Noida, Ghaziabad brought under FRRO Delhi for services to OCI card holders

In one more step in this direction, the Home Ministry on the directions of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken another decision which shall help facilitate OCI card holders staying in different parts of the country. Now, the districts of Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) and Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh have been brought under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Delhi for matters relating to receiving and processing of applications for various services in respect of such card holders, the statement said.

To facilitate comfortable stay of foreigners in the country, the Home Ministry on Wednesday announced that Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) and Ghaziabad districts have been brought under the jurisdiction of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi for matters relating to receiving and processing of applications for OCI card holders. The decision is expected to greatly facilitate foreign nationals residing in the National Capital Region (NCR) for availing visa and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) related services.

In a statement, the Home Ministry said during the last few years, the central government under the leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a number of measures to facilitate the stay of foreign travellers in India. In one more step in this direction, the Home Ministry on the directions of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken another decision which shall help facilitate OCI card holders staying in different parts of the country.

Now, the districts of Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) and Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh have been brought under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Delhi for matters relating to receiving and processing of applications for various services in respect of such card holders, the statement said.  So far, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts of Uttar Pradesh were under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Lucknow for the purpose of receiving and processing applications for various services in respect of OCI card holders. This was causing inconvenience to OCI card holders residing in these districts. These districts are already under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Delhi for various visa related services for foreigners.

Further, Haryana and Rajasthan are already under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Delhi for OCI and visa related services for foreigners. Further, the Home Ministry has also decided to clearly define the jurisdiction of the three FRROs in Kerala for the purpose of receiving and processing applications for various services in respect of OCI card holders.

Accordingly, Kannur, Kasargod, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad Districts of Kerala will be under the jurisdiction of FRRO Kozhikode. The districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Palakkad and Thrissur and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep will be under the jurisdiction of FRRO Kochi.

The districts of Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram will be under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Thiruvananthapuram. This will facilitate the grant of OCI services to foreigners residing in Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep, the statement said.

Various measures taken over the last few years include measures such as launching of an e-FRRO module throughout the country bringing various visa related services being granted to foreigners within India on online platform, permitting foreigners on any category of visa to avail indoor and outdoor medical treatment up to 180 days without conversion of their visa to Medical visa. Other measures include delegation of powers of the Home Ministry to district level officers like Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs) and to Foreigners Regional Registration Officers facilitating foreigners to get the required visa related services expeditiously, and defining the specific jurisdiction of FRROs with reference to the functions assigned to FROs in various districts of the country.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)