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Mumbai Registration and Extension Procedures

November 21, 2011— The Mumbai Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has introduced new registration procedures, including an online registration application. Under a revised registration system, foreign nationals must complete and print an online application at least one day before visiting the Mumbai FRRO to register. They can no longer complete the registration application at their FRRO visit and will not be able to register unless they bring the completed online form with them.

The FRRO now also requires extensive tax documentation for employment visa extensions. Foreign nationals applying to extend their employment visas at the Mumbai FRRO must now submit their employer’s most recently updated Form 26 AS, a consolidated tax statement issued by the Indian Income Tax authorities detailing employer tax deductions or collections from an employee’s salary and any advance tax deposits made on behalf of the employee. Foreign nationals must also attach their individual tax payment receipts to the Form 26 AS.

In the past, the FRRO accepted consolidated tax payment receipts accompanied by a statement on company letterhead detailing monthly tax deductions, in lieu of the formal tax documents. The government has instituted the new requirement because it wants better confirmation that taxes are properly being withheld and remitted to the Indian Treasury. It will take time for employers and foreign workers to collect the additional tax documentation, so employers may have to start preparing extension applications further in advance than they have in the past.

In a related development, the Mumbai FRRO now issues a single residence permit document to foreign nationals who have completed the registration process, eliminating the registration booklet that was previously issued.

About AIReS

AIReS, which was named to the 2011 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing independently owned businesses in the U.S., is in its 30th year of providing best-in-class relocation management services. With seven ISO registered U.S. offices and other strategically located employees located around the globe, AIReS is a recognized industry leader in delivering high quality relocation and assignment management services to leading corporations. The company boasts some of the industry’s highest annual customer-satisfaction scores and a client-retention rate of over 98%. For more information, please visit the AIReS website at www.aires.com.