Days 1–14 are statutory, the rest is sequencing: accommodation reports you on Form C within 24 hours, you register on e-FRRO within 14 days, and PAN, SIM and bank slot in behind.
Overview
Your first month in India is built around one hard statutory deadline and a chain of dependencies. The deadline: if you hold an Employment, Student, Research, Medical or Missionary visa valid for more than 180 days, you must register with the jurisdictional FRRO within 14 days of arrival through the e-FRRO portal (indianfrro.gov.in) — Pakistani nationals within 24 hours. Within hours of check-in, your hotel or landlord must separately report you to the FRRO on Form C. The dependencies: the FRRO Registration Certificate/Residential Permit is the key that opens full-service bank accounts; PAN (Form 49AA) can and should be applied for in week one because payroll and tax need it; an Indian SIM becomes the OTP anchor for everything digital. Two things deliberately do not belong in your first 30 days: Aadhaar (only available after 182 days' residence in the preceding 12 months) and citizenship-track paperwork. Verified against boi.gov.in, indianfrro.gov.in and uidai.gov.in as of June 2026.
Week 1 — Arrival and the Paper Trail
- At the border: Present passport, visa and — if arriving from a yellow-fever endemic country — the original Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate; without it you risk quarantine of up to 6 days. Keep the arrival stamp legible; the date starts your 14-day registration clock.
- Day 1 — Form C: Your hotel files Form C automatically; a private landlord must do it within 24 hours via the FRRO portal's accommodation module. Confirm it was filed — your e-FRRO registration must match this address.
- Days 1–3 — SIM card: Buy an Indian SIM with passport, visa and local address proof. Banking, the income-tax portal and e-FRRO confirmations all run on OTPs to an Indian number.
- Days 2–5 — start e-FRRO registration: Create your account at indianfrro.gov.in and upload passport, visa, photo, address proof (lease/Form C/landlord letter) and employer or institution letters. If your visa exceeds one year and you are 15–60, you will also need the HIV test report from a WHO-recognised institution — book this immediately if you did not bring an acceptable report.
- Day 3–7 — PAN application: File Form 49AA online (Protean or UTIITSL) with passport and visa copies. Payroll withholding, banking and any investment need PAN; it arrives independently of FRRO progress.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the single most important deadline in my first month in India?
Day 14. Holders of Employment, Student, Research, Medical or Missionary visas valid for more than 180 days must complete FRRO registration within 14 days of first arrival, via the e-FRRO portal. Pakistani nationals have 24 hours; Afghan nationals 14 days regardless of visa length; OCI cardholders and children under 16 are exempt. Everything else in the month — PAN, bank account, SIM — has no statutory deadline and exists to serve this one. Missing it means penalty fees, friction on every later FRRO service and a breach recorded against you under the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025, so start the online application in your first week, not your second.
What documents do I need ready for e-FRRO registration?
Passport and visa, a recent photograph, proof of your Indian address (registered lease, landlord letter or the Form C report your accommodation filed), and your sponsor's paperwork — employer appointment letter and company registration documents for Employment Visa holders, or admission letter for students. If your visa is valid for more than one year and you are aged 15–60, add an HIV test report from a WHO-recognised institution. Upload everything to indianfrro.gov.in; the application routes to your jurisdictional FRRO automatically. You attend in person only if called. The output is the Registration Certificate/Residential Permit, normally valid for your visa period — keep digital and paper copies.
Can I get Aadhaar during my first month?
No. UIDAI restricts Aadhaar enrolment for foreign nationals to residents who have physically lived in India for at least 182 days in the 12 months immediately preceding the application — so the earliest realistic enrolment is month seven, using Form 7 or 8 with your passport and visa or OCI card, and the Aadhaar then remains valid only as long as the visa. Nothing in your first-month setup actually requires Aadhaar: PAN covers tax and payroll, the FRRO Registration Certificate covers immigration status, and banks can complete KYC with passport, visa, registration certificate and PAN. Treat anyone insisting on Aadhaar in week two as misinformed.
In what order should I do SIM, PAN and bank account, and why?
SIM first (days 1–3): it needs only passport, visa and address proof, and every other system — bank OTPs, the tax portal, e-FRRO updates — assumes an Indian mobile number. PAN second (file Form 49AA in week one): payroll withholding and account opening reference it, and it processes independently of your FRRO case. Bank account third (week two or three), because full-service KYC effectively waits for the FRRO Registration Certificate — attempting earlier usually yields refusals or restricted accounts. Then activate UPI on the new account. This sequencing means even a slow FRRO decision does not idle the rest of your setup.
I'm staying in a private flat, not a hotel. Does anyone still have to report me?
Yes. Form C is universal: any accommodation provider hosting a foreign national — including private landlords and friends — must report the stay to the FRRO within 24 hours of arrival. Hotels do it automatically; private landlords often have no idea the obligation exists, so point them to the Form C module on the FRRO portal and confirm filing, because your own e-FRRO registration is checked against the reported address. The Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025 tightened these reporting duties and their penalties. If you later move, report the change of address to the FRRO immediately — and the new landlord files a fresh Form C.
What should I deliberately leave out of my first 30 days?
Three things. Aadhaar — legally unavailable until 182 days' residence, so calendar it for month seven instead of wasting trips to enrolment centres. Visa-class manoeuvres — Employment and Business visas are non-convertible in-country except narrow MHA-approved cases (marriage to an Indian citizen, persons of Indian origin, medical emergency), so a wrong category is fixed by leaving and reapplying, not by in-country applications. And long-horizon commitments that assume permanence: OCI-style rights, agricultural land (barred for foreign nationals and even OCI holders) and citizenship planning — naturalisation needs 11 of the preceding 14 years in India. Spend the month nailing registration, tax and banking instead.