In short
- Form C is an electronic report your host, your hotel, your landlord, or your employer, must submit to the FRRO within 24 hours of you checking in.
- The penalty under Section 23 is serious, up to 3 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to ₹3 lakh for a host who fails to report.
- Hand your host clear copies of your passport, visa and arrival stamp, and ask them for the Form C reference number once it’s generated.
Here is the single most important thing to understand about Form C: it is not a document you file, and it is not an ID you carry. Form C is an electronic report your host, your hotel, your landlord, or your employer, must submit to the FRRO within 24 hours of you checking in. It tells Indian immigration where you are staying. You never hold it; you simply make sure it gets done. This guide explains exactly how Form C works, whose duty it is in 2026, what you must confirm and provide, and how it quietly supports your own FRRO registration. Your IKAN consultant chases your host so this never falls through the cracks.24 hours
24 hrs
Host files after you check in
1 year
Host keeps the record, at least
Sec 8
Host's duty under the 2025 Act
Host
Files it, not you
Do this first
The moment you check into any accommodation in India, confirm your host knows about Form C and will file it within 24 hours. Most hotels do this automatically, but private landlords and friends often don’t know the rule exists and only act when you prompt them. Hand your host clear copies of your passport, visa and arrival stamp, and ask them for the Form C reference number once it’s generated. Keep that ID, it makes your own FRRO registration far smoother.
01
Start here
What Form C actually is
Form C is an electronic arrival report. When a foreign national stays in a hotel, a service apartment, a home stay or a rented flat in India, the person providing that accommodation must report the stay to the local FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) through the online Form C portal. It is a reporting obligation that sits with the host, not with you. It produces no card, permit or ID that you personally hold, only a reference number on the portal that confirms the report was filed.
This is the part everyone gets wrong. Form C is not something a landlord “issues to” you, and it is not a document you submit yourself. It is your host’s report about you, filed to the FRRO. You don’t walk away holding a Form C, you walk away having confirmed it was filed. Form C supports and streamlines your FRRO registration; it does not itself produce an ID you must carry.
02
Who must file
Whose duty it is
Anyone providing accommodation to a foreign national is the “host” and carries the duty to file Form C:
Hotels & commercial stays
Hotels, guesthouses, hostels and service apartments. These almost always file Form C automatically at check-in, it’s routine for them.
Landlords & private hosts
Anyone renting a flat to you, or an Airbnb or home-stay host. They are responsible too, and most don’t know it. A friend or relative hosting you for free must report only where the local authority has ordered it, so ask us.
Employers (corporate lease)
Where your company leases the accommodation, the employer (lessee) acts as the host and files Form C as your registered “host” on the portal.
OCI cardholders too
OCI cardholders are now in scope, a host filing Form C covers OCI stays as well, so don’t assume you’re exempt.
It is now the law under the 2025 Act. Form C reporting is the host’s duty under Section 8 of the Immigration & Foreigners Act 2025, which replaced the old Foreigners Act 1946 and related rules. Under the 2025 rules the report is now formally referred to as “Form-III” (the names “Form C” and “C-Form” remain in common use), and the host’s duty now covers your check-out / departure too, not just your arrival. The penalty under Section 23 is serious, up to 3 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to ₹3 lakh for a host who fails to report. That’s exactly why you should make sure your host knows.Section 8 of the Immigration & Foreigners Act 2025Section 23
03
Step by step
How the host files Form C
You don’t do these steps, your host does. But knowing the process helps you prompt a landlord who has never done it, and judge whether it’s really been filed.
1
Host registers on the Form C portalHostA first-time host creates a portal account with their name, email, mobile, property address, proof of ownership or lease, and identity documents. An OTP sent to their phone or email completes the registration. Hotels already have this set up.
2
Host receives login credentialsHostAfter registering, the host gets their portal login credentials by email, SMS, or occasionally in person. They use these to file every report.
3
Host submits Form C within 24 hoursHostWithin 24 hours of your check-in, the host files Form C online using your details: passport, Indian visa, arrival/immigration stamp, a passport-size photo (35×45 mm), your India & home mobile numbers, email, home-country address, and your expected duration of stay. For a leased flat, the lease copy too.
within24 hours4
A Form C reference is generatedOn successful submission the portal generates a unique Form C reference number. Ask your host for this number, it’s your proof the report was filed and it smooths your own FRRO registration.
