India extends foreign-visitor registration deadline to 180 days

India's Ministry of External Affairs has announced changes to foreign-visitor registration requirements. Foreign individuals staying longer in India must now complete registration any time before the expiry of 180 days from arrival, replacing the earlier provision requiring registration within 14 days only after the 180-day period expired. The registration requirement does not apply when either parent is an Indian citizen and wishes to retain the child's Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955. If a child acquires foreign citizenship while residing in India, either parent must inform the Registration Officer within 30 days of such acquisition. India also announced a hike in passport fees effective July 1, with 36-page passport issuance rising from Rs1,500 to Rs2,500 (normal) and Rs3,500 to Rs5,000 (Tatkaal express). The 60-page passport fee increased from Rs2,000 to Rs3,500 (normal) and Rs4,000 to Rs6,000 (Tatkaal). Minor passport fees rose to Rs1,750 (normal) and Rs4,250 (Tatkaal), up from Rs1,000 and Rs3,000 respectively. Additionally, India's civil aviation authority launched the Air Suvidha 2.0 portal requiring international travellers to submit a mandatory health self-declaration form within 24 hours of starting their journey to India.