so, this time around, since i'm here on a business visa (opposed to a tourist visa) which is valid for more than 6 months, i need to register with the foreigner's regional registration office. given that this a governmental agency, the process is often a logistical nightmare. for starters, here's their website. the photo isn't even of the office ... it's the gateway of india! i've called the number before, and it is not correct. the number goes to some random dude's home phone (from what i could understand). secondly, the email addresses are pointless because no one answers them (i've tried), and one of them goes to someone at the india times newspaper! nor is there anything on here describing the requirements for registration. (which, after listening to many others' stories, i can only describe as arbitrary at best.)
i went on monday with the following: my passport plus 3 copies of it and 3 copies of the visa, 4 passport photos, and the original plus 3 copies of the letter used to obtain my visa. this should have been good enough. but i was told that i needed to also bring a copy of our lease along with an additional sponsorship letter and a copy of the indian sponsor's passport. (what she failed to tell me but luckily i'm smart enough to figure out, is that i'll also need to bring 3 sets of copies of each.) so, i'm headed back down there today. oh yeah, and it's downtown, so it takes anywhere form 1-2 hours to get there.
when i went on monday, i was with a friend who also needed to register. he had everything he needed, including a local guy who fixed everything for him. the process went as quickly as it possibly could, and it still took 2 hours. i'm SO not looking forward to this. i only have 14 days from arrival to finish this before the fee increases. (and yes, i do realize that i'm doing this last-minute, but their office has been closed the past 3 days due to diwali!) i hope they let me in this time!!
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