NEW DELHI: With the government aiming to establish Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs) in every state capital, steps have been taken to expand the network across the country, taking the total number of offices to 20, officials in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Monday.
The move is aimed at strengthening immigration management nationwide, facilitating foreign visitors and ensuring effective enforcement of immigration laws, they said.
In an official statement, the MHA said, “The expansion, being undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, follows directions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah to establish FRROs in all state capitals by 2027.”
The move comes amid a steady increase in the number of foreign nationals visiting India for tourism, medical treatment and educational purposes, necessitating greater accessibility to immigration-related services at the state level, the ministry said.
“Since 2025, five new FRROs have been established in state capitals. Jaipur, Chandigarh and Guwahati received new offices in 2025, bringing these cities under independent FRRO jurisdictions instead of being serviced by Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata, respectively,” a senior MHA official said.
This year, two additional offices have been established in Aizawl, Mizoram, and Amravati, Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, Aizawl fell under the jurisdiction of FRRO Kolkata, while Amravati was serviced by FRRO Hyderabad, he said.
In another step towards expanding the network, the Centre has notified three new FRROs in Kohima (Nagaland), Agartala (Tripura) and Bhubaneswar (Odisha). Previously, Kohima and Agartala were under FRRO Kolkata, while Bhubaneswar came under FRRO Hyderabad, the official said.
With these additions, the country now has 20 FRRO offices in Ahmedabad, Amravati, Amritsar, Aizawl, Agartala, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kohima, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mumbai and Trivandrum.
“The government is also pursuing the establishment of FRROs in the remaining nine states — Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya — to extend immigration services across the country,” the MHA official said.
The expansion is aimed at making services such as visa extensions, visa conversions, post-arrival registration and immigration clearances more accessible to foreign nationals. It is also expected to strengthen coordination between central immigration authorities and state administrations, improve regulatory compliance and facilitate the lawful stay of foreign visitors.
FRROs play a crucial role in regulating and monitoring foreign nationals visiting or residing in India. Their responsibilities include registering eligible foreign visitors, issuing Registration Certificates and Residential Permits, recording changes in passport and residential details, and granting permission to visit protected and restricted areas. They also issue exit permits in cases involving visa expiry, overstaying or other immigration-related requirements.
The expansion is aligned with the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which consolidates four earlier laws into a unified legal framework governing the entry, stay, movement and departure of foreign nationals. Under the Act, the Bureau of Immigration is assisted by authorised Foreigners Regional Registration Officers in carrying out immigration-related responsibilities.
The Centre's two-pronged approach seeks to facilitate legitimate foreign travel and residence while ensuring compliance with immigration regulations and national security requirements.
