other occasions at that time of the year and so we rushed for a PIO card as soon as we got the passport for my younger son. But at the time there was a delay in PIO card processing and the third party officer at Indian Embassy suggested us to go for Visa as we were coming back in four months. We felt that was a viable suggestion and went ahead, applied for a visa and got a five year multiple entry visa for my young one. The older kid has a PIO card already.

Now, the story gets interesting. My brother got engaged and had his marriage got scheduled in May-2014 which made us re-visit our travel plans and I had to make my family stay back due to this unexpected developments. This made my younger son over stay his Visa.

For this normally there is a procedure that we have to book an appointment and register his information with the District SP and in our case with the Commissioner of police.

My father approached the respective police department and they said my son needs an Exit Entry Permit and made him $110 ($30 fee and $80 for application) and made him make turns around the police departments requesting various documents ( applicant passport copy and birth certificate are good enough) but they asked for various docs like my passport copy, spouse Passport copy, ration card, evidence of local address etc. And then they finally said all is good and asked us to collect to the document in two business days. My father went back after a week and now they say since the time lapse has passed beyond three months, they now want us to go to New Delhi to get this done.

After a close study at the whole case again, it struck me that an Exit Entry Permit is not required in my sons case and that ONLY a registration of over stay is sufficient. This was spelt clearly on the visa too. But the people in charge at the police office just dont agree to it. I went ahead and sent screenshots to my brother from www.boi.gov.in which says if you have multiple entry valid visa but you overstayed the 180 days period , then you may want to register with the district police office and for kids within 16 years and whose parents are of Indian origin, the wording is so vague that it could even imply that a registration is not required as the kids under the supervision/guardian of an Indian National.

The police in-charge finally appeared seemed to have agreed? and had us fill a new form which we submitted today and he now wants us to come and see him in couple of days. I am really concerned and nervous given the fact that my family's is travelling this weekend and this issue has not been sorted out yet.

Is there a help desk or better suggestion to help us maneuver from this situation? Has anyone been in such situation before? Do we really need to register at the local police for infants?

Appreciate your any kind advice.

Regards,

V

[RMS_V13]

Hi,

I need an expert advice on this current situation that we are facing.

My son along with my family traveled to India on Oct 30th, 2013 and were supposed to come back on Feb 22nd,2014. The trip occurred just after three months my younger kid was born and I wanted my older son to experience the festival season of Deepavali and other occasions at that time of the year and so we rushed for a PIO card as soon as we got the passport for my younger son. But at the time there was a delay in PIO card processing and the third party officer at Indian Embassy suggested us to go for Visa as we were coming back in four months. We felt that was a viable suggestion and went ahead, applied for a visa and got a five year multiple entry visa for my young one. The older kid has a PIO card already.

Now, the story gets interesting. My brother got engaged and had his marriage got scheduled in May-2014 which made us re-visit our travel plans and I had to make my family stay back due to this unexpected developments. This made my younger son over stay his Visa.

For this normally there is a procedure that we have to book an appointment and register his information with the District SP and in our case with the Commissioner of police.

My father approached the respective police department and they said my son needs an Exit Entry Permit and made him $110 ($30 fee and $80 for application) and made him make turns around the police departments requesting various documents ( applicant passport copy and birth certificate are good enough) but they asked for various docs like my passport copy, spouse Passport copy, ration card, evidence of local address etc. And then they finally said all is good and asked us to collect to the document in two business days. My father went back after a week and now they say since the time lapse has passed beyond three months, they now want us to go to New Delhi to get this done.

After a close study at the whole case again, it struck me that an Exit Entry Permit is not required in my sons case and that ONLY a registration of over stay is sufficient. This was spelt clearly on the visa too. But the people in charge at the police office just dont agree to it. I went ahead and sent screenshots to my brother from www.boi.gov.in which says if you have multiple entry valid visa but you overstayed the 180 days period , then you may want to register with the district police office and for kids within 16 years and whose parents are of Indian origin, the wording is so vague that it could even imply that a registration is not required as the kids under the supervision/guardian of an Indian National.