5
Host files a check-out notice when you leaveHostWhen you leave the accommodation, the host repeats the process to report your departure, within 24 hours of you leaving (rule 17 of the 2025 Rules).
04
If your company leases your home
The corporate-lease route
Where your accommodation is leased by your employer, the process differs: the lessee (usually your employer) registers as the host and files Form C. To set up that host account for the leased property, the company submits a documents pack to the FRRO, often in person.
What the employer-host typically submits
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| Document | Why it's needed |
|---|---|
| Completed & signed Form C registration form | Registers the company as the host for that specific leased property. |
| Company undertaking letter | The employer formally takes on the host reporting duty. |
| Govt ID & address proof of the company's “undertaker” | Identifies the HR/admin person who will file on the company's behalf. |
| Govt-issued photo ID of the company's “undertaker”/user | A separate photo ID of the HR/admin person who files as the “user” on the portal, in addition to their address proof. |
| Fully executed lease agreement | Proves the company holds the lease on the accommodation. |
| Owner's Aadhaar & PAN | Identifies the actual property owner/lessor behind the lease. |
| Latest property tax receipt | Confirms the property and its ownership status. |
| Company trade licence | Confirms the employer is a genuine registered entity. |
The corporate-lease route varies by city. This employer-as-host (lessee-as-host) arrangement is recognised in some cities, for example Hyderabad and Chennai, and elsewhere may not apply at all. Whether it’s available to you, and exactly which documents the office wants, depends on your city, don’t assume it’s the same everywhere. Confirm the arrangement and the current requirement with your local FRRO (your IKAN consultant does this for you), so your employer’s pack is right the first time.
05
Your part
What you actually need to do
You don’t file Form C, but it only happens if you nudge it along. Your role is small but important:
1
Confirm your host will file within 24 hoursAsk directly. Hotels do it automatically; a private landlord or friend may have no idea the rule exists and will only act when you prompt them.
within24 hours2
Give accurate documentsHand your host clean copies of your passport, Indian visa, and India arrival/immigration stamp, plus a passport photo. Accurate details mean the report goes through without a bounce.
3
Get the Form C referenceOnce filed, ask your host for the Form C reference number and keep it. It’s your evidence the report was made and it streamlines your FRRO registration.
4
Register with the FRRO per your visa classForm C is separate from your own FRRO registration. On any visa valid for more than 180 days (employment and dependant visas usually are), register within 14 days of arrival; on a shorter or capped visa, register before day 180 only if you will stay longer. Check the rule for your visa class, see Registering Your Stay.
The e-Arrival Card has been mandatory since 1 October 2025. Separately from Form C, all arriving foreign nationals, OCI cardholders included, must complete the e-Arrival Card. It’s a quick online declaration you do yourself within 72 hours before you land, don’t confuse it with Form C (which your host files). Your IKAN consultant walks you through both so neither is missed.
06
Why it matters to you
Form C and your FRRO registration
It supports your FRRO step
A filed Form C confirms your address to immigration, which streamlines your own FRRO registration. It doesn’t replace registering, it makes it smoother.
Private hosts forget it
Hotels file automatically; landlords and friends usually don’t. If yours misses it, gaps in the record can surface later when you register or renew.
The process is fiddly
First-time hosts find the portal time-consuming. Professional support gets it filed correctly so it doesn’t become your problem.
Keep the reference
Save the Form C ID in your document kit alongside your FRRO certificate, e-Arrival Card and passport copies.
Official resources
FRRO / e-FRRO portalForeigner registration & Form C
Form C host portalWhere hosts register & file
Immigration & Foreigners Act 2025Sec 8 duty · Sec 23 penalty
07
Your support
How IKAN helps
We brief your host, hotel, landlord or employer, on the 24-hour Form C duty, so a private landlord who’s never heard of it gets it right
We prepare your document pack, passport, visa, arrival stamp and photo, so the report goes through without a bounce
For corporate leases, we confirm the city-specific requirement with your FRRO and assemble the employer-host pack
We retrieve the Form C reference and coordinate it with your FRRO registration and e-Arrival Card so nothing is missed
Form C · quick checklist
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Form C isn’t your paperwork, it’s your host’s. Your job is simply to make sure it happens and to keep the ID. We’ll brief your host and join the dots with your FRRO registration, so this quietly takes care of itself.
Your IKAN Relocations team