Koshur Samachar

NEW DELHI, Nov 26:  The Centre has appointed three new Foreigners Regional Registration Officers under the Bureau of Immigration in Chandigarh, Jaipur and Guwahati, a Government order said.

  According to a gazette notification on Wednesday, the newly appointed Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) for Chandigarh will cover the Union Territory and Haryana, the FRRO for Jaipur will cover Rajasthan, and the FRRO for Guwahati will cover Assam.

Earlier, Rajasthan and Haryana were covered by the FRRO for Delhi, Chandigarh was covered by the FRRO for Amritsar, while Assam was covered by the FRRO for Kolkata.

The appointments have been made under the new Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which came into effect on September 1 this year.

The Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 was passed by Parliament during the Budget session. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on April 4, 2025.

The comprehensive legislation regulates all matters related to foreigners and immigration, which were until then administered through four Acts — the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920; the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939; the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.

All these laws have been repealed.

The new Act has provisions for heavy punishment for foreigners carrying a forged passport or visa.

According to the law, henceforth, anyone found to be using a forged passport or visa to enter India, stay in or exit from the country will be punishable with a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.

The Act also makes it mandatory for hotels, universities and other educational institutions, and hospitals and nursing homes to furnish information about foreigners, to enable tracking of those overstaying.

All international airlines and ships are also mandated to submit information about the passengers and crew onboard, to a civil authority or immigration officer at a port or place in India.  (PTI)