India Expands FRRO Network to 20 Offices, Sets 2027 Target
Amit Shah directs establishment of Foreigners Regional Registration Offices in all state capitals to improve immigration services and monitoring
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 2nd Nov: The FRRO network expansion has gathered pace, with the government increasing the number of Foreigners Regional Registration Offices across India to 20 and setting a target of establishing offices in all state capitals by 2027.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the expansion to improve access to immigration-related services for foreign nationals visiting India for tourism, medical treatment and education.
Five new FRRO offices have been established since 2025 in Jaipur, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Aizawl and Amravati. The government has also notified three additional offices in Kohima, Agartala and Bhubaneswar.
The expansion is intended to make immigration services more accessible, strengthen coordination with state authorities and improve compliance with immigration laws.
Eight new locations added to the network
Three offices were established in 2025 at Jaipur, Chandigarh and Guwahati. Previously, these cities were covered by the FRROs in Delhi, Amritsar and Kolkata, respectively.
In 2026, new offices were established in Aizawl, Mizoram, and Amravati, Andhra Pradesh. The government subsequently notified additional offices in Kohima, Nagaland; Agartala, Tripura; and Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The 20 FRRO locations are 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 working towards establishing FRRO offices in Bihar, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Meghalaya.
35 online services through e-FRRO
Foreign nationals can access 35 online services through the e-FRRO platform, including registration, visa extensions, visa conversion and other eligible immigration-related facilities.
FRRO offices also handle registration of eligible foreign visitors and issue Registration Certificates and Residential Permits. Their responsibilities include updating residential addresses and passport details, granting permission to visit protected and restricted areas, and issuing exit permits in applicable cases.
They also monitor compliance with immigration regulations and coordinate action in cases involving overstays and visa violations.
Immigration Act strengthens regulatory framework
The expansion is part of the government’s broader effort to strengthen immigration administration under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which consolidated four earlier laws relating to foreign nationals.
The legislation provides a unified framework for regulating the entry, stay, movement and departure of foreign nationals in India. It also provides for the Bureau of Immigration to receive assistance from authorised Foreigners Regional Registration Officers.
The government said the expanded network would serve two objectives: facilitating the lawful travel and stay of foreign nationals while ensuring effective implementation of immigration laws and national security requirements.