The police in-charge finally appeared seemed to have agreed? and had us fill a new form which we submitted today and he now wants us to come and see him in couple of days. I am really concerned and nervous given the fact that my family's is travelling this weekend and this issue has not been sorted out yet.

Is there a help desk or better suggestion to help us maneuver from this situation? Has anyone been in such situation before? Do we really need to register at the local police for infants?

Appreciate your any kind advice.

Regards,

V

You said ur family is traveling this week end, but where? Can your kid and family go to Singapore or Malaysia and reenter with a longer be stay again? We did that when we lived in MY and had to come to india for 2/weeks and go back to get another 3/months. Since u have a 5 yr multiple entry no big deal.

[Kanmani]

Prabhas,

My uncle and his extended family lives in UK. His mother-in-law came to know that she over stayed her visa limit at the time she was trying to clear the immigration counter. The authorities didn't allow her to board the flight.

The issue was cleared at the passport office. I don't know much about the details.

I suggest you to have an enquiry at the airport on what needs to be done.

[Prabhas]

Prabhas,

My uncle and his extended family lives in UK. His mother-in-law came to know that she over stayed her visa limit at the time she was trying to clear the immigration counter. The authorities didn't allow her to board the flight.

The issue was cleared at the passport office. I don't know much about the details.

I suggest you to have an enquiry at the airport on what needs to be done.

Kanmani/RMS,

Thanks for the responses. They are in India and planning to come back to USA. We have no plans to stay further in India. It just so happened that the initial trip was planned for four months and got extended due to my brother's marriage. Now, my family is trying to come back Home (USA) as my older kids school is about to start in September.

Kanmani : So did your cousins have problem here in India before boarding the plane? Was she a UK passport holder who over stayed in India? Also was she a foreign national with no Indian origins? We are trying hard to get the Entry Exit clearance and like I said the wording on the website is so vague that for kids below 16yrs it says you may not need to do any type of Registration unless specified' Let me copy it for you here.



" Registration is required for:

Every Foreigner visiting India on Student Visa(S) (including those coming for study of Yoga, Vedic Culture, Indian system of dance and Music), Research Visa(R), Medical Visa(M) or Medical Attendant (MED-X) Visa and Employment Visa(E) valid for more than 180 days is required to get himself / herself registered with concerned FRRO , within 14 days of his/her first arrival, irrespective of the duration of his / her stay. Even in other Visa types, if the Indian Visa has a stipulation/ observation/ Special endorsement for registration made by Indian Mission / Embassy on the Indian Visa and on Employment, Medical, Medical Attendant Visas for less than 180 days, the Foreigners are required to be registered
Foreigners visiting India on other categories of long term Visa (valid for more than 180 days) including Business/Entry(X) / Journalist Visa would not require registration with the concerned FRRO if duration of his/her stay does not exceed 180 days on a single visit. In case a foreigner intends to stay for more than 180 days on a single visit he / she should get himself registered well before the expiry of 180 days. Foreigners possessing tourist Visa are required registration only if they re-enter within 60 days of the last departure and they are asked to register through special endorsement etc

Children below 16 years of age are exempt from Registration if they have entered on PIO card or on any type of Visa and except where specified other wise. It is mandatory for all foreigners to personally appear at the concerned FRRO office for obtaining any Visa related services. "

I want to understand this 'Except where specified otherwise'. On the Visa stamping it says if you stay beyond 180 days, a registration with the local police is required'. I am assuming I need to get this registration done and that is what we have been trying to accomplish and these slackers are giving us hard time inspite of explaining them what exactly we needed.

Regards,

V

[Kanmani]

V,

Yes. She was an Indian born UK citizen, always used Indian visa to visit.

Police clearance , if possible can be completed via passport authority. I am not sure and currently not in a position to find an answer. But I am sure that she resolved her issue at the passport office only.

