Form C for foreign guests in India: a guide for retreat organizers

Form C (shown on the portal as Form III) is how India tracks where foreign visitors are staying. The FRRO portal states that all accommodators, hotels and educational institutes are legally obliged to file it for all foreigners, including OCI cardholders, who were previously exempt and are now included under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

“Accommodator” is broad. The portal's registration form lists bed and breakfasts, dharmshalas, guest houses, hotels, individual houses, institutes and service apartments, so an ashram, a retreat centre or a rented villa hosting foreign guests is very likely covered.

The duty sits with the place providing the accommodation, not with the guest. In practice:

• You run your own centre: you register and file.
• You rent a venue or hotel: the venue normally files, as it does for any guest. Confirm this in your contract and send them guests' details before arrival.
• You rent a private house or villa: check whether the owner is registered. If not, agree who will register before guests arrive.

The FRRO portal directs hospitals and Ayush, yoga and wellness centres to the Medical and Ayush Visa portal for Form III entries and invitation letters, so check which portal applies to your venue.

1. Go to the Form C section of indianfrro.gov.in and choose Sign Up (Registration), or the separate option for an individual house.
2. Fill in the user account, the establishment (name, capacity, address, type) and the owner's details.
3. Print the registration form. The FRRO or FRO for your area approves it; corrections are possible only before approval.
4. Once approved, sign in and file Form C for each foreign guest.

Do this well before your first foreign guest arrives: approval isn't instant, and you can't file until it is done.

Under the earlier Registration of Foreigners Rules, Form C had to be submitted within 24 hours of a guest's arrival. The portal pages we read in October 2026 don't restate the deadline under the 2025 Act, so treat 24 hours as the working rule and confirm the current requirement with your FRRO.

Filing goes faster when you already have each guest's passport and visa information, arrival date and where they're coming from. Ask for them during booking or on the guest's trip page, not at reception after a long journey.

Passport numbers are sensitive. On MyRetreatDesk they are encrypted, shown only to the organizer, and deleted 30 days after the retreat ends. See how we handle guest data.

India's e-Tourist visa lists “attending a short term yoga programme” as a permitted purpose, but excludes formal or structured courses, described as courses over six months or those issued with a qualifying certificate or diploma. For short courses a letter from the organizer on letterhead is required. A certified teacher training may need a different visa, so point students to the official indianvisaonline.gov.in site and the Indian mission in their country rather than advising them yourself.

• Confirm in writing who files Form C for your retreat, and on which portal.
• If it's you: register, print the registration form, and get it approved by your FRRO or FRO.
• Collect each guest's passport and visa details and arrival date during booking.
• Send the details to the venue a few days before arrival, if they file.
• Plan who files during check-in day, when arrivals are spread over many hours.
• Keep a copy of what was filed with your booking records.

Guests are rightly careful with passport numbers. Explain why you ask, and how you protect it: Indian law requires the place they stay to register foreign visitors with the authorities, and you need the details to do that.