New Delhi, Nov 11 (UNI) With an aim to felicitate the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders staying in different parts of the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday decided to extend the jurisdiction of Delhi Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) and three such FRROs in Kerala.
According to the Home Ministry officials, now the districts of GautamBudh Nagar and Ghaziabad of Uttar Pradesh have been brought under the jurisdiction of Delhi FRRO for matters relating to receiving and processing of applications for various services, in respect of OCI card holders.
The measures are expected to greatly facilitate the foreign nationals residing in the National Capital Region (NCR) for availing visa and OCI-related services.
So far, GautamBuddh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts of Uttar Pradesh were under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Lucknow for the purpose of receiving and processing of applications for various services in respect of OCI card holders, which was inconvenient for those residing in these districts.
'These districts are already under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Delhi for various visa-related services for foreigners. Further, the states of Haryana and Rajasthan are already under the jurisdiction of FRRO, Delhi for OCI and visa-related services for foreigners,' a senior Home Ministry official said.
Similarly, the Union Home Ministry also decided to re-define the jurisdiction of the three FRROs in Kerala for the purpose of receiving and processing of 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 whereas 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 Thiruvananthapuram FRRO. This will facilitate the grant of OCI services to foreigners residing in the state of Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
The Ministry, in recent times, has taken various measures such as launching of an e-FRRO module throughout the country, bringing various visa-related services being granted to foreigners within India on the 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.
This has been made possible due to the delegation of powers of the Ministry of Home Affairs to district level officers like Foreigners Registration Officers (FROs) and to Foreigners Regional Registration Officers (FRROs) facilitating foreigners to get the required visa related services expeditiously.
It has further defined the specific jurisdiction of FRROs with reference to the functions assigned to FROs in various districts of the country, an official statement said here on Wednesday
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