<p>Now, foreigners in the State are being tracked online, right from the time they obtain visas till their exit. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The Ministry of Home Affairs’ project – Immigration, Visa, Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) – has been implemented in 25 districts in the State. <br /><br />Under the project, all companies, educational institutions, hotels and individuals, who rent out houses to foreigners, will have to update Form ‘C’ (Citizen) and Form ‘S’ (student) online. <br /><br />Such a system has been put in place to ensure that foreigners do not overstay and also ensure their safety during their stay in India. <br /><br />S P Chandrashekhar, Senior Technical Director, National Informatics Centre, which is the technological partner for the project, said the project presently covers the entire State.<br /><br /> “Foreigners obtain visas at 180 Indian embassies abroad and enter the country through 80 immigration checkposts. <br /><br />Once they enter the country either for employment or study, they visit the Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO) for registration. <br /><br />With the IVFRT system in place, hotels, yoga centres, dharmashalas, etc have to upload foreigners’ details online. <br /><br />Even if the stay is shorter, may be less than 20 days, hotels and other accommodation will have to upload the information online by filling up form C,” he said. <br /><br />A senior police officer said that there had been several awareness programmes in districts about the online feeding of information. <br /><br />The project intends to create awareness among all hoteliers, educational institutions and other installations, usually visited by foreigners in the State, about online update of Forms ‘C’ and ‘S’. <br /><br />Under the system, foreigners upon their arrival can submit their details online through their hotels or other accommodation. Individuals like house owners will have to submit the details of the residing foreigner in Form ‘C’ to the FRO authorities or nearest police station in districts within 24 hours of the arrival. <br /><br />“Once forms are uploaded, tracking of each foreigner is possible at the district level. The programme is such that once forms are filled, the entire history is tracked.<br /><br /> We have left out only a few districts which either have less or no presence of foreigners. <br /><br />Educational institutions in districts have a large number of foreign students. They will have to update every six months the details about the stay of foreign students,” Chandrashekhar said. <br /><br /></p>
<p>Now, foreigners in the State are being tracked online, right from the time they obtain visas till their exit. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The Ministry of Home Affairs’ project – Immigration, Visa, Foreigners’ Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) – has been implemented in 25 districts in the State. <br /><br />Under the project, all companies, educational institutions, hotels and individuals, who rent out houses to foreigners, will have to update Form ‘C’ (Citizen) and Form ‘S’ (student) online. <br /><br />Such a system has been put in place to ensure that foreigners do not overstay and also ensure their safety during their stay in India. <br /><br />S P Chandrashekhar, Senior Technical Director, National Informatics Centre, which is the technological partner for the project, said the project presently covers the entire State.<br /><br /> “Foreigners obtain visas at 180 Indian embassies abroad and enter the country through 80 immigration checkposts. <br /><br />Once they enter the country either for employment or study, they visit the Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO) for registration. <br /><br />With the IVFRT system in place, hotels, yoga centres, dharmashalas, etc have to upload foreigners’ details online. <br /><br />Even if the stay is shorter, may be less than 20 days, hotels and other accommodation will have to upload the information online by filling up form C,” he said. <br /><br />A senior police officer said that there had been several awareness programmes in districts about the online feeding of information. <br /><br />The project intends to create awareness among all hoteliers, educational institutions and other installations, usually visited by foreigners in the State, about online update of Forms ‘C’ and ‘S’. <br /><br />Under the system, foreigners upon their arrival can submit their details online through their hotels or other accommodation. Individuals like house owners will have to submit the details of the residing foreigner in Form ‘C’ to the FRO authorities or nearest police station in districts within 24 hours of the arrival. <br /><br />“Once forms are uploaded, tracking of each foreigner is possible at the district level. The programme is such that once forms are filled, the entire history is tracked.<br /><br /> We have left out only a few districts which either have less or no presence of foreigners. <br /><br />Educational institutions in districts have a large number of foreign students. They will have to update every six months the details about the stay of foreign students,” Chandrashekhar said. <br /><br /></p>