I finally completed the foreign national registration process in India! I know it might not seem like a big deal to you, but it is. A lot of people, including Bob, say that registering ranks first among their worst experiences in India. My registration was remarkably uneventful.
Last Tuesday, we went to the FRO office to begin the process. When we showed up, the place was eerily calm, and we later found out the Mr. FRO himself (who people describe as a monster, the master of nightmares, or at best, jerk) was out for the day. Jai, a man from Bob's work who was helping us, told us that meant the employees were doing whatever they wanted, including registering people very quickly. We pushed to the front of the group, since there aren't any lines here or concept of "turns" and turned in all of my paperwork (about 100 pages of documents including a letter from Bob's work, a copy of our apartment lease, etc). In thirty minutes my passport was stamped, and they told me to come back in a week to pick up my official "papers" or proof of registration. When I left, I had a sinking feeling they would lose everything in the mess of their office. It was the least organized place I had ever seen.
Today Bob and I went back, with Jai, and happily retrieved my papers in all of 10 minutes. My forty minute FRO experience is completely unheard of, and I'm sure that if other foreigners heard about it, they would be paying me to find out how it went so smoothly. If you live in America and never plan on coming to India, skip to the next paragraph. For the rest of you:
1. Go on a day that the evil Mr. FRO is not at work.
2. Shove your way to the front of the group. You will have to be kind of rude, but it will be worth it. Plus, it's not rude in Indian culture.
3. Smile. A lot.
4. Ask a helpful Hindi-speaking friend to go with you. Or even better, say a few things in Hindi yourself, and be sure to use the Indian head bobble when people ask you questions.
When we left, we also went to get something notarized at the courthouse down the road. To our surprise, it was an outdoor district court that looked a lot this photo I borrowed from another website:
It was infinitely cool. Jai was very proud that we only got charged Rs. 150 ($3) until we told him it was free at home. Also, the notary guy didn't even read the paper or ask for our passports, which is kind of the whole point of a notary. Oh well. No complaints here.
All in all, it was a pretty successful day. Registering was something I was super anxious about, and now it's over!
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| at the fro office |
Last Tuesday, we went to the FRO office to begin the process. When we showed up, the place was eerily calm, and we later found out the Mr. FRO himself (who people describe as a monster, the master of nightmares, or at best, jerk) was out for the day. Jai, a man from Bob's work who was helping us, told us that meant the employees were doing whatever they wanted, including registering people very quickly. We pushed to the front of the group, since there aren't any lines here or concept of "turns" and turned in all of my paperwork (about 100 pages of documents including a letter from Bob's work, a copy of our apartment lease, etc). In thirty minutes my passport was stamped, and they told me to come back in a week to pick up my official "papers" or proof of registration. When I left, I had a sinking feeling they would lose everything in the mess of their office. It was the least organized place I had ever seen.
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| casual day since the master of nightmares is off |
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| very sophisticated filing system |
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| he has my passport in his hand! it's all over! |
Today Bob and I went back, with Jai, and happily retrieved my papers in all of 10 minutes. My forty minute FRO experience is completely unheard of, and I'm sure that if other foreigners heard about it, they would be paying me to find out how it went so smoothly. If you live in America and never plan on coming to India, skip to the next paragraph. For the rest of you:
1. Go on a day that the evil Mr. FRO is not at work.
2. Shove your way to the front of the group. You will have to be kind of rude, but it will be worth it. Plus, it's not rude in Indian culture.
3. Smile. A lot.
4. Ask a helpful Hindi-speaking friend to go with you. Or even better, say a few things in Hindi yourself, and be sure to use the Indian head bobble when people ask you questions.
When we left, we also went to get something notarized at the courthouse down the road. To our surprise, it was an outdoor district court that looked a lot this photo I borrowed from another website:
 |
| this looks a lot like the outdoor district court we visited today |
It was infinitely cool. Jai was very proud that we only got charged Rs. 150 ($3) until we told him it was free at home. Also, the notary guy didn't even read the paper or ask for our passports, which is kind of the whole point of a notary. Oh well. No complaints here.
All in all, it was a pretty successful day. Registering was something I was super anxious about, and now it's over!
That's crazy that it's ok to push and shove there. I think I would like that! Glad it went smoothly! What is an "Indian head bobble?"
ReplyDeleteTake a look at this post: http://reallybazaar.blogspot.com/2011/06/art-of-bobble.html
ReplyDeleteI want to be able to push and shove more. Lots of times people just walk to the front of lines. I wish I could do that more, but it goes against every bit of democracy in me :)
ReplyDelete