The FRRO

I had a rough time getting a visa. They throw up a ton of meaningless roadblocks, I think largely just to make sure you really care. I eventually pulled it off with some help, but you can imagine how I felt when I found out I’d have to do basically the same process all over again once I got here.

India requires foreigners to register with the local Foreigners [Regional] Registration Office, the FRO or FRRO, depending on how big the office is you’re dealing with. This applies to anyone here on a visa that’s valid for more than 6 months, so tourists are generally exempt. Registration isn’t just as simple as showing up, though. You must compile a long list of documents, largely repetitive with the stuff they make you compile to get the visa in the first place, but with a few new difficult roadblocks.

The hardest thing to get is the “proof of address.” This is easy if you’re staying in a hotel, which is what they expect. For me, though, it wasn’t that simple. I couldn’t just say I was staying with a friend–there had to be a signed lease agreement. And a sublease wouldn’t work without the landlord’s approval, something which would be just as tough. So I was going to have to actually find a place to stay within the first two weeks of showing up.

Not that hard, right? Think again. Before you can do ANYTHING in this country, you have to get that FRRO registration document. You can’t get a post-paid cell phone or an ID without one, but most importantly, you can’t open a bank account without one. How they expect people to sign leases without bank accounts is beyond me, but thanks to some connections, I’ve made it happen.

I’d sorta suspected this for a while, but since coming here I think I’m sure of it: you cannot possibly do anything in this country without connections. It’s what separates the legitimate people from those just faking it. This is one of India’s largest problems, just as big as its infrastructure issues or how the whole place smells like a fireworks display: The system is set up such that there are enormous transaction costs in everything you do. My lease had to be on “stamp paper,” for example, which is just a sheet of paper that costs about $1 and is sold at banks. It’s only special because it has a stamp on it–think Stamp Act. And that stuff isn’t sold at nearly every bank, nor is there any reliable resource on where to get it. You just have to know, or know someone who knows.

When I finally got everything together, my FRRO process actually went smoothly. Unlike for the Mongolians ahead of me in line. As for the busload of Malaysians who were there on my first day, or the busload of Maldivians who were there the next, I can only hope they did well, too. But we all had help. Everyone going through that process needs help, because the information just isn’t available any other way.

Shiva help me if I need to extend my visa.