India revises immigration rules for foreigners, mandates registration for stays beyond 180 days
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India revises immigration rules for foreigners, mandates registration for stays beyond 180 days")
Representative image. Photograph: (Unsplash)
India has revised immigration rules, requiring foreigners planning to stay beyond 180 days to register before the deadline. The Home Ministry also relaxed certain requirements for children born in India to foreign parents and updated reporting norms for hospitals.
The Union Home Ministry has revised its rules under the Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025, directing foreign nationals to complete their registration process if they intend to stay in India after 180 days. It also introduced relaxations in certain cases involving children born to foreign parents.
According to a notification issued by the ministry and published in the official gazette on Monday, foreign nationals entering India on visas valid for 180 days or less must complete their registration before the end of those 180 days if they intend to stay in the country beyond the authorised duration.
The amended rule replaces the previous provision, under which foreigners were permitted to register within 14 days after completing 180 days from their date of arrival in India. The notification stated, “The Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in rule 12, ‘(a) in sub-rule (1), ‘(i) in the third proviso, for the words ‘within fourteen days after the expiry of one hundred and eighty days of his arrival in India’, the words ‘any time before the expiry of the said period of one hundred and eighty days’ shall be substituted."
The new provisions also apply to foreigners holding visas exceeding 180 days, but with the condition that “each stay shall not exceed 180 days". If someone wishes to remain in India, either on a single visit or for more than the prescribed limit during a calendar year, they will now have to register before completing 180 days in India.
New rules for born children
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In addition, the government has clarified that approvals for such registrations over the specified stay period would now be given “only in emergent circumstances". The amended framework also brings respite in issues related to children born in India where one or both parents are foreign nationals.
Previously, parents were required to notify the registration officer electronically within 30 days of a child's birth to avail themselves of visa-related services, such as securing a new visa or obtaining exit permission through the prescribed online portal or mobile application.
Under the amended rules, this requirement will not apply if either parent is an Indian citizen and chooses to retain the child's Indian citizenship. However, the notification specifies that if the child subsequently acquires foreign citizenship while residing in India, either parent must inform the registration officer within 30 days of the acquisition of that citizenship.
The notification also introduces changes to reporting requirements and administrative procedures for hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare establishments that provide treatment, accommodation, or sleeping facilities on their premises.
