Compliance · verified June 2026
Form-III (Form C): the rules changed on 1 September 2025
The Foreigners Act, 1946 has been replaced by the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. Most guidance you'll find online still describes the old regime. Here is what actually applies to hotels, homestays, B&Bs, service apartments, houseboats, and rented accommodation today.
Two filings per stay — not one
The 2025 regime requires reporting both arrival and departure, each within 24 hours. Legacy tools treat Form C as a check-in-only chore — that misses the departure report and accumulates ₹50,000-per-case exposure. Monetary consideration and stay duration are irrelevant: a free stay or a same-day visit must still be filed.
Who must be reported
- All foreign nationals (anyone not holding an Indian passport)
- OCI cardholders — newly included under the 2025 Act
- Nepal & Bhutan nationals — newly included
- Special-category nationals (Pakistan, Bangladesh, China + MHA prior-reference): shorter window + police intimation
The legal basis
- Statute
- Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 (Act No. 13 of 2025), in force 1 September 2025
- Rules
- Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025 — Rule 17 (accommodation)
- Obligation
- Section 8 — keepers of premises where a foreigner stays
- Penalty
- Section 23 — up to 3 years and/or ₹3,00,000; compounding at ₹50,000 per case
You must register the property first
Filing is online at the Bureau of Immigration portal, but it requires the property to be registered with its jurisdictional FRRO/FRO first — a process that can take days to weeks. A property with no activated portal account literally cannot comply.
Mehman prepares the filing; you file it.
We capture passports before arrival, validate them with zero typos, track both the arrival and departure clocks, and hand you a ready-to-submit filing — you stay the legally responsible keeper.
Talk to usThis page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm specifics with your jurisdictional FRRO/FRO.