[Prabhas]

V,

Yes. She was an Indian born UK citizen, always used Indian visa to visit.

Police clearance , if possible can be completed via passport authority. I am not sure and currently not in a position to find an answer. But I am sure that she resolved her issue at the passport office only.

Thanks Kanmani!

Yeah.. we are working this out with the Passport Division/Cell under the Commissioner of Police Office which is where these clearances are given. They promised they will give us the document by tomorrow evening. So, keeping fingers crossed. I already lost on the non-refundable tickets that was valid only for six months and I cant afford to loose again due to these sulking bureaucratic red tapes in India.

Will keep you posted. This is a lesson well learnt. Never go for a Visa for your kids unless imperative. PIO/OCI cards are always the best travel documents to India.

Regards,

V

[qesehmk]

... these sulking bureaucratic red tapes in India.

You are being kind Prabhas. In all likelihood they are expecting bribe from you. This should've been an over the phone 5 minute thing given you are or were an Indian citizen and the overstay happened for kids. As far as I know kids are not even supposed to register. But I was not sure about overstay.

This is a lesson well learnt. Never go for a Visa for your kids unless imperative. PIO/OCI cards are always the best travel documents to India.

True!

[skpanda]

Very true.. PIO/OCI are hassle free and very handy. I hope they come up with a single card soon instead of PIO / OCI. There was a proposal to for this when PM Singh was here few years ago and he promised the same to the Indian community. But as with any indian political promise.. it has gone down the drains.

It don't make much sense that OCI is given to those who have completely severed Actual citizenship ties with India. Whereas PIO is for those whose parent's are still Indian citizens.

Thanks Kanmani!

Yeah.. we are working this out with the Passport Division/Cell under the Commissioner of Police Office which is where these clearances are given. They promised they will give us the document by tomorrow evening. So, keeping fingers crossed. I already lost on the non-refundable tickets that was valid only for six months and I cant afford to loose again due to these sulking bureaucratic red tapes in India.

Will keep you posted. This is a lesson well learnt. Never go for a Visa for your kids unless imperative. PIO/OCI cards are always the best travel documents to India.

Regards,

V

[Prabhas]

Q,

We did bribe the respective officers around $100 and we also incurred a loss due to their inefficiency and lack of knowledge. My dad asked them for a registration ($30) form and they had him apply for Visa extension/X visa ($130) but my kid already had a Five year visa and we just needed to give a headsup to the local police and get an exit approval. I later came to know about it only after two weeks when it(X visa) was rejected by the higher officials(A packet of application was sent to Delhi) and this idiot officer tried to make up and paint a story and then come up with this advise 'OK we will give you the Exit form since you grandson is only a year old' which is what we have been asking right from the beginning (There was a disconnect with my dad as I assumed it was all over and didnt really go into the details of exactly what they applied for and of-course you would normally fall off the radar with such simple requests, but now a hell no when you are dealing our beloved India officials).

Initially my dad showed the officer the Visa stamped on my son's passport where it clearly mentioned 'Registration required if your stay is over 180 days', but this moron officer just dont listen... ' Saaaarrr...Vaallu alaane raasthaaru Saaaarrrr....' - Telugu for few laughs! Translate it with MS Narayana diction from Atharintiki Daaredhi!
it means 'They write such statements for information only' but I know the best was the officer's attitude..

But good news is it all ended well! My family reached home this Sunday and no document was asked at the port of exit.

In concluding : I would strongly advise that you take this Exit Form approval from your local police if you are traveling to India on tourist visa and for any reason you overstay. But please do this well in advance and do not make it a last minute priority. Also such registration/exit approval is NOT REQUIRED if your children travel on PIO/OCI cards!

Though they didnt ask for the document in my son's case, you never know with our lovely Indian officers with their half baked knowledge and any delay during transit can make things worse if not a disaster. I was tensed for this matter of fact imagining what if my spouse gets stranded at Mumbai airport if she didnt have a document and was asked to produce one? She would literally get stranded with two kids, luggage , return home the next day by train or flight, get a document and then make the travel plans again. You would loose on tickets, time, energy and most importantly peace. It will just be an avalanche!

A lesson very well learnt indeed!

Thanks guys for all your support and responses!

Regards,

V

[qesehmk]

All is well that ends well Prabhas. Glad that the return journey was smooth. And thanks so much for sharing ... I am sure so many other people might benefit from your first hand account.

p.s. - Long back in 1996 when I applied for a passport we were living in downtown Pune. Rather we had a house there but we had moved out of the city to a newer place. But we were still using the old address as our postal address. The police came home for "background check" or something like that. The neighbors told the police that we no longer lived there. That worked pretty well for the Police. He went back and then I had to make 3 rounds of Commissioner office and meet that guy there. He was such an a-hole ... he took a bribe and said to me "Meherbani kartoy mee" (I am doing you a huge favor). I still feel enraged whenever I remember those words.

Q,

We did bribe the respective officers around $100 and we also incurred a loss due to their inefficiency and lack of knowledge. My dad asked them for a registration ($30) form and they had him apply for Visa extension/X visa ($130) but my kid already had a Five year visa and we just needed to give a headsup to the local police and get an exit approval. I later came to know about it only after two weeks when it(X visa) was rejected by the higher officials(A packet of application was sent to Delhi) and this idiot officer tried to make up and paint a story and then come up with this advise 'OK we will give you the Exit form since you grandson is only a year old' which is what we have been asking right from the beginning (There was a disconnect with my dad as I assumed it was all over and didnt really go into the details of exactly what they applied for and of-course you would normally fall off the radar with such simple requests, but now a hell no when you are dealing our beloved India officials).

Initially my dad showed the officer the Visa stamped on my son's passport where it clearly mentioned 'Registration required if your stay is over 180 days', but this moron officer just dont listen... ' Saaaarrr...Vaallu alaane raasthaaru Saaaarrrr....' - Telugu for few laughs! Translate it with MS Narayana diction from Atharintiki Daaredhi!
its means 'They write such statements for information only' but I know the best was the officers attitude..

But good news is it all ended well! My family reached home this Sunday and no document was asked at the port of exit.

In concluding : I would strongly advise that you take this Exit Form approval from your local police if you are traveling to India and for any reason you overstay. But please do this well in advance and do not make it a last minute priority. Also such registration/exit approval is NOT REQUIRED if your children travel on PIO/OCI cards!

Though they didnt ask for the document in my son's case, you never know with our lovely Indian officers with their half baked knowledge and any delay during transit can make things worse if not a disaster. I was tensed for this matter of fact imagining what if my spouse gets stranded at Mumbai airport if she didnt have a document and was asked to produce one? She would literally get stranded with two kids, luggage , return home the next day by train or flight, get a document and then make the travel plans again. You would loose on tickets, time, energy and most importantly peace. It will just be an avalanche!

A lesson very well learnt indeed!

Thanks guys for all your support and responses!

Regards,

V

[imdeng]

I am glad it worked out for you. I can only imagine the chaos you has to handle for getting a perfectly regular and legitimate situation. This inefficiency/pain of regular daily life is one of the main reasons why I never seriously considered R2I despite all the GC mess and family considerations.

But good news is it all ended well! My family reached home this Sunday and no document was asked at the port of exit.

[Prabhas]

Q - Thanks for the response. I empathize with you and I do have a few of my own experiences that pinch my nerve too!

I really wanted to share this information on this good forum and kudos to you for hosting such a wonderful website. I check the forum regulary and closely follow all our interesting conversations on other threads.

Imdeng: I cant agree more with you. From time to time I feel like I should eventually move back to India just to give my kids a ground to learn our culture better but these incidents really make me re-visit my future plans!

Regards,

V