Friends,
Please find attached the Registration of Foreigners (Amendment) Rules 2016, which were notified on 18.3.2016.
The purpose behind amending the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, to omit the said rules, along with the forms, and renotify them under the Foreigners Act, 1946, was to remove ambiguity in the existing provisions and streamline the procedure. Both Rule 7 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and Rule 14 of the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, made it obligatory for hotels to maintain a record/register of foreigners staying at their premises. However, there were different penalties for violation of the said rules as well as different follow-up procedures under the two Acts, leading to confusion.
For example, while the penalty for violation under the Registration of Foreigners Rules was up to one-year imprisonment with a fine for a foreigner and just Rs 500 for an Indian citizen, the penalty under the Foreigners Act was up to five-year imprisonment. The said rules are now included under one Act, the Foreigners Act in this case, to avoid any ambiguities due to clashes in penalty and procedures.
One of the rules omitted from the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, is Rule 14, regarding the report to be made to and by hotel-keepers to the registration officer along with Form 'C' (arrival report of a foreigner in a hotel) and Form 'F' (hotel register). The other rule is Rule 18 regarding the report to be made by universities/education institutions to the registration officer along with Form G (Foreign Student Information System). Both these rules and forms will now be made part of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
Please find attached the Registration of Foreigners (Amendment) Rules 2016, which were notified on 18.3.2016.
The purpose behind amending the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, to omit the said rules, along with the forms, and renotify them under the Foreigners Act, 1946, was to remove ambiguity in the existing provisions and streamline the procedure. Both Rule 7 of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and Rule 14 of the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, made it obligatory for hotels to maintain a record/register of foreigners staying at their premises. However, there were different penalties for violation of the said rules as well as different follow-up procedures under the two Acts, leading to confusion.
For example, while the penalty for violation under the Registration of Foreigners Rules was up to one-year imprisonment with a fine for a foreigner and just Rs 500 for an Indian citizen, the penalty under the Foreigners Act was up to five-year imprisonment. The said rules are now included under one Act, the Foreigners Act in this case, to avoid any ambiguities due to clashes in penalty and procedures.
One of the rules omitted from the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992, is Rule 14, regarding the report to be made to and by hotel-keepers to the registration officer along with Form 'C' (arrival report of a foreigner in a hotel) and Form 'F' (hotel register). The other rule is Rule 18 regarding the report to be made by universities/education institutions to the registration officer along with Form G (Foreign Student Information System). Both these rules and forms will now be made part of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
